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? > ******************************************************** > This Weeks Sponsor Activaeon.com > Reduce licensing costs with activAeon XA and get one month completely free. > http://www.activaeon.com > ********************************************************** > Useful Thin Client Computing Links are available at: > http://thin.net/links.cfm > ThinWiki community > http://www.thinwiki.com > *********************************************************** > For Archives, to Unsubscribe, Subscribe or set Digest or Vacation mode use > the below link: > http://thin.net/citrixlist.cfm > > ******************************************************** > This Weeks Sponsor Activaeon.com > Reduce licensing costs with activAeon XA and > get one month completely free. > http://www.activaeon.com > ********************************************************** > Useful Thin Client Computing Links are available at: > http://thin.net/links.cfm > ThinWiki community > http://www.thinwiki.com > *********************************************************** > For Archives, to Unsubscribe, Subscribe or > set Digest or Vacation mode use the below link: > http://thin.net/citrixlist.cfm > ******************************************************** > This Weeks Sponsor Activaeon.com > Reduce licensing costs with activAeon XA and > get one month completely free. > http://www.activaeon.com > ********************************************************** > Useful Thin Client Computing Links are available at: > http://thin.net/links.cfm > ThinWiki community > http://www.thinwiki.com > *********************************************************** > For Archives, to Unsubscribe, Subscribe or > set Digest or Vacation mode use the below link: > http://thin.net/citrixlist.cfm > ******************************************************** This Weeks Sponsor Activaeon.com Reduce licensing costs with activAeon XA and get one month completely free. http://www.activaeon.com ********************************************************** Useful Thin Client Computing Links are available at: http://thin.net/links.cfm ThinWiki community http://www.thinwiki.com *********************************************************** For Archives, to Unsubscribe, Subscribe or set Digest or Vacation mode use the below link: http://thin.net/citrixlist.cfm ******************************************************** This Weeks Sponsor Activaeon.com Reduce licensing costs with activAeon XA and get one month completely free. http://www.activaeon.com ********************************************************** Useful Thin Client Computing Links are available at: http://thin.net/links.cfm ThinWiki community http://www.thinwiki.com *********************************************************** For Archives, to Unsubscribe, Subscribe or set Digest or Vacation mode use the below link: http://thin.net/citrixlist.cfm