Deployment Solution

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  • 1.  Confused and frustrated. How is this better?

    Posted Jun 21, 2012 11:49 AM

    Ok,

    I'm going to try and keep the whining to a minimum here.  I really am looking for help and not just wanting to vent.  But all the same, How is DS in 7.1 any different or better than DS in 7.0?

    I kept hearing how DS in 7.1 was so dramatically improved from 7.0, that it wasn't centered around large deployments anymore and than shops that need to do simple "one-off" setups and re-images on a regular basis would now have a nice easy GUI to do it with, yadda yadda yadda...

    Yet here I am with a freshly installed and data migrated 7.1 server, and I see NOTHING different other than some slight graphics changes to the windows and icons.  the core structure is still the massive, overly-complex and unweildy monstrosity that I eventually gave up even trying to use in 7.0.  I am literally back to using the same old tools (rdeploy on a boot CD) that I was using in 7.0 because there doesn't seem to be ANY way to set up the new system to be able to simply and easily do one-off imaging jobs.

    So, since we NEVER EVER EVER do large-scale multi-PC deployments here, is there any use at all to even having DS installed?  Help me out here.  I'm just not getting how IT departments that don't need to image tens or hundreds or thousands of PCs all at once can even find a lick of use for this software. 

    What am I missing?  How can I use DS 7.1 for simple one-off imaging with pxe boot?



  • 2.  RE: Confused and frustrated. How is this better?
    Best Answer

    Posted Jun 21, 2012 02:43 PM

    Not until 7.5, the next release.  You may have been victim to some bad information.  The 7.5 release will include a redeployment menu besides the current Initial Deployment menu for unknown computers in 7.1.  Check out pages 12 and 13 in this PDF from the PowerPoint shared by Jon Sharp at Vision in May:
    https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/articles/em-b18-whats-new-deployment-solution-75

    The menu and other functionality was supposed to be available with 7.2, which would have been out already I believe, but that release was pushed and all functionality will coincide with the 7.5 release.  7.5 is currently approaching limited beta to certain select partners.

    I wouldn't feel bad about your 7.1 upgrade.  You have the improved console with the Enhanced Console view (a.k.a. Activity Center), which puts everything in one pane for managing computers and other resources.  Software and license management is easier if you're an Asset user.  You have increased performance from 64-bit and higher scalability as a result, or just snappier console performance.  You can't tell me the console isn't faster than when you were on 7.0.  You've got Patch Management 7.1 SP1, which gives you broader access to vendor patches.  You can stage and distribute in a single step -- no more waiting for bulletins to download before you can create a policy.  You can create emergency policies, which expedite all the scheduled tasks for software updates or traditional software resources.  You have bug fixes, including very many that apply to Deployment Solution.  You have DeployAnywhere for hardware-independent imaging, including for non-critical drivers.  Additional Ghost options, tokens, and scripted OS install options.  You can predefine with just a MAC address.

    So it's not a total wash.  Check out the PDF at the link above for the goodies on the DS 7.5 release.  If you're looking for a menu that all computers can get, even if they are already known to the NS, so that techs on a bench can down-arrow and select 'reimage,' it'll be in 7.5.



  • 3.  RE: Confused and frustrated. How is this better?

    Posted Jun 21, 2012 03:02 PM

    Looks like I got some bad info then.

    What really kills me is that this fancy expensive new system that Symantec put together is actually LESS useful than an antiquated version of Ghost 6 or the old rdeploy system we are using now.  At least, if you just have to image a single PC or two at a time..  Kinda crazy.

    Of course, the whole REST of CMS is very useful indeed, and we use it heavily.  Loving the new Activity center and the ability to actually patch 3rd party software.  That's just fantastic!   So Not hating on all of CMS, just the really weak deployment portion (and the idiotic use of Silverlight. Bleah.)

    Well, glad to know it's coming.  I'll fiddle around with the "new" deployment system a bit to see if I can't get something useful working.  Otherwise, I guess it's back to our rdeploy system.

    Thanks Mclemson!  You always seem to have the answer.  :)



  • 4.  RE: Confused and frustrated. How is this better?

    Posted Jun 22, 2012 10:52 AM

    Anyone know if 7.5 supports WIM images natively without having to run scripts to capture and deploy images?



  • 5.  RE: Confused and frustrated. How is this better?

    Posted Jun 22, 2012 10:59 AM

    No, it does not.  But I have heard that they would put it into the following release.

    It doesn't strike me as a complicated feature to include, but I am not a developer.  But if it's something we could script ourselves, couldn't they bake it in relatively easily?  Or release it as a beta download via a KB to interested parties, until a time when it could be properly integrated?



  • 6.  RE: Confused and frustrated. How is this better?

    Posted Jun 22, 2012 11:49 AM

    It doesn't strike me as something that would be that difficult either.  Right now I'm using my own scripts to accomplish this to I would think that the same scripts could be somehow incorporated into actual jobs.  I'm not a developer either so there could be much more to it.  Oh well.  I wanted to check.  Thank you for the response.



  • 7.  RE: Confused and frustrated. How is this better?

    Posted Jun 25, 2012 08:39 AM

    Anyone got a guess when the open beta might be?  In my spare time, I've been trying to get 7.1 to work like 7.5 apparently does.  I'd rather not waste precious man hours on this if the beta might be out in the next couple months.



  • 8.  RE: Confused and frustrated. How is this better?

    Trusted Advisor
    Posted Jun 26, 2012 08:48 AM

    We use 7.1 SP2 to image and deploy about 450 computers, it's livable.  I'm looking forward to the new PXE menu but we've been able to scrape by without it.  After computers are initially imaged, though, we only image maybe 5 machines or less per week so maybe that's why it's livable for us to do those through the console.

    For us, the benefits of patching Microsoft/Adobe/Apple in the same console outweigh the inconvenience of imaging through the console when needed (which hopefully 7.5 should address).