What's the current best way to go about creating and deploying images on a network?

[Sam_Brown]

At the moment we use ghost (8.1 I think).

 

PXE Boot into RIS... download boot image for ghost.

 

Then either restore or create image from there.

 

Images are currently syspreped so once they've been ghosted to the workstations the first time you turn them on all you do is enter in a name for the workstation and set an admin password.

 

Simple right?

 

Issues obviously we need different image depending on the hardware meaning we've got something like 15 images sitting around.

 

Is this the best option at the moment or do better ones exist?

[bart21]

Have a look at FOG.

 

We use this and it is the best in my opinion.

 

Any questions feel free to ask.

 

nick

[Gatt]

MDT 2010 & WDS here...

[plexer]

Mdt2010 & wds.

 

Ben

[Soulfish]

SCCM with MDT 2010 here. WDS with MDT 2010 is easier to setup however, but both are capable of having a single hardware independent image

[ChrisH]

I am using MDT and WDS at the moment. I will be adding SCCM into the mix at some point.

[PiqueABoo]

MDT without WDS

 

[it wasn't behaving on my virtual lab bench so I used another TFTP]

[morganw]

If what you are doing now is based on deploying a sysprep image then you can put more drivers and some HAL switching into it to reduce the number of images you have. Moving to Fog would give you mostly the same as what you've got now, and as far as I know deploying XP via MDT & WDS is still based on sysprep and has the same limitations.

 

I've got about 25 differerent types of PC and got this down to 2 images after using the tools and information available from www.vernalex.com

 

If you are moving to Windows 7 then changing to MDT & WDS seems the easiest way to go unless you are using value added features in FOG or Ghost, in which case, you'd probably end up using the new sysprep.

[browolf]

fog is awesome & anything that won't do: clonezilla

[Duke5A]

I use WDS for capture and deployment, and I build/maintain the images in virtual machines on an ESXi host. I've got two images in total for about seven different models. One image is WinXP, and the other is Win7. WinXP can be made to deploy quite nicely with WDS operating in native mode.

[gshaw]

SCCM here

[JJonas]

FOG here

[Bluetooth]

solely WDS here, use the DISM tool to add drivers to your boot image+install images and you only need 1 image for whatever machines =-) dism takes about 5 mins to mount, add a driver and unmount, if not less.

 

Really simple and no fuss at all.

[Gatt]

Starting to look at SCCM here for rebuilding a system, with MDT for building new ones or those that wont boot to windows...