Introduction
Microsoft just introduced an updated kit for IT pros to plan, test and validate deployment and management of desktops running Windows 10 Enterprise and Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. This was earlier known as “Windows insider lab for Enterprise” or “Olympia”.
The lab will cover technologies:
Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager
Desktop Analytics
Office Customization Tool
OneDrive
Windows Autopilot and the list continues.
So why put the time into downloading this environment and set it up?
One thing is to plan your upgrade path if you are not already on Windows 10, this kit is ideal to test your upgrade path. It is an isolated environment build to test and plan, and that is why you should spend time on downloading and set this up, to minimize the risk of blowing up your production environment.
Requirements
– The lab builds on the Hyper-V platform.
– Hyper-V role installed
– Administrative rights on the host
– 300 GB of free disk space or more
– NVME / SSD drive recommended
– 16 GB ram or more
– Fast CPU
– An external virtual switch in Hyper-V for internet connectivity on the virtual lab.
A complete lab environment
Get the list of technologies you will have access to here:
Download the kit
Fill out all the blanks and press continue
Be prepared to download 30 GB (it should start automatically)
Setup your lab
Install Hyper-V
Right click your StartMenu
Open PowerShell with admin rights
Paste this command to it
Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V -All
Restart if needed
Start Hyper-V Manager
Create a Virtual Switch
External and “Create virtual switch”
I call it “Microsoft LAB” to identify where it is used in case, I want to change it later.
Press ok.
Unzip the downloaded content
For my device it took only 40 seconds to unzip the whole 30 GB of content
I have 2 drives on my device, and I have configured Hyper-V to place its content on my E:
Go to the folder with your unzipped lab and copy it to E:
Note: The environment will be loaded from this directory, so it is important to place it correctly before executing setup.exe.
Run the setup.exe
Next
Accept the license terms and next
The setup process fount our external adapter called Microsoft LAB
Press next
Next
Now patience! This process will unpack the Zpaq file containing all the virtual machines and afterwards import it to Hyper-V. Expect at least 30 minutes wait, so go for a cup of coffee or lunch
Press next
Now all the virtual machines are ready to use at a certain state.
Overview of the virtual machines:
Server Name |
Roles & Products |
HYD-DC1 |
Active Directory Domain Controller, DNS, DHCP, Certificate Services |
HYD-MDT1 |
Microsoft Deployment Toolkit Windows 10 2004 ADK Windows Deployment Services |
HYD-CM1 |
Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager 2002 Windows Deployment Services Microsoft Deployment Toolkit Windows 10 2004 ADK Windows Software Update Services Microsoft SQL Server 2017 |
HYD-APP1 |
Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring Microsoft SQL Server 2017 |
HYD-GW1 |
Remote Access for Internet Connectivity |
HYD-INET1 |
Simulated Internet |
HYD-VPN1 |
Remote Access for VPN |
HYD-CLIENT1 |
Windows 10 2004 Domain Joined |
HYD-CLIENT2 |
Windows 10 2004 Domain Joined |
HYD-CLIENT3 |
Windows 10 2004 Workgroup |
HYD-CLIENT4 |
Windows 10 2004 Workgroup |
HYD-CLIENT 5, 6 |
Bare metal (No Installations) |
HYD-CLIENT7 |
Windows 7 SP1 Domain Joined |
User |
Access Type |
User Name |
Password |
Local Administrator |
Administrative |
Administrator |
P@ssw0rd |
Domain Administrator |
Enterprise Administrator |
CORPLabAdmin |
P@ssw0rd |
Go ahead and play with it.
If you like to add the cloud element to it, you should open the “Lab Kit_2004_lab_guide_v3.docx” from the folder Lab Kit_2004_Guides_v3.
See chapter 2.2.1 Set up Azure and Microsoft 365. Do not get scared it’s only a document on 275 pages
Summary
Microsoft released a set of virtual machines ready to use for test path and for developing practical skills. The document “Lab Kit_2004_lab_guide_v3.docx” guides you through a lot of stuff and will enable you to build future hybrid environments or at least upgrade your knowledge on how the different technologies works.
Happy testing!
Mattias Melkersen is a community driven and passionate modern workplace consultant with 20 years’ experience in automating software, driving adoption and technology change within the Enterprise. He lives in Denmark and works at Mindcore.
He is an Enterprise Mobility Intune MVP, Official Contributor in a LinkedIn group with 41.000 members and Microsoft 365 Enterprise Administrator Expert.
Mattias blogs, gives interview and creates a YouTube content on the channel "MSEndpointMgr" where he creates helpful content in the MEM area and interview MVP’s who showcase certain technology or topic.
Official Contributor here "Modern Endpoint Management":
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8761296/