RIS - Tips for beginners

[tarquel]

Hi all

Thought I'd start this thread, primarily because I want to start using RIS. It may work out easier in the long run than bothering with ghost installs

So far, to install RIS on your 2003 server, I've found what looks like a handy starting point:

http://www.computerperformance.co.uk/w2k3/W2K3_RIS.htm

Anyone else care to add and tips and tricks, do's and don'ts - it would be handy.

My only thought right now is how I can keep the naming convention I have thus far?

0101HPDX2000

where:
red = room
green = computer number
DarkBlue = Manufacturer
Violet = Model / mini-description

Any ideas on the above would be good.

Sorry - I havent checked the wiki on this - I'm just a forum guy I guess hehe

Cheers
Nath

[ChrisH]

Prestage your computers in AD according to their GUId or mac address that way each PC has its own name and you wont have to faff around when you reinstall it. Its a bit of work but you combine this effort making reserved IPs which will make controlling the internet and other stuff easier.

[Dos_Box]

As Chris said, Presatging your PC's will save you a lot of time and effort later on and allow you to keep your naming convention. Be warned though, the name is then tied into the MAC address, so if you start moving computers around things may get interesting.

[Inox]

What exactly do you mean when u say prestage the pc's ?

[ChrisH]

When you create the computer account in AD somewhere in the wizard you tick this is a managed PC. You then fill in the GUID or the mac address with 20 or so 0 in front of it.

[E1uSiV3]

And for anyone in the dark about where to get the machines GUID, it is usually available in the BIOS and look sort of like this:

dc6ab140-9f0a-11da-a746-0800200c9a66 (this one was randomly generated by a website for my example)

If the machine does not have a GUID, you would add the MAC address to the end like so:

00000000-0000-0000-0000-0800200c9a66

with 0800200c9a66 being the mac address

[Quackers]

Is it not quicker and less hassle to set the PC name when you start the install on the client? If you choose the custom setup you can type in a computer name and it will create that computer account for you, then just move them to the correct OU. Thats how i do it.

[ChrisH]

Yes but you have to do that everytime you install it. This way may take a little longer initially but saves time later. I guess at the end of the day though its down to personal preference.

[john]

Slightly OT, but is there any easy way to move RIS from one to another machine? I set it up on a test server for a test, but we love it and i want my cube back now for Vista, so can I just copy the files over and re-install RIS and it will find it, or is it a bin it and start again time?

[ChrisH]

You can set up RIS and copy your images back over to your new install without any trouble.

[Dos_Box]

Originally Posted by Quackers

Is it not quicker and less hassle to set the PC name when you start the install on the client? If you choose the custom setup you can type in a computer name and it will create that computer account for you, then just move them to the correct OU. Thats how i do it.

If you prestage the PC and have the correct script in place it will do all of that automatically. Totally hands free installs were the whole point of RIS. You can do entire suites with minimal fuss.

[Quackers]

Originally Posted by ChrisH

Yes but you have to do that everytime you install it. This way may take a little longer initially but saves time later. I guess at the end of the day though its down to personal preference.

I'm confused. When i redo a RIS on that same PC, it knows what the PC name is and where it belongs just select Automatic setup. Its only the first time out of the box you would have to set the PC name, which is less hassle then typing in a PC name and the long GUID.

Have i got the wrong end of the stick? but the idea of typing in the GUID's for every PC seems like a very long winded task when RIS does it automatically for you the first time you use RIS on a client PC.

[john]

Originally Posted by ChrisH

You can set up RIS and copy your images back over to your new install without any trouble.

Excellent new Chris, I didn't fancy the prospects of spending a few hours modifying a couple of ini files from HPCompaq as it took me about 3 hrs to get it working 1st time, but now they work perfect each time.

[Dos_Box]

Originally Posted by Quackers

I'm confused. When i redo a RIS on that same PC, it knows what the PC name is and where it belongs just select Automatic setup. Its only the first time out of the box you would have to set the PC name, which is less hassle then typing in a PC name and the long GUID.

Have i got the wrong end of the stick? but the idea of typing in the GUID's for every PC seems like a very long winded task when RIS does it automatically for you the first time you use RIS on a client PC.

No it doesn't. RIS reads the GUID\MAC address straight from the motherboard. It does this to check whether you computer is on a managed account. If you prestage the computer i.e. create the account and manually enter the MAC adress or GUID, then when you log onto RIS on the client computer it will automatically show the computers name before imaging starts. If the computer is not prestaged it will give it some random name (RIS1, RIS2, RIS3 etc).

[mark]

Originally Posted by Dos_Box

If you prestage the PC and have the correct script in place it will do all of that automatically. Totally hands free installs were the whole point of RIS. You can do entire suites with minimal fuss.

can you clarify this bit - so you're saying prestage then script = hands free - but then prestaging involves some manual intervention??