The deployment documentation that was provided with the SharePoint2013 Preview has a missing pre-requisite.
(This pre-req was not missing in Beta1 and Beta1 Refresh deployment doc)
A documentation bug has been filed.
The pre-requisite is to fully update your server before installing SharePoint.
As for the provisioning the SSA, It is recommended to use the config wizard. The PS cmdlet have changed from O14 and the new cmdlets have not been documented yet.