Deployment and Imaging Group

I have been using the DS 6.9 SP6 console for several years and am trying to replicate the same in my lab under the 7.5 platform. I have gone through the docmentation and the modules in the elibrary but can't seem to get things going in this new layout.

Over 2 years ago we migrated all image files from gho to wim. The Win 7 image is bare bones with additional configuration tasks and software installs sequenced accordingly.  I have attempted to do the same in 7.5 put it is not working out. Do I really need to revert back to gho images?

I did get my wim image file imported into the Disk Images folder in the console (don't ask me how, I have to figure out how to reproduce this)

I created a task to map the drives, it reports as successfully, but nothing is listed when running a net use to confirm.  Then had the deploy image job pointing to my wim, but it simply says failed.  I also tried to include an install antivirus job but the execution failed. 

Anyone have any reference material I can use to get this going or offer any assistance?

Hello,

 In regard to your question "Do I really need to revert back to gho images?", what I can say is that since DS 7.5 SP1 the only supported imaging tool is Ghost.

 If you are going to use .wim images you will need to create scripts and customize the "Jobs\Tasks" and unfortunately this will not be officially supported by symantec. 

Best regards,

Ruben

msigler,

I have a Scripted OS Install that works great.

RDEPLOY is still an option but it appears to be getting phased out slowly.

GHOST is still an option and looks to be getting some development love, so I suspect it will be around for a while longer.

The SOI process is an option for deploying a WIM but keep in mind that the process involves uploading the sources folder and that you must not change the name (of the folder).

I basically use the SOI process to build my ghost image to insure that the build process is consistent and complete but there is no reason that you have to recapture with ghost.

7.5 has some examples of capturing and deploying a WIM and as long as you use Microsoft standard tools and understand VBscipt and/or PowerShell. You should be able to do almost anything you want but who supports what is going to be a challenge.

Back to the SOI process. I don't have the documentation on this or links (sorry) but you should be able to use standard Microsoft processes or however you did it in 6.9. Then replace the Install.WIM under Sources with your customized WIM (You must keep the Install.WIM name). Upload the 'OS Files' as per Symantec documentation and deploy using an ’Install Windows OS' task.

If you can't follow this rambling and need a step by step write up, give me some time and I can put one together as I really need to document this process anyway.  

Summary: 1. Create your initial WIM using Microsoft processes. 2. Replace the Install.WIM under the Sources folder, insure that you keep the Install.WIM name. 3. Upload the Sources folder using the OS Files task. You might need to use the import tool outside of the console if it won’t upload. 4. Create a Install Windows OS task to deploy your system.

I’m sure I can streamline this if I was to document it and validate each step but for now, this is all that I have.

msigler,

OK, I re-read your post and thought I would add the following.

1. The SOI files will end up under the “Scripted Install Files”

2. If you want to just script a WIM install, you don’t upload the WIM in the Deployment section, treat it as software.

3. Validate your drive mapping. This should be normal script testing.

   1. Remember that 7.x no longer has a place to store drive mapping. This must be scripted. You can use TOKENS to get the APPID, use loginw.exe to create a password file, or put the user information in the script (If you don’t include the password, you will need to enter it at build time at the computer.

4. If you’re still shooting for straight WIM install and not SOI, most everything will be a script that you must maintain it.

Ghost is the imaging platform of choice for Symantec although we are making the ImageX tool available as well as DISM in 7.6. The next step will be to create a default job for deploying .wim images and this is something I'm considering for the next service pack. Creating a job to do this is pretty straightforward though and I think we might even be including a sample command line in the documentation.

Ghost is being actively developed and as the plan executes I expect to see further benefits in Ghost that you simply can't get elsewhere. At that point I hope that everyone will be pushing hard to move to Ghost from WIM images. Until that time I'll certainly try and do what I can to help support both image types.

RDeploy is completely undeveloped at this point. I was sorry to see it go but as with the DS 6.9/GSS project we desperately need to consolidate technologies to be able to spend our development dollars in the right place. 

Just a final point, GSS 3.0 is coming out in a few months, this will largely borrow from DS 6.9 and there should be a seamless in place upgrade. You don't need to move away from DS 6.9 unless you have a compelling reason to do so. 

David

Hi,

 Thank you David for providing this valuable information.

Best regards,

Ruben.

Hello David

Will there be a feature in Ghost to service your image offline like there is in WIM (inject patches)?
If not, I doubt that anyone will even consider switching from WIM to GHO.

What do the others think?

JSpur, thanks for the input.  If possible, could you provide a step by step document as you suggested?  I'm not strong in the scripting world at all so customizing is going to be a bit of a challenge for me.

I just let the patch management tool inject patches post image (MS, Adobe, Chrome, etc).  I guess if you're just a DS customer though, that doesn't help.

Thanks David for the insite to whats comming. I'm looking forward to seeing what's next. FYI, At this point and time, my pain point is DeployAnywhere but only due to others expectations.

msigler, sorry for the delay. I will start working on it now.

Hello Sally

But that's not "injecting" but just "installing". And costs a lot of time.
I'm talking about servicing the image so that your image is up-to-date after deploying it (dism.exe).