[THIN] Re: Imaging MPS 3.0 w/ Ghost or other Imaging Software for Deployment

  • From: RMC - Brian Hill <brian.hill@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "'thin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'" <thin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Thu, 2 Dec 2004 17:26:21 -0500

Ya, pretty much.  :)  The images I have are never in the domain or in the
production farm before being imaged.  Updates are always made to a base
image rather than removing a machine from the domain or uninstalling
anything.  Call me old school, but I have never been confident in unstalling
a program and it removing itself 100%.  Metaframe is initially installed in
the "NewBuild" farm using an access datastore.  When running CHFARM, I can
then use any datastore I choose.  The base image name matches my existing
name convention since Ghostwalker will not allow you to change the length of
the name (NewSid has no issue with this).  I have a sort of version control
on Ghost images and take several snapshots during the build process, logging
all changes from fresh install all the way to final build, so I can go back
to any point I need if I have to change something.  If there are updates to
the image, I simply blast my base image to a lab server, do the updates, and
save the image as a new version.  This also allows me to quickly revert to
the old version if an update or patch just doesn't work out.  With remote
insight boards on HP servers, I have successfully imaged servers from home,
which would omit an extra step!  :)  Add something like Altiris to the mix,
and you can get really creative.  For me, deployment of a new server (or
rebuilding a server) takes less than 15 minutes (roughly, depending on the
size of the image) once the server physically on the network.

Brian

-----Original Message-----
From: Rusty Yates [mailto:rusty27@xxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Thursday, December 02, 2004 4:40 PM
To: thin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [THIN] Re: Imaging MPS 3.0 w/ Ghost or other Imaging Software
for Deployment


So let me get this right.  These are the steps that you take?

On a 2003 Server w/ MPS 3.0 Server that is in production:
Creating Image:
1.  Place the server in a dummy farm (if it is in production farm)
2.  Put the server in a workgroup (if it isn't already)
3.  Image Server
Restoring Image:
1.  run Newsid, changing the name & SID.
2.  reboot
3.  Join Domain, then run CHFARM before rebooting
4.  reboot
5.  Go home :)


On Thu, 2 Dec 2004 15:09:23 -0500, RMC - Brian Hill
<brian.hill@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I have to disagree slightly, although I do agree that your process does
> work.  In similar fashion, I do build the server outside of the domain,
and
> once I blast the image down I do the following:
> 
> If it's 2000, I run Ghostwalker right after I image before I ever boot it,
> change the SID & rename.  Boot for first time.
> If it's 2003 I boot to W2k3 and run Newsid, changing the name & SID.
> Reboot.
> I then join the Domain and then Run CHFARM before rebooting (Citrix is
> initially installed to a spurious farm).  Reboot and you're finished.
> Go home  :)
> 
> If it's Windows 2k, we're talking one reboot.  2003 requires and
additional
> because Ghostwalker doesn't work with 2k3.  Your procedure definitely
works
> and there is nothing wrong with it, although, my bets are that running
> CHFARM is much cleaner than uninstalling and reinstalling Metaframe, and
has
> to be quicker, even with an unattended install.  The method I use still
> joins the domain and farm anew, but saves the extra step of reinstalling
> Metaframe and any patches.  I've yet to have the first issue with this
> method since the inception of XP.  There is nothing wrong with the method
> you use.  It just seems like some extra steps, reboots, and time involved
to
> create the unattended install, reinstall Metaframe, and reinstall
Metaframe
> patches if applicable, rather than just running CHFARM and being done with
> it.
> 
> 
> 
> HTH,
> 
> Brian :)
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Steve Greenberg [mailto:steveg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: Thursday, December 02, 2004 1:15 PM
> To: thin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [THIN] Re: Imaging MPS 3.0 w/ Ghost or other Imaging Software
> for Deployment
> 
> Our favorite approach is to remove Metaframe, remove the machine from the
> domain and give it a meaningful name like "baseimage" in workgroup "image"
> and set the network to DHCP. Then deploy the image to a new machine with
> tool of choice, set host name and IP, join domain and install Metaframe
> using an unattended script. This way, there are no issues with domain SIDs
> and farm membership.
> 
> However, it is possible to keep Metaframe installed and create an image,
but
> we feel the additional steps it requires are equivalaent to amount of work
> above without the "warm and fuzzy" of joining the domain and the farm
anew.
> 
> Steve Greenberg
> Thin Client Computing
> 34522 N. Scottsdale Rd. suite D8453
> Scottsdale, AZ 85262
> (602) 432-8649
> (602) 296-0411 fax
> steveg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: thin-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:thin-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf
> Of Rusty Yates
> Sent: Thursday, December 02, 2004 8:56 AM
> To: Thin
> Subject: [THIN] Imaging MPS 3.0 w/ Ghost or other Imaging Software for
> Deployment
> 
> What is everything using to deploy MPS 3.0?  I'm looking to see if there
are
> better solutions out there.
> 
> We are currently using the following steps to Image our MPS 3.0 Servers:
> 
> Create Image:
> 1. Uninstall Citrix
> 2. SysPrep Server
> 3. Ghost Server
> 
> Restore Image:
> 1. Restore Image
> 2. Install Citrix
> 3. Install Citrix Hotfixs, etc.....
> 
> My main question is can we create a Image that can be deployed without
> having to uninstall Citrix first?
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