WAIK will work for Windows 7 or earlier, WADK will work for Windows 8 or later versions. WAIK is based on the same kernel as in Windows 7 and WADK is based on the same kernel as in Windows 8.
The winpe.wim file from WADK is necessary for Third-Party Imaging in Windows 8 or later versions.
WADK is backward compatible with Windows platforms. WADK is also backward compatible with most hardware platforms with a few exceptions. For details see ZENworks WADK Imaging works only on Windows 8 or later supported hardware.
In ZENworks 11 SP3 and higher versions, Third-Party Imaging loads the environment based on the hardware architecture. You need 32-bit WAIK or WADK, and 64-bit WADK to image all devices irrespective of the architecture. 64-bit WAIK is not supported. For more information, see Third-Party Imaging Based On Device Architecture.
NOTE:
Before you upload Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) or Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (WADK) onto the latest version of ZENworks, ensure that all the Primary Servers and Imaging Satellite Servers in the zone are upgraded to the latest ZENworks version.
After you perform a ZENworks upgrade, for Third-Party Imaging to work properly, re-upload the winpe.wim, imagex.exe, and ghost.exe files from the Third Party Imaging Settings page in the ZENworks Control Center.
For Full Disk Encrypted systems, images cannot be taken and restored by using the ImageX and Ghost third-party tools.
Currently, only PXE is supported as the boot mechanism for Third-Party Imaging.
Third-Party Imaging requires 32-bit WinPE distro from WAIK/WADK to boot a 32-bit device, and 64-bit WinPE distro from WADK to boot a 64-bit device.
WinPE distro boot depends on the architecture of the machine:
64-bit hardware will boot WADK 64-bit environment
32-bit hardware will boot WAIK/WADK 32-bit environment
This may not be applicable in some scenarios. For example,this is not applicable on Intel Xeon processors with 2 modes for 64-bit in BIOS. For more information, see ZENworks WADK Imaging works only on Windows 8 or later supported hardware.
NOTE:A 64-bit hardware can have a 32-bit OS installed.