edsa Posted June 25, 2007 Posted June 25, 2007 Hello there, I am about to install new PCs in my school and I have been trialing the latest version of Ghost. It is the first time that I have used the software so I am very much finding my way round it. I would like to build a PC, take an image of that PC and deploy the image across the network from the Ghost server to my new client PCs by using the PXE network cards on the clients. Do I need to combine Ghost with RIS in order to do this? I would appreciate all advice on this as I need to get these PCs installed fairy quickly and I am pretty new to cloning PCs. ta Eddie
ConTheITGuy Posted June 25, 2007 Posted June 25, 2007 I think you can do this with RIS, but I don't know much about it - I'm sure a bunch of people will be along in a moment that do Alternatively, you don't have to do it with RIS, if you buy the full version, on the CD you get 3COMs Boot Services. I gather you can do a similar job with that - IIRC you don't get it as part of the trial. We are using Ghost here. WE just install the Ghost Boot partition from a pen drive at the moment, if the machine doesn;t already have an exisiting image on - then we can just remote install the Ghost client. We may look at PXE later on. Andy
djm968 Posted June 25, 2007 Posted June 25, 2007 In this case, I would say yes Ghost with RIS is the best option. Install RIS and another menu item will be available in the boot wizard, “Create RIS Menu Item†or something similar. Check this article for further info. http://entsupport.symantec.com/docs/n2000042011340125
edsa Posted June 25, 2007 Author Posted June 25, 2007 Thanks Andy, I'll take a look at the 3Com Boot Services. ed
Grommit Posted June 25, 2007 Posted June 25, 2007 You do not need RIS nor 3COM boot services.. Simplist way is Install Ghost Multicast ? Server ? on a laptop (laptop must be on network) Make a perfect build with everything on Take off of the network and rename Make Ghost Boot Disk with boot disk maker in Ghost on the Laptop Start ghost multicast on laptop.. go through easy session setup Boot PC with boot disk and upload image pt 2 Take laptop to room where PC's are ready for cloning Plug laptop into network and start Ghost Multicast Boot all PC's with boot disk Join Multicasst session And all PC's will be cloned.. Run NewSID when adding to network and naming PC's
djm968 Posted June 25, 2007 Posted June 25, 2007 Six words! boot disk.... boot disk.... boot disk. If you read the original post, the poster is asking about PXE booting.
Ric_ Posted June 25, 2007 Posted June 25, 2007 Alternatively, you could forget about Ghost and just use WDS (formally RIS). This would save you Ghost licensing costs. However, I am only suggesting this as an option that you may not have considered... you may have reasons for wanting to use Ghost. WDS can take an image of a built machine. The MS tools cna then copy this up to your server and then PXE boot the machines to pull the image down.
edsa Posted June 25, 2007 Author Posted June 25, 2007 Thank you all for all of that info. There are a lot of options for me there. I did initially try WDS and Riprep to copy the image up to the server. However, I kept getting asked to stop various services and when I came to try to install the image back across the network to the same original test machine there was an error message saying that the image that I was trying to deploy did not contain the correct network card driver. Is this a common problem. Or do I have to manually copy the network card driver to the image? The reason I thought I would try Ghost was to avoid these problems.
NetworkGeezer Posted June 25, 2007 Posted June 25, 2007 Thanks Andy, I'll take a look at the 3Com Boot Services. ed If you use non-RIS PXE booting then you need to redirect the PXE requests using DHCP server options to the machine running the 3Com Boot Services.
edsa Posted June 25, 2007 Author Posted June 25, 2007 cheers NetworkGeezer!! I appreciate all the advice. I havn't had to deploy as many PCs at once before. I have only used disk to disk in the past. I know what needs done in theory, but having problems with it all. Which way would you go with it? ed
Ric_ Posted June 25, 2007 Posted June 25, 2007 @edsa: RIPREP usually stops the services for you (although the message doesn't explain this). WDS also has a new tool if you are using mixed or native mode... I haven't used this. The problem you are having with your RIPREP image deployment is easily solved by adding the drivers for your NIC to the image on the server - IIRC you can do this to your default automated install and then they magically copy across to the RIPREP builds (as long as you use RIS for the Windows installation). Check out http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315279 for info on doing this.
Grommit Posted June 26, 2007 Posted June 26, 2007 Thank you all for all of that info. There are a lot of options for me there. I did initially try WDS and Riprep to copy the image up to the server. However, I kept getting asked to stop various services and when I came to try to install the image back across the network to the same original test machine there was an error message saying that the image that I was trying to deploy did not contain the correct network card driver. Is this a common problem. Or do I have to manually copy the network card driver to the image? The reason I thought I would try Ghost was to avoid these problems. Ghost is much easier to setup and deploy via laptop than RIS or WDS .. All you do is make the image and deploy.. no problems... I am talking about Multicasting and not remote deploy.. that is take the laptop into the room and run from there..
djm968 Posted June 26, 2007 Posted June 26, 2007 Ghost is much easier to setup and deploy via laptop than RIS or WDS .. All you do is make the image and deploy.. no problems... I am talking about Multicasting and not remote deploy.. that is take the laptop into the room and run from there.. I think edsa is looking for a server based imaging solution using PXE booting and the reason I would use ghost is that it offers multicast image deployment whereas RIS/WDS is a unicast technology.
Halfmad Posted June 26, 2007 Posted June 26, 2007 Ghost mulitcast is fantastic, used it a few times although I do have 10 disk DVD duplicator so sometimes I just roll images out via that during term time (when I can't afford the network to be slow.)
Grommit Posted June 26, 2007 Posted June 26, 2007 Ghost is much easier to setup and deploy via laptop than RIS or WDS .. All you do is make the image and deploy.. no problems... I am talking about Multicasting and not remote deploy.. that is take the laptop into the room and run from there.. I think edsa is looking for a server based imaging solution using PXE booting and the reason I would use ghost is that it offers multicast image deployment whereas RIS/WDS is a unicast technology. I thought that too... but reading his posts I see that he just wants to rollout as easy as possible.. and if you are not all WDS and RIS sussed Ghost is the easiest and simplist way to deploy images.. I mean I have been in IT for 7 years and RIS or WDS still confuses me...
acrobson Posted June 26, 2007 Posted June 26, 2007 Check this link from a discussion earlier this week. http://www.edugeek.net/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=97706#97706
edsa Posted June 27, 2007 Author Posted June 27, 2007 Again, thanks for all advice. But as I said I am totally new to large scale deployments and have only ever used a disk to disk method. Could anyone provide me with total beginners step by step instructions for the easiest and best method. Thanks! I am really struggling here.
Grommit Posted June 27, 2007 Posted June 27, 2007 Again, thanks for all advice. But as I said I am totally new to large scale deployments and have only ever used a disk to disk method. Could anyone provide me with total beginners step by step instructions for the easiest and best method. Thanks! I am really struggling here. Ghost is the EASIST.... 1/ Make good build 2/ Make Boot Disks with Ghost 3/ Upload good build with Ghost Multicast to Laptop 4/ Take Laptop into Suite and start Ghost Multicast on Laptop boot pc's with boot disks and deploy image to all PC's 6/ Run NewSID and name all PC's and add to Domain.. This is the easisit and fastest way to build a suite of the same PC spec and build.
ICT_GUY Posted June 27, 2007 Posted June 27, 2007 You missed out the sysprep. Sysprep will take out all the sid info for you, automatically name and join the new pcs to the network. all you do is run sysprep before you shutdown and take the image with ghost. It takes a little work to set up the config file for the first time but instructions can be found here. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/302577
Grommit Posted June 27, 2007 Posted June 27, 2007 You missed out the sysprep. Sysprep will take out all the sid info for you, automatically name and join the new pcs to the network. all you do is run sysprep before you shutdown and take the image with ghost. It takes a little work to set up the config file for the first time but instructions can be found here. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/302577 We are doing the easiest way and sitprep is getting slightly complicated.. Just do a good build and roll it out without Sitprep and there is no little work or any config files to configure.. Just run NewSID when naming the PC's
beermouse Posted June 27, 2007 Posted June 27, 2007 In my experience, PXE and Ghost is the only way to go, if your setup looks just a little like mine - which is old computers with no USB and bootable CD-roms, new cheap computers that each requires a new unique NIC-driver, tons of teachers' homemade programs that doesn't understand RIS or MSI or anything, the need to set various switches on the Ghost-program - and a fast network. The short time it takes to set up pays back in no time. Just my 2 øre. Beermouse
amorouspxy Posted June 27, 2007 Posted June 27, 2007 I currently have it set up with a domain controller running RIS. I have a boot disk that can auto detect the NIC and will use the appropriate driver for each card since our network is comprised largely of older machines pieced together as we go along. This works out great with our networks...nearly seamless. Here's a great step by step guide as to how to set it up including where i found the amazing boot disk. http://www.highwaycsl.com/IT/Ghost/Deploying%20Ghost%20Images%20With%20RIS.pdf The only issue that I have right now is that with windows 2003 sp2 we get WDS instead of RIS. I have my great boot disk that works perfectly for us, but without risme I don't know how to convert it to a WIM for use as my boot file. Perhaps I'm going about this the wrong way but I've only just discovered WDS and haven't had time to do a great deal of reading on it. If anyone's got any ideas on this one I'd greatly appreciate them. Thanks.
starscream Posted June 28, 2007 Posted June 28, 2007 I totally recommend Acronis True Image Workstation. You 'buy' it and install it on your PC then make a recovery CD. You then sysprep the machine you wanna image and then boot it from the acronis recovery CD. You then create a disk image to either a network share, USB drive or DVD, I love the versatility of this software.... You then take your 2nd machine, boot from CD and then pick RESTORE, you locate the image wherever you stored it and hey presto. It's pretty quick too. Obviously it is slower than multicasting for like 100s of machines but for 10 at a time it's fairly quick and dead simple. I use it all the time. It supports pretty much all hardware out of the box. It automatically lets you net card work on the network and detects USB drives on boot. Anyone else rely of Acronis? I don't know if using it this way is allowed in the licence but to be fair I only use the 1 cd so I can't see how it is a problem! You never have to make boots disks etc or use floppies at all.
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