Number of Computers, versus Number of Images

As you'll all be aware, the ablity to quickly update images and re-image workstations is pretty fundamental to managing a good network.

The big problem we have at the moment is with the amount of different hardware combinations we have, and therefore the number of Ghost images we need to maintain.

Currently we have 682 computers, and 28 images. For simplicity I am making no distinction between desktops and laptops.

What kind of ratio of computers/images do others have in their schools? It would be useful to know so I can judge if this is an area in which we have a particular problem, or whether this is fairly typical.

We have 190 curriculum PCs with 5 images, 100 teaching staff computers with 3 images, 50 support staff laptops with 1 image, and 50 admin staff computers with 6 images.

Each room has an image specific to that room, that way if 1 PC dies, or needs a re-image, no mucking around as to which image it is. They are labelled as such

Suite 1 Image
Suite 2 Image

Each suite has its own set of software, so it is not really an issue.

Laptops work on the same basis, staff laptops get a generic staff image, and they can then install whats needed for their lessons (EG Maths whizz for the maths dept).

Pupil laptops, much the same as the suites, only they are done on a trolley basis.

Overall I have 3 Suite images, 1 staff laptop image, 6 pupil laptop images.

1 image all hardware, but we are windows 7 throughout now. Did not get to single image status when on xp but we had 2 or 3 for about 500 stations and laptops.

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Originally Posted by nephilim

Each room has an image specific to that room, that way if 1 PC dies, or needs a re-image, no mucking around as to which image it is. They are labelled as such

Suite 1 Image
Suite 2 Image

Each suite has its own set of software, so it is not really an issue.

Laptops work on the same basis, staff laptops get a generic staff image, and they can then install whats needed for their lessons (EG Maths whizz for the maths dept).

Pupil laptops, much the same as the suites, only they are done on a trolley basis.

Overall I have 3 Suite images, 1 staff laptop image, 6 pupil laptop images.

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So overall, approximately how many computers/laptops do you have?

We do about 500 machines with my single one-touch start-me-off-and-I'll-do-all-the-rest XP image, by embedding drivers in our own repository and allowing it to install them as required.

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Originally Posted by jsnetman

1 image all hardware, but we are windows 7 throughout now. Did not get to single image status when on xp but we had 2 or 3 for about 500 stations and laptops.

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This is where I'm trying to get to, sounds like heaven.

Do you use MDT for this and then just choose which programs to install for individual departments?

Quote:

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Do you use MDT

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I looked at MDT but thought it was way over the top for my needs. We do a flat image with no addons, flash, java........ We do all that via msi and software deployment via AD and in rare cases scripting like SIMS. Win 7 is very forgiving for drivers but in the cases where it does not load a driver we have a network share with the drivers in and direct the image to look at that.

Windows 7 here, 1 image to rule them all. I have the different drivers in the deployment toolkit so we only need 1 image. (That's approx 400 desktops and 50 laptops).

About 3 current desktop images, one of which'll work on the majority of our hardware. ~3 current laptop images and then a couple of niche images (kiosk boxes, wierd stuff).

A couple of generic server images (patches as of $date, specific drivers added).

We have a lot of vm templates though.

110 machines 3 images student, staff, admin.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jsnetman

I looked at MDT but thought it was way over the top for my needs. We do a flat image with no addons, flash, java........ We do all that via msi and software deployment via AD and in rare cases scripting like SIMS. Win 7 is very forgiving for drivers but in the cases where it does not load a driver we have a network share with the drivers in and direct the image to look at that.

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How did you setup this network share? I tried to do it but ran into all sorts of errors with the image just not looking for them.

I have two images one for staff and one for students and sometime have a lot of work to do with putting drivers on after the main installation

RM CC3 at the moment (soon CC4), so no images needed.

About 500 machines and 1 W7 image deployed using SCCM 2007 R2 SP2 w/ MDT 2010 (god thats a mouthful!). Grabs the drivers needed from our driver repository (Dell even provide handy driver packs for direct import into SCCM :D), and installs the list of applications that we have. We can even customise the applications that are installed during the imaging process based on PC name/MAC/hardware type/many other options.

2 images for us now - W7 X64 and W7 X86 (as we have a few PCs that are only 32 bit capable) when we had XP we were up to about 16 images for 230 PCs so we are very pleased with the W7 way of working :)