1. A simple way to either backup and restore the entire Ghost Database, or to export tasks and configurations to another Console machine.

In respect of this, I have written some Windows Script Host scripts that can do complete backups and restores of the database (along with the credentials and the public/private key files) that should work with GSS1.1 and up.

I've created a Google Group for anyone who wants to help test them; if you have a Google Account, sign in and request membership. Once approved, you can get the script files and report any problems with them.

Message Edited by Mark Berning on 08-31-2007 01:30 PM

One other option for shutdown is to execute shutdown command. Behaviour is not ideal since it will timeout for the machines already down. (this may raise the other enhancement to filter connected machines) if shutdown.exe is executed with parameters -s -t 30, machine will shutdown in 30 seconds, with a GUI display even if no one is logged in. Since XP and above include shutdown.exe in the OS, it is just executing the command.


Krish

Message Edited by Krish Jayaratne on 09-02-2007 01:20 PM

That's true Krish, but let's remember Tim's original request was related to not rebooting back into Windows after restoring an image. Although there might be limitations in respect of configuration stopping the task at that point (domain joining won't be complete, for instance) it would take a code change to make it work like he wants - it makes perfect sense to me, especially with the way ghconfig.exe works now.

The point you raise about connected clients is a good one - really though, there needs to be more options around task launching in general and that's just one of many. All are easy to implement in the config server, we just need UI. For instance, when you launch a task when some of the included clients are still in another task, it should at least be an option to proceed and leave those clients out (which is what the configuration server code would do right now, in fact) even if we don't get to queue tasks up just yet.

Certainly there is much to improve in that area.

I was more thinking of a workaround for what Mark brought up. There was a good discussion of an actual user scenario in How to pause a Ghost task.

Krish

Message Edited by Mark Berning on 09-02-2007 09:38 PM

Hi Mark,

Regarding your question about where to post enhancements: we read the forum, but there's a high-volume of posts, so there's no garuntee we've seen all your requests. If there are particular things you really care about, posting them in this thread would be helpful.

That error from the console when you delete a client drives me insane; there's no real reason for having the error at all, except that it means a task could end up containing no clients (but there's nothing actually wrong with that as far as my server code was concerned, it just meant the task didn't actually do anything if you tried to run it).

Since I have the database backup/restore scripts written, what's actually much easier than trying to print the tasks/reports is actually writing a script with the necessary queries to delete the clients that bypasses the console's attempts to stop you doing it. If I was to write a script to purge them, it could be able to take a regular-expression type of pattern for the name, too.

Aside from being useful in the normal case, it fits in well with using the backup/restore scripts to create duplicate server instances; backup one instance, restore it elsewhere, and then use a wildcard mass delete to purge the clients.

If you want to test them, create a Google account (you don't need to use GMail, by the way - you can create a Google account associated with any email address) and sign up at http://groups.google.com/group/gss-scripts - you don't need a Google account for the mailing-list part of Groups, but you do for the web interface where the scripts are.

Incidentally, we've (or rather, Tim Wayper has at my insistence) been trying to nail down Symantec Legal on exactly what licensing boilerplate is necessary for such scripts but that's taking some time - my preference, which I hope they approve, is an MIT-style Open Source license which means I can make such scripts more available with less rigmarole. Here's hoping...

Writing a client delete script won't happen immediately, but I'll try. Usually I get those kind of things done on nights when I'm too stressed out to get to sleep, which doesn't happen at predictable times :-)

Message Edited by Nigel Bree on 09-06-2007 12:07 AM

I have two request and they are as follows:

First request:

Using ghost console 11.0.1.1533 under the tools option, selecting remote client install. Can you add a new feature that allows us techs to input a ip address range instead of searching for the requested computers via windows network. I work in a domain where 300 other schools share the same domain. Searching for my school location takes a while for windows network to load up. If that can't be done then how about searching via subnet only. Either way I want to be able to locate my network only and not having to go through all the other schools names.

Second request:

Can you add a new feature that will import all the current computer names from the active directory that belongs only to the site techs location that will also create configuration names to match active directory imported hostnames? For example; I would like ghost console to ask me to input a location number or ip address range that belongs to my network. After that the console should search and only display my computers allowing me the option to select a group of computers or all at once of which at this point the console will prompt me for my domain rights to automatically install the remote client software. The best part yet would be that the console then automatically creates configurations files matching host name, domain name and the configuration name must be the same as the hostname. I feel that this would reduce the work load of having to deploy the remote client and create configuration files for each computer. At my school site we have 1,000 plus computers. Do the math how long it takes to create a configuration file for each computer name. Besides if the server crashes, all data pertaining to the console will be lost. Having the console to create configurations from the active directory automatically would be a time saver and makes it easy on the fingers.

Systemfire 

Thanks... 

Message Edited by systemfire on 09-16-2007 12:10 AM

1. When deploying AI packages through a GSS task, would it be possiable to *show* the name of the package? Its qute annoying not knowing what package is getting deployed to 30 computers when i have about 20 packages after a reimage.....its a long list to guess through :)

2. Can you please fix the problem with having to unjoin a client from the domain (so that it joins the domain properly when image is deployed) before you take an image? (atm i dont do this, i just run a seperate task - but i shouldnt need to run it as i was sure this feature was avaible in previous versions..)

3. Email notifactions for GSS tasks that are run. Could be a lot of emails, but very useful if i dont want to sit in front of the console all day :)

4. Intel vPro compatabilty would be nice too... i know a few other products that do this atm. We are starting to get more desktops with this feature.

5. Also is it possiable to have a 'asset tag' field or even a 'comments' tag that we can append custom information about a GSS client that we can view from the console (maybe through the properties box on the GSS client)? This would help identify clients where the GSS client in the console does NOT display up to date configuration detials (where a configuration task has NOT yet been run). 

cheers,

Aaron

Message Edited by Aaron8IT on 09-16-2007 05:44 PM

Timothy,

Thanks for the opportunity to post suggestions.  Here are a few things that would be quite nice for me and my colleagues:

1.  WinPE based console partitions, so that the NIC drivers and TCP/IP stack used are the same as Windows.  We're seeing significant performance differences between the Broadcom Windows driver and NDIS2 driver, for instance.  

2.  I second Tim's suggestion on the the drag-and-drop ability.

3.  I also second Tim's suggestion on a mechanism to determine what tasks a particular machine is part of.  Especially when trying to delete a machine, and it yells at you that it is part of a task, but you have no idea which.  We have dozens of tasks configured, so that is bothersome.

4.  Scriptability.  It would be nice to have a scriptable way of changing all the default configurations for the machines in a particular machine group to be joined to the same domain/OU, for instance.

5.  A remote way of accessing the Ghost console.  Currently, we have a couple of people who utilize the same Ghost server; we currently have to share the same RDP session on the server to do it.

Thanks,
Eric