Deployment Solution

Hello everyone, I'm just about ready to deploy Windows 7 using DS7.1, but I'm having trouble figuring out the best way to do this. I'd like to use pre-defined computers using the CSV file, but importing by MAC address is terribly inconvenient. It might be one thing if we had received a spreadsheet or something from the manufacturer with S/N and MAC addresses, but at the moment I don't have that, and I do have 500+ new computers to image. However, even with that spreadsheet, knowing the MAC address would still be problematic.

500 computers come in one large batch, destined for multiple locations. Our computer names follow a standard as follows:

2-letter Building Code + Room Number + the unique part of the S/N

So for example a PC headed for the Main Office, room 210 and a Dell Service Tag of 7LPYYN1 might be named
MO210YYN1

At present, I can think of 3 solutions to image these computers

1. Pre-Defined Computers, importing them in one at a time and then imaging them. This requires entering the BIOS of each computer and recording the MAC, then entering it into the CSV file. Bulk imports would be impossible even if I had all MAC addresses at once, because when the 500 computers get divvied up between locations, there would be no way to determine which MAC addresses went to which location. Our domain OU structure is based on location, so I can't populate the CSV file with domain information until I know exactly which location a particular PC and MAC address is going to.

2. Initial Deployment menu - Boot up the unknown computer to the Initial Deployment menu, then have a technician manually select which imaging job to run. I can add a Reconfigure job to the end of the imaging job to have the MININT-XXXXX name changed to something easier to remember, "ITNEWPC1, ITNEWPC2, etc", but I still need a tech to go to each physical PC, find out what it's called, and then go back to the Altiris console to rename it based on our naming standard.

I realize our naming standard is an artificial constraint in this situation, but it also makes computers much easier to track. If there were a better way to name them that would solve this problem, I'm all ears.

3. Lastly, I could allow an unknown computer to PXE boot once, so that it becomes "known" to Altiris. I could find the MININT-XXXXX name, then drop an imaging job on the PC along with a reconfigure job. This is seriously sloppy, and I'm very resistant to doing it this way.

Unfortunately every way is very inefficient. The problem would be solved entirely if I could only add computers based on S/N. The serial number is written on each box and I can scan them in with a barcode scanner! I REALLY hope the problem of importing computers via S/N is fixed soon. But until then, what to do? Does anyone see something I've missed? Thank you for your time,

Bumping this thread. Can I take from everyone's silence on this issue that NO ONE is use using the import of pre-defined computers effectively? I admit, it's a pain in the rear end.

 I haven't found an effective way yet! It's DS 7.1's biggest drawback, IMO, and a really big one at that. I'm surprised a better solution wasn't found before the product was released to the public.

I'm PRAYING that the next revision of DS 7.1 will allow us to import by serial number, which is infinitely more workable. (Do you hear me, DS gods!? I'm talking to you!)

Hallo DustinW

I am actually currently in a problem bit similar to your, i though am using Workflow to try to solve mine.
(I have not yet gotten this to function work, i am trying to create my computer via workflow, and afterwards assigning a task to it).

You could use solution nr. 2 and then create a vbscript that changes the computername in the unattend.xml right after your image has been dropped down to your client, this way you get your computer renamed, and you no longer need to do a reconfigured.
Then you could use a fx. powershell script that adds the computer to the domain based on the computername.
If you are interested i have both a vbscript that does this, and a powershell script that does this.

Kind Regards
Morten Leth

We are looking for a script which will prompt on the PC (in WinPE) to enter a computer name before it starts to deploy the image to the machine, we find turning 5-6 computers on and putting them in to PXE boot, then deploying via the initial deployment menu to be far quicker than adding the computers as predifined, waiting for the to be detected, booting to PXE then applying from the console.

The only downside is the computers are bound to the domain as "MININT-xxx" when we'd like to be able to manually rename them before the deployment begins.

Any ideas?

The upcoming release of DS will have the ability to import and Use Metadata information in the Pre-defined Computer Spreadsheet

The new UI will enabled to provide more information to be imported

Will also have ability to Import a computer based on computer name only

Other fields including MAC, Serial Number and UUID will be optional fields.

The same mentioned in sticky note of Beta release- check : https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/forums/ds-71-sp2-beta-pre-registration-open-4

Hey JMRoberts

This vbscript does what you want, you have to in your unattend.xml file have in the computername section _COMPUTERNAME_REPLACE_ as the computername, and you need to in WinPE have D: selected as the diskdrive, then the naming of the computer works like a charm, i use it myself. :)

Of course there are rules you need to follow which is currently not build into the vbscript, fx. your computername must not be longer than 15 characters. I hope you can use it.

Oh yeah, this script needs to be run just after the image has been deployed ;)
 

Option Explicit
Dim answer, computerName, unattendFile, WshShell, fso, unattendFileObject, strContents

unattendFile = "D:\windows\Panther\unattend.xml"
 
Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
 
Do While answer <> vbYes
   computerName = InputBox("Enter the desired Computer Name:", "Computer Name")
   answer = MsgBox("Is this correct?" & vbCrLf & "Computer Name: " & computerName, vbYesNo, "Verify Name")
Loop
 
If fso.FileExists(unattendFile) = False Then
   wscript.echo "ERROR: Could not find the unattend file"
Else
   'Read the unattend file in and replace apprpriate variables
   Set unattendFileObject = fso.OpenTextFile(unattendFile, 1)
   strContents = unattendFileObject.ReadAll
   strContents = Replace(strContents, "_COMPUTERNAME_REPLACE_", computerName)
   unattendFileObject.Close
 
   'Write the updated contents back to the unattend file
   Set unattendFileObject = fso.OpenTextFile(unattendFile, 2)
   unattendFileObject.Write(strContents)
   unattendFileObject.Close
End If