Remote imaging solution...

Hey guys, I am trying to pitch an idea to mgmt for a remote imaging solution for our small shop. I was looking into Ghost Solution Suite but if anyone knows of a better alternative please let me know.

In terms of hardware, what should I look into for the server and switch? It would need to be able to handle about 10-12 simultaneous imaging sessions.

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Zartanasaurus

Does your small shop already have some Windows Servers? If so, WDS is free.

CChilderhose

Yes if you have Windows 2008 then you can use Windows Deployment Services which is built-in.

It uses WIM Image files which are much better than Ghost files. Now this only works with Windows 7 & 2008 mind you.

So if you are still on XP then you will need to go the Ghost route.

Good luck.

Claymoore

CChilderhose wrote: »

Yes if you have Windows 2008 then you can use Windows Deployment Services which is built-in.

It uses WIM Image files which are much better than Ghost files. Now this only works with Windows 7 & 2008 mind you.

So if you are still on XP then you will need to go the Ghost route.

Good luck.

Not exactly. WDS was released as part of Server 2003 R2/SP2 and replaced RIS. I have used WDS to deploy XP WIMs as far back as 2007, and recently helped a customer move from RIS and WDS in legacy mode to a full WDS infrastructure that leverages MDT to deploy both Server 2003 and XP. Server 2008 adds freatures to WDS, such as multicasting, but is not a requirement to run WDS.

RobertKaucher

Claymoore wrote: »

Not exactly. WDS was released as part of Server 2003 R2/SP2 and replaced RIS. I have used WDS to deploy XP WIMs as far back as 2007, and recently helped a customer move from RIS and WDS in legacy mode to a full WDS infrastructure that leverages MDT to deploy both Server 2003 and XP. Server 2008 adds freatures to WDS, such as multicasting, but is not a requirement to run WDS.

Claymoore, aren't there some restrictions on XP WIMs compared to what can be done with Vista and 7 based WIMs? I recall reading about that in prep for the MCITP EDA7 beta exam but that was a long time ago and I have never used WDS for XP machines.

OP: There is also fogproject.org

I have never used it but have heard good things. My vote would be WDS, personally.

Claymoore

RobertKaucher wrote: »

Claymoore, aren't there some restrictions on XP WIMs compared to what can be done with Vista and 7 based WIMs? I recall reading about that in prep for the MCITP EDA7 beta exam but that was a long time ago and I have never used WDS for XP machines.

There are differences in how drivers are detected and offline OS servicing like adding language packs. The only serious issue I have encountered was how the Win7-based WINPE 3.0 handles large drives. The XP image was failing until we made a registry edit to change how PE partioned the drive.

kriscamaro68

hex_omega wrote: »

Hey guys, I am trying to pitch an idea to mgmt for a remote imaging solution for our small shop. I was looking into Ghost Solution Suite but if anyone knows of a better alternative please let me know.

In terms of hardware, what should I look into for the server and switch? It would need to be able to handle about 10-12 simultaneous imaging sessions.

If you want something that is free and don't have a windows server to use WDS then here is an alternative: PING (Partimage Is Not Ghost)

I used that a lot a few years back at a previous job and it worked well.

hex_omega

We are just a small repair shop for a national RTO company. As such, we do a lot of imaging to refresh the merch and only work on a handful of particular models(Mostly Dell, HP, with a few Toshibas, Sony, and Samsung). We don't have AD or any Windows servers of anykind. All I need is a standalone server (perhaps one with a fiber NIC) and a kickass-enough switch to get the job done. It will be gigabit drops to all 12 stations. Maybe we could use Server 2008 and WDS in a workgroup setting?

Zartanasaurus

If you have the ability to stand up a Win2k8 server, then you can make it a DC and DHCP server and run WDS.

kriscamaro68

hex_omega wrote: »

We are just a small repair shop for a national RTO company. As such, we do a lot of imaging to refresh the merch and only work on a handful of particular models(Mostly Dell, HP, with a few Toshibas, Sony, and Samsung). We don't have AD or any Windows servers of anykind. All I need is a standalone server (perhaps one with a fiber NIC) and a kickass-enough switch to get the job done. It will be gigabit drops to all 12 stations. Maybe we could use Server 2008 and WDS in a workgroup setting?

Or you could use what I told you to in my previous post and pay nothing. It runs off a very basic linux install and can push multiple images over a network. You can check out the link and use a free solution or spend a ton of money using server 2008.