Mac deployment solutions ?

[chuyendv]

Hi,

 

Which Mac deployment solution are you using at your school?

 

Next year we start providing 100 Macs to teachers. I'm looking for a clone solution.

 

I found 3 solutions to do this task: DeployStudio, Casper and FileWave Imaging. I tried to download FileWave Image Virtual Appliance but when I open it with VMWare, it even couldn't boot :| also Filewave lacks many features (https://docs.google.com/a/unishanoi.org/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ane3dV9FGdGLdEU5Skc4QTl4dU1kcTY3Vm8wTm84ZWc#gid=0)

 

I requested Casper trial and still waiting their response.

So now, I'm playing with DeployStudio but have some issues with the config and repo.

 

Can Casper or DeployStudio deploy image over Wireless as our Mac is Macbook Pro Retina ? And could you give me the recommendation for the Deploy Server ?

 

Thanks!

[unixman_again]

We use Deploy. I don't know if it will do it's stuff over wireless, but I don't see why it wouldn't. Our MACs are desktop and it works fine. I guess it talkes about 1/2 hour per MAC. Our server is a G4.

[seawolf]

Have a read of this.

 

http://www.edugeek.net/forums/mac/133492-mac-deployment-management-tools.html

 

NetBoot over WiFi is possible, but it can be flaky depending on how well your network is setup. Also, there is the speed of imaging over WiFi to consider, which won't be great. I would recommend using Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapters to do your imaging. The cost of these is a once off and will more than be made up for in time saved to you.

 

Unless you have 100 clients or more, I wouldn't bother with Casper Suite, FileWave, Absolute Manage, etc. DeployStudio, ARD, and Server app on a decently spec'd Mac Mini (i7, SSD or Fusion drive, 4GB-16GB RAM) will be all you need until you hit about 100 clients. After that the other solutions start to come into their own.

[chuyendv]

Thank you,

 

Do I need 1 more server with raid config to store DS Repo?

 

Next year, we have 100 Mac clients and 150 iPads. I 'd like to use this server as MDM server as well, can the Mac Mini do this well ? Because after imaging, I have to deploy apps : CS6, MS Office 2011.. to some Mac (not all).

[crt404]

We have an environment of over 600 macbooks (airs/pros from 2010 onwards) and use a wired DS setup for imaging from a Mac server pro. We use a munki repo for our product deployment and updates. I couldn't recommend this setup more - it does a great job.

 

Also, we always build over a wired gigabit network (rather than WiFi or 100Mb), as it takes the build time from over an hour to 30 minutes.

 

We also tried to get a trial of Casper, but they were so reluctant to provide it, we went all open source in the end. It also saved us £000's!

[Quackers]

We use Deploy Studio, then Munki to roll out all the other things that get updated lots like flash.

[Brimstone]

Hi,

 

Which Mac deployment solution are you using at your school?

 

Next year we start providing 100 Macs to teachers. I'm looking for a clone solution.

 

 

 

I found 3 solutions to do this task: DeployStudio, Casper and FileWave Imaging. I tried to download FileWave Image Virtual Appliance but when I open it with VMWare, it even couldn't boot :| also Filewave lacks many features (https://docs.google.com/a/unishanoi.org/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ane3dV9FGdGLdEU5Skc4QTl4dU1kcTY3Vm8wTm84ZWc#gid=0)

 

I requested Casper trial and still waiting their response.

So now, I'm playing with DeployStudio but have some issues with the config and repo.

 

Can Casper or DeployStudio deploy image over Wireless as our Mac is Macbook Pro Retina ? And could you give me the recommendation for the Deploy Server ?

 

Thanks!

 

Yes + 1 here for Deploy Studio and Munki, however do not deploy over wireless as it will take hours, even days to do this. The minimum should be Gigabit to desktop as I assume you will deploying lots of applications to them as well.

 

Here's a link to Deploy Studio guide...Documentation

[Jasbo]

We use deploy studio to image and filewave for mac software packages and general management.

[Mustang]

We currently use deploystudio and have done for the last 5 years, never had any trouble with it as it just works. We can deploy our thick image with OS,Office,CS6 Master Collection,Maya,Mudbox etc in about 5mins.

The only downside with deploystudio is that sometimes you have to wait for it to be updated to be compatible with newer hardware models or newer OS builds but this doesn't happen that often.

 

Although deploystudio is great, it is considered the old way of deploying things. The recommended way now is to use complete thin imaging, which means use the OS that came with the Mac and deploy the software to the Mac.

We are moving over to this method and are currently using munki to deploy the software to our new Macs, with all our new Mac having solid sate drives it only takes about 20mins to install Office and ADOBE CC Master Collection.

Another bonus of this approach is no thick image to maintain

 

Both deploystudio and munki are free and are worth a look.

 

We had a trial of casper last year and it seemed way over the top for our needs and very expensive.

[seawolf]

Thank you,

 

Do I need 1 more server with raid config to store DS Repo?

 

Next year, we have 100 Mac clients and 150 iPads. I 'd like to use this server as MDM server as well, can the Mac Mini do this well ? Because after imaging, I have to deploy apps : CS6, MS Office 2011.. to some Mac (not all).

 

If you are going to have that many clients, then you will need more than just DS and you won't want to use Profile Manager as it won't be able to scale and grow to the level you'll need.

 

You may also want to try to find a 2012 model Mac Pro to use as your distribution point/server rather than a Mac Mini. You should be able to find a well-spec'd Mac Pro (not the latest model) and it should serve you well for years even with several hundred clients as @crt404 is doing (and us).

 

Munki or Simian are definite options for you if you want to save money in the long term. Munki was developed by Disney Animation and Simian is a Google fork of the project. I've been looking into these myself, but haven't gone this way yet. There are many successful implementation in the wild though and there are several companies in the UK with experience helping people roll these projects out.

 

http://www.amsys.co.uk/munki-whitepaper.pdf

Using Munki to Manage Apple Software Updates » Amsys

 

However, you still will need MDM for the iPads. You may wan to consider one of the free MDM solutions out there or take a look at the iBoss Web Filter / MDM solution. It provides outstanding MDM features and the best web filter in the business.

[robjduk]

we just use the basic tools from the apple server app. A year ago I was happy to have just got it deploying a non-customised image but I have an apple wiz kid on staff now who has created an almost ZT deployment using it.