Image installation mechanisms
Technology is available from Microsoft and from external vendors to create an installable image of a preconfigured Windows XP system. The image can be installed on compatible hardware, creating a clone of the original system including any installed applications.
There are some limitations to this - the two PCs must use the same Windows Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL), and the applications must not configure themselves with hardware-dependent information like the CPU identifier or the network MAC address. Websphere Commerce Sales Center has no such dependency on hardware identity.
Loading of the initial image is typically done using the Pre-boot Execution Environment (PXE), an Intel-initiated specification for booting a PC class device over a local area network. PXE is part of a standard called Wired for Management (WfM) that in turn is incorporated into the PC98 specification, and is enabled in the network BIOS for virtually all corporate PCs manufactured since 1998. PXE also requires a server implementing DHCP and TFTP protocols; this is provided by the Microsoft or external vendor image cloning solution.