Deploying identical setup Windows over multiple computers
Solution 1:
Since you have an SBS2003 domain available to you, then why not check out the in-built Software Distribution system, at least for the application deployment part.
- Assigning Software
You can assign a program distribution to users or computers. If you assign the program to a user, it is installed when the user logs on to the computer. When the user first runs the program, the installation is finalized. If you assign the program to a computer, it is installed when the computer starts, and it is available to all users who log on to the computer. When a user first runs the program, the installation is finalized.
- Publishing Software
You can publish a program distribution to users. When the user logs on to the computer, the published program is displayed in the Add or Remove Programs dialog box, and it can be installed from there.
Using this you can assign software by user and/or computer via Group Policy (using OUs and the like).
You can then manage/update the packages to perform upgrades, uninstalls, etc. without visiting all the machines.
Solution 2:
You can also look at using SysPrep. That's what I use, then I can mirror the Hard Disk to other machiines, and it's like doing the first boot period again (enter name, password, time, done)
Solution 3:
I agree with William Jackson; use the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) and Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT). MDT builds, captures and deploys opereating system images, drivers, and applications. It automates and standardizes the deployments of both windows desktop and server operating systems and software from a common deployment console. Rather than doing all the sysprep and unattend.xml file creation by hand, MDT has wizards that will create these files for you. It'll even create the boot media for you as well.
Some handy links:
http://www.deploymentresearch.com/
http://deploymentdr.com/
MDT Forum (http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/mdt/threads)