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DeployR Server installation

Prerequisites

  • Server has a valid FQDN DNS entry (required even in workgroup environments), e.g. deployr.company.local

  • Open the required inbound port: 7281 TCP (secure client communications) — see the StifleR Firewall Ports and 2PXE Firewall Considerations pages for related components

  • StifleR Server 3.1 and StifleR Dashboard 3.1 installed and reachable (only these two StifleR components are required to operate DeployR — see StifleR Server installation and StifleR Dashboard installation)

  • A supported version of Microsoft SQL Server (Express edition or higher), for metadata storage and deployment progress tracking

  • .NET Runtime 10.0.9, .NET Desktop Runtime 10.0.9, and ASP.NET Core Runtime 10.0.9 installed (DeployR versions earlier than 1.2 require .NET 8.0 runtime components instead)

  • PowerShell 7.6.3 for full compatibility

  • Windows ADK for Windows 11 — recommended: 24H2 Dec Release, version 10.1.26100.2454

    • Version 10.1.28000.1 is not recommended due to known driver integration issues

  • TLS/SSL certificate available for secure communications

  • Decide on the service account DeployR will run under (defaults to LocalSystem; a custom service account can be configured if required)

Optional components

BranchCache (Windows feature) — enable if you plan to use BranchCache for content distribution.

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) — Only required if you plan to support Linux bare metal deployments. The server must support hardware-assisted virtualization, or nested virtualization if DeployR itself is running in a VM.

Automation scripts to install and configure prerequisites are available on GitHub: 2Pint-DeployR Pre-Reqs

Ensure the StifleR Dashboard can be reached from the DeployR server, and that Windows authentication succeeds. If sign-in works remotely but loops on the DeployR server itself, this is usually an LSA loopback check issue — commonly triggered when accessing the Dashboard via a CNAME alias. See Microsoft's guidance for details.

Installation

You can also follow video guides that demonstrate the installation of the full 2Pint DeployR suite.

Launch the provided TwoPint.DeployR.Installer.msi file. At the welcome screen, click Next:

At the "End-User License Agreement" screen, once you have reviewed the EULA, check the box I accept the terms in the License Agreement, and then click Next.

At the Destination Folder page, specify the desired installation location then click Next:

At the Ready to Install page, click the Install button to perform the installation:

At the Completed page, ensure that the Launch Configuration Editor checkbox is checked and then click Finish.

DeployR will attempt to create the specified SQL databases if they do not yet exist. For this to succeed, the default NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM account needs a logon in SQL Server with the sysadmin role.

Alternatively, pre-create the database and assign NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM the db_owner role on it.

To use a different service account instead, grant that account db_owner access to the database, then update the DeployR service settings and restart the service. Note that the service account reverts to NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM after a DeployR version upgrade.

DeployR Configuration

The Configuration Editor will then launch to configure DeployR.

And Advanced Options

Basic settings description

Certificate settings

  • Certificate Store Location — where DeployR looks for the TLS/SSL certificate. Typically left as LocalMachine.

  • Certificate Store Name — the name of the certificate store (within the specified location). Typically left as My.

  • Certificate location mechanism — how DeployR identifies the certificate to use:

    • CertificateSubjectName — use this when the certificate is renewed frequently (thumbprint changes), so you don't need to update the DeployR configuration each time.

    • CertificateThumbprint — the hex-encoded thumbprint of the certificate. If both are specified, the thumbprint takes precedence.

SQL Server configuration

  • ServerInstanceAndDB — provide the instance and database name separately:

    • SQL Server Instance — default is .\SQLExpress, but this could be named anything during SQL setup.

      • Format: MyServer\SQLInstanceName, e.g. SQLHost\SQLExpress.

      • If SQL is installed locally on the DeployR server, just use .\SQLInstanceName, e.g. .\SQLExpress.

    • SQL Server database — the database DeployR uses. If pre-created, enter its name; otherwise DeployR automatically creates a database named DeployR the first time the service runs.

  • Advanced — provide a raw SQL connection string instead:

    • SQLConnectionString — used for the two SQL databases DeployR relies on. Example (SQL Express, same server):

Content location

  • DeployR Content Location Path — where all DeployR-managed content is stored. Defaults to %ProgramData%\2Pint Software\DeployR, but can be any location the DeployR service can manage.

    • Examples: D:\DeployRContent\, E:\DRContent\

    • Do not use the root of a volume (e.g. D:\ or E:\).

    • Note: if you run into issues generating boot media, add security software exclusions for the DeployR Content Path.

Networking & StifleR integration

  • DeployR Client URL — the full URL client devices use to reach the DeployR server. The hostname must match the certificate; keep the default port 7281. Example: https://contoso-server.contoso.com:7281.

  • Join Infrastructure (Show Advanced) — must be enabled so DeployR registers with the StifleR infrastructure.

  • StifleR Service API URL — the URL and port (typically 9000) used to communicate with the StifleR service.

  • Heartbeat Interval (seconds) — how often DeployR sends heartbeat events to StifleR when Join Infrastructure is enabled. Default of 30 seconds is recommended.

More details about the different settings are discussed in the corresponding pages.

Once the needed settings are configured, click the Verify button to ensure the settings are valid. This will then prompt for confirmation:

Click Yes to enable and start the DeployR service.

Post-installation checks

Confirming registration with StifleR

After the DeployR service starts, open the StifleR Dashboard and go to Administration → Infrastructure services. DeployR will initially appear with a status of "Not approved" (yellow warning triangle):

On the Actions menu, choose Approve to enable communcation between the two services. After approval, the status will change to a green checkmark:

For confirmation that the correct URL is provided to the StifleR platform for communication with DeployR, expand the row by clicking the > at the beginning of the row to see the details:

Confirming task sequence communication

Navigate to Deployments → DeployR → Task sequences in the StifleR Dashboard to confirm that communication between DeployR and StifleR is working.

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