We can also perform an unattended installation of Windows Server 2012.
This provides a useful method to rapidly deploy new servers in our environment. Unattended installs are completed by creating an answer file. The answer file is the file containing the main configuration for the Windows Server 2012 installation. Setting can include application configuration, such as configuring the home page in Internet Explorer and controlling the desktop look-and-feel settings. To create an answer file, we first need to install the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK). The WAIK is available in the MDT Toolkit located here:/

After we download the MDT, install the tool by clicking the MSI file and step through the wizard, accepting the defaults.

Install the WAIK

The WAIK is a flexibility utility tool that allows us to customize our Windows Server installs. We can also create necessary files to assist with configuration and deployments. To install the WAIL, we need to install .NET Framework feature. We can find it in the Add Roles and Features Wizard in Server Manager.

1. Open Server Manager
2. Click Dashboard
3. Click Add Roles And Features
4. Click Next on the default page
5. Select Role-based or feature-based installation and click Next
6. Select local server and click next
7. On the Server Roles page, click next
8. On the Feature page, find .NET Framework 3.5 Features
9. Expand the .NET Framework 3.5 Features
10. Select .NET Framework 3.5 Features (includes .NET 2.0 and 3.0) and click Next
11. Verify installation and Confirm installation selections screen and click Install.
12. Verify the result and click OK. The server may need to be restarted to complete the installation.

After we have installed MDT, go to start Screen, begin typing Deployment Workbench,and then click The Deployment Workbench icon in the result.

1. In the navigation pane of the Deployment Workbench, expand the Deployment Workbench and then expand the Information Center.
2. Select Components and then select Windows AIK from the Components pane.
3. Click Windows AIK to download the files. After the files downloaded (around 1 GB), Click Next on the Welcome screen
4. Click Next after accept the license agreement
5. Pick a drive and directory for the tools. (The tools require about 1.2 GB of drive space), then click Next
6. Click Next to begin to the installation, and click Close on the final screen.

 Create an Answer File

After we have installed the WAIK tools, our next step is to create an answer file. The file contains configuration setting for Windows and provides the setting to your preferred desktop. To create an answer file, we will use the Windows System Image Manager (SIM). Before we create an answer file, we will need to load the install.wim file from the Windows Server 2012 DVD. The file is located in the sources directory.
Copy the file to a local directory, for example : C:\source

1.  Start Windows SIM by going to the Start screen and typing Windows System Image Manager, and select it when it appears in the results list.
2. In Windows SIM, select File > Select Windows Image, and navigate to the directory that contains the install.wim  file
3. After we select install.wim file we located in step 2, we’ll be presented with the dialog box to choose the edition of Windows Server 2012 for which we are creating the answer file and click OK.
4. After we select the edition, we’ll be asked to create a catalog file; click Yes. This process can take several minutes.
5. Choose File > New Answer.
6. We’ll need to add and configure the many setting that fit our needs. For more information on configuring the setting, see the help file that comes with the WAIK toolset (waik.chm)
7. When we are done modifying settings in the answer file, we will need to save the file. Select File > Save Answer File. During the save process, The SIM tool will start a validation process. The Validation tool ensures that our answer file is correctly formatted and the settings are properly configured. Before we save, we can also validate the file by selecting Tools > Validate Answer file
8. Save the answer file with the name Autounattend.xml