Which imaging software do you use?

[GrumbleDook]

WDS (in compatibilty mode atm)

[webman]

No doubt the CC3 fanboys will be along shortly complaining that there's no option for RM

 

On the contrary... We use RM software on our network - machine images can be created/restored (via boot disk or remotely) in under 10 mintues.

[ajbritton]

Can I just be a total nitpicker and point out that RIS is NOT imaging.

 

When a PC is built using RIS, it's an automated network install.

 

I have to confess that I have never successfully created a RIPREP build, but AFAIK it's basically the same as a RIS build with some extra files and registry entries copied on after the automated install finishes.

 

IMAGEX as I understand is a 'file' based image as opposed to Ghost images which are 'disk' or 'partition' images.

 

One of the reasons that Ghost is fast is that it treats the partition is that it does not need to update file allocation tables (or the NTFS equivalent thereof) when copying each file. That should mean less work for the heads on the disk and therefore higher speed.

[GrumbleDook]

'Imaging' is often the term used for OS (and installed software) deployment, whether it be via a disk image or automated installation of files ... semantics ... but yes, perhaps we should be more careful about what we call what.

[bossman]

@baxter:

do you have the full remote acronis suite or just the workstation deploy model?

 

I have also looked at symantec livestate but it is not as good as Acronis.

 

Do you also use the Acronis full metal server restore suite?

[netadmin]

I use Drive Image XML. I was able to create a custom Bart PE setup for a USB drive. This setup allows cloning over the network.

 

It works very well. Only takes about 25-30 minutes to copy a 12GB image.

 

Plus, it's free

[FN-GM]

Ghost here to

[AnnDroyd]

Very much dependent on Ghost here too. We use it not only for creating and deployng images, but for remotely starting up and shutting down PCs at the end of the day, deploying AI packages and configuring computer name and domain memberships.

 

Couldn't do the job without it.

[mrtechsystems]

Yeah I have been using ghost for while but thinking of moving over to Acronis just researching it at the moment.......

 

Mr Tech

[ConTheITGuy]

No doubt the CC3 fanboys will be along shortly complaining that there's no option for RM

 

On the contrary... We use RM software on our network - machine images can be created/restored (via boot disk or remotely) in under 10 mintues.

 

I believe he meant no option in the poll.

 

 

Andy

[Psymon]

RIS / Windows Deployment Serviced /w Group Policy software MSI rollout.

 

Rebuild is a simple network boot, put computer into group, restart.

[dhicks]

Partimage run from SystemRescueCD installed on a small partition on each machine.

 

--

David Hicks

[Guest richard]

Combination of ghost and ris

[SimpleSi]

@dhicks

 

That looks interesting - could you give some more details please?

 

regards

 

Simon

[dhicks]

Boot from SystemRescueCD (liveCD type Linux install designed to aid with system maintainance/recovery tasks). Resize Windows NTFS partition to fit in a small (<1GB) EXT2 partition after it. Install SystemRescueCD on that EXT2 partition. Add a startup script to SystemRescueCD on harddrive so that on boot it mounts a server share and re-images the NTFS partition using Partimage (imaging software that comes with SystemRescueCD). Could also use DD, of course (would suggest zeroing unused diskspace beforehand and compressing with gzip).

 

Computer becomes a dual-boot Windows/Linus machine with GRUB used as the bootloader. You can hide this fact by setting the GRUB timeout value to 0 and defaulting to Windows boot. Then, when you want to boot into Linux to reimage the machine, re-write the grub.conf file on the EXT2 partition (you'll need to have an EXT2 driver installed in Windows - I use a older version of EXT2FSD that works via the command line so no GUI appears on screen) and restart. I've set up a Windows image for our new Dell machines that has a local "reimage" user - on boot, a script mounts the EXT2 partition, rewrites grub.conf and then reboots. The machine boots into SystemRescueCD, runs the reimaging script when it boots, then re-writes grub.conf again so that Windows boots after another restart. The image is set to auto-login as another local user that runs a renaming / software install script when Windows firsts loads.

 

It's not exactly fast, we need to leave machines for an hour or two to reimage and install software. This could be as much to do with our network being made from 5-port desktop switches chained together and the file server being the cook's ex-home desktop machine, though.

 

Reading back through the above, I realise that that seems to whizz past a bit quick and lacks a few details. I'll see about typing things up properly and posting to a FAQ / Wiki / blog someplace.

 

--

David Hicks

[SimpleSi]

This could be as much to do with our network being made from 5-port desktop switches chained together and the file server being the cook's ex-home desktop machine, though.

 

love it - obviously working in a primary then

 

Thanks for info - a bit too complicated for me but very interesting though

 

regards

 

Simon

[FN-GM]

We use Ghost 8

 

Z

[Awfers]

I'm fooling around with StorageCraft right now, seems pretty good (had some problems with my old Vaio / XP and Acronis).

 

Anyone have any experience with it?

[kearton]

If they are unmanaged, buy some decent HP ones

Don't let AngryTechnician hear you say that link (NSFW)

Personally, I like HP switches too. Although we've got 2 old ones which periodically loose VLAN tag settings. I think it might have something to do with power cuts/surges?

 

We use an ancient version of PowerQuest here, but are now looking for an alternative due to it becoming increasingly hard to find DOS drivers for NICs in new PCs. I saw an very informative webcast of Acronis yesterday. I might have to look into RIS and/or Ghost...

Edited June 13, 2009 by kearton

[EduTech]

Thought i had already posted on this topic, clearly not.

 

anyhow, we use NetRunna and have been for a few years now! just looking at upgrading to their new version now as they have more features available

 

James.

[amfony]

i use ghost gss - but ive heard some good things about image for windows

[mac_shinobi]

Don't want to hijack the thread but whats clone zilla / fog like versus RIS or WDS ?

[sparkeh]

Used to use RIS, then WDS but now I use FOG

 

Don't want to hijack the thread but whats clone zilla / fog like versus RIS or WDS ?

 

I actually prefer using FOG. Seems quicker and does a lot more. I seem to have spent a lot of time with WDS mucking around with NIC drivers to get the deployment image launched (but of course that course have been my fault) whereas FOG has a lot of NIC drivers built into the kernel and I haven't had an issue yet. Also FOG will image our older machines which are not supported by WDS due to size of RAM.

 

You can use FOG to image (also virus scan in a pre boot environment with ClamAV, memtest, securely wipe disk, test disks, recover files, manage printers, WOL and schedule showdown, inventory...and probably some other stuff I can't think of right now.

 

Oh and of course you can launch all those functions remotely from the management console - and, if you are feeling nerdy, iPod touches, iPhones and PDAs!

[mikeglover]

We are moving away from Ghost now and starting to use FOG. (FOG :: A Computer Cloning Solution - Home)

FOG has got to be the best free imaging software around!

[Soulfish]

We're currently using FOG, and finding it great. We are going to try out WDS this summer to compare the two however.