Remotely install ChromeOS Flex

ChromeOS Flex Remote Deployment (FRD) enables zero-touch remote deployment of ChromeOS Flex to devices running Microsoft Windows. It can help IT administrators migrate large fleets of geographically dispersed devices to ChromeOS Flex.

• Remote installation of ChromeOS Flex to any compatible device running Windows.
  • Physical access to the device is only needed in case of failures.
  • Device compatibility is currently not checked automatically.
• Automatic enrollment into the organizational unit associated with an enrollment token, if one is provided.
• Logging capabilities for monitoring the deployment process on Windows.
• Option to dry run the deployment, to detect and prevent common issues.

FRD works in nearly any IT setup. It doesn't depend on your network type, Windows management platform, or monitoring system.

These are the main steps to remotely deploying with FRD:

1. Download FRD and customize its configuration files, as needed.
2. Transfer the configuration files to the devices to be migrated to ChromeOS Flex.

   Note: Alternatively, you can place the configuration files in a shared SMB folder, readable by all devices, but for large deployments this approach might not scale well.

3. Remotely execute the FRD Windows binary, with Administrator privileges, on each device.
4. Monitor the deployments.
5. Verify all devices enrolled successfully.

This is how the deployment process works locally on each device:

1. The device's Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is cleared automatically, if possible. Failure is a warning, not an error.
2. The primary disk is repartitioned and a new FAT32 partition is created.
3. Flexor, a Linux-based environment for installing ChromeOS Flex, is installed on the new partition.
4. The Windows Boot Manager is configured to boot Flexor, and the device is rebooted.
5. Flexor boots, formats the disk, installs ChromeOS Flex, and sets up some configs automatically.
6. ChromeOS Flex boots, reads the FRD configs, and goes through all first-boot setup and enrollment steps automatically.