Storing student profiles on the local machines

[FN-GM]

Hi,

 

Does anyone store the mandatory profiles on he local machines apose to storing them in a network share?

 

The idea is make a script that will use robocopy to copy the files to the local c drive. Then on the user settings point the profile path the local folder. My reasons for considering this is to improve login times especially for laptops. When you have 15 laptops all logging on at the same time dragging a profile form a network share it will take time to login. If they get the profile form the local c drive they don't have to go to network for it and it should improve the login times.

 

Also another benefit is I can use a different mandatory profile on a different set of machines.

 

Does anyone do this? What are your thoughts please?

 

Thanks

[pritchardavid]

We do this, not by a script through

 

When I made our deployment image I just copied over the mandatory profile with the correct security permissons and set the profile location on the users. I have done this on the whole network, we have no problems. Also changed where the start menu and desktop location on a folder on the c:\. This meant they cannot copy or delete files on the desktop.

 

Had no problems doing this, works pretty quick too. Only thing of doing this is to make sure your profile is setup extually the way you want it or you would have to copy it over to all the computers.

 

Any more question, just give me a pm

[FN-GM]

What if you need to update the profile? You will have to do it manually?

 

We have a mandatory profile already in use so I will be using that. Do you notice any performance improvements?

 

Thanks

[tomgrindle]

If it needed updating if I understand the way that you want to do it correctly wouldn't you have to modify it on ever single machin, or at least modify it on one and copy and replace the old one on each machine?

[FN-GM]

If it needed updating if I understand the way that you want to do it correctly wouldn't you have to modify it on ever single machin, or at least modify it on one and copy and replace the old one on each machine?

 

 

That's why I would use a script. It would be one line in a batch file. It would check to see if the server copy is newer and if it is replace the server copy with the local one.

[speckytecky]

I had something similar running in a Primary School where I used to work. Being a fairly small number of computers and stable at that it ran pretty well.

 

We do this, not by a script through

 

When I made our deployment image I just copied over the mandatory profile with the correct security permissons and set the profile location on the users. I have done this on the whole network, we have no problems. Also changed where the start menu and desktop location on a folder on the c:\. This meant they cannot copy or delete files on the desktop.

 

Had no problems doing this, works pretty quick too. Only thing of doing this is to make sure your profile is setup extually the way you want it or you would have to copy it over to all the computers.

 

Any more question, just give me a pm

[Patrickv]

I find mandatory profiles tricky to configure. I find that keeping to profile size bellow 1mb would help improve speed. It depends on the server supplying the profile and the network. You can also do profile load sharing which you split one half of the users on 1 profile and the rest on the other. Edited January 16, 2012 by Patrickv

[FN-GM]

The server side is fine, its just the Wireless connections at the client.

 

Using W7 its really hard to keep the profile below 1mb.

 

I am going to trail it for a few weeks. Once finished i shall feedback

[tomgrindle]

That's why I would use a script. It would be one line in a batch file. It would check to see if the server copy is newer and if it is replace the server copy with the local one.

 

Ahh I get you makes sense

[pritchardavid]

I think it is quicker from what I remember, I done this so early on with the windows 7 rollout. Think I used it without the man profile to start with the first IT room, then changed my mind and built the image with the man profile. So can't really tell. But I think its the way to go.

 

I havent had to really worry about chaning the profile, nothing really changes.

 

Only problem I have had when our ISP decided to change our external IP addresses so our mail links didn't work. I never setup the exchange up. I would have used the website name, like it is now .

Only other thing that has changed is the name of the fileserver, use to be called server-7, now called fileserver on our new domain. Other than that, nothing will change. Yes the next office the start menu links will change, but I would only deploy the next office in the new image. Any other apps are app-v apps, and that gets added automaticlly to the start menu

[Richie1972]

I use Advanced Installer to build an MSI to push out student profiles (mandatory roaming) as well as staff and student start menus. Easy to update and roll out

[Michael]

Have you tried setting up a dummy user without any profile configured at all, but apply the same GPOs as you would your users?

 

How do logon times compare before you go to the effort of scripting and copying profiles across the network?

[Ben-BSH]

Have you enabled the verbose display for logon / logoff etc? I know yours is almost certainly not the issue, but i have pinpointed bad GPO's causing slow logons etc before with this feature, might be worth a look

[FN-GM]

Its just laptops when on wireless that are the issue so i am pretty certain its the copying down of the profile

[FN-GM]

Hi,

 

I have started to play with this. For anyone who wants to do it you need to use the /copyall switch in robocopy. I am using this in conjunction with the /mir switch.

 

Thanks

Edited February 14, 2012 by FN-GM

[FN-GM]

Ignore the last comment.

 

I am trying to use robocopy to copy the profiles down locally. But when the user logs on with the profile pointing to the folder on the C drive it doesnt seem to work. Does anyone have any tips please?

[eean]

Have you got it working where you've just manually placed the folder on the local machine?

 

Where's your robocopy script running? Is it in the logon script or the startup script?

Also, xcopy should be able to do the trick. Keep it simple - then you're removing the risk of not having robocopy on the machine, windows not being able to find it etc...

 

Personally, I'd:

Get my xcopy function to work.

Put the command in a batch file

Then use WIWW (Windows Installer Wrapper Wizard) to create an MSI file.

Deploy that via group policy.

When you want to update the profile, redeploy that MSI package, which will cause the script to run on the next start up.

 

This means this script will only run when you ask it to, rather than every time... saving a few seconds on startup.