Ghost Solution Suite

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  • 1.  Ghostcast Client Auto-connect

    Posted Aug 03, 2012 10:42 AM

    Good morning,

    We have Ghost Solution Suite 2.5, which we use for all of our imaging. Right now we have to hook up a keyboard and a monitor to every computer, and go through the process of connecting that comptuter to the session we are hosting to get it to go. It is needless to say quite sucky especially when you are imaging multiple computers at once. 

    My question is, what do I have to set up (I will leave the a basic idea of our setup at the bottom) to get all of the clients to auto connect to the ghostcast server so that I can just press send and the computers begin being imaged? 

    Our Setup:

    • Regular computer running windows xp with Ghost Solution Suite 2.5 installed. This is the Ghostcast Server.
    • 3 Com SuperStack II 1100 24 port switch 
    • The Client computer varies.

    We keep the GhostCast server and the SuperStack switch on its own little network just for a little added security and because there is really no reason to have the switch on the main network. If you could let me know how to set-up this automated connection process, that would be great!

    Thanks in advance!

    Bobby-



  • 2.  RE: Ghostcast Client Auto-connect

    Posted Aug 03, 2012 10:48 AM

    moved to Ghost Solution forum for better visibility

     



  • 3.  RE: Ghostcast Client Auto-connect

    Posted Aug 03, 2012 11:08 AM

    I wasn't exactly sure where to put the post, I just registered for the site.



  • 4.  RE: Ghostcast Client Auto-connect

    Posted Aug 03, 2012 11:24 AM

    no worries. ;)



  • 5.  RE: Ghostcast Client Auto-connect

    Posted Aug 03, 2012 12:03 PM

    If you want to multicast, then have you enabled IGMP snopping on your switch?

    If you are unfamiliar with IGMP then enter IGMP on the search line at the top of the forum and read any/all postings by Nigel Bree, one of the former Ghost developers.



  • 6.  RE: Ghostcast Client Auto-connect

    Posted Aug 03, 2012 12:47 PM

    do these computers have an OS on them that you normally use, and you just want to restore them?  or are they broken/new out of box and you are doing it for the first time?

    for them to autoconnect when you press the button on the server (and you are using the console) they have to have the client on them and the client has to be able to phone home



  • 7.  RE: Ghostcast Client Auto-connect

    Posted Aug 03, 2012 01:04 PM

    I will look in to IGMP and get back to you.



  • 8.  RE: Ghostcast Client Auto-connect

    Posted Aug 03, 2012 01:07 PM

    The only time we image a comptuer is if it is brand new or if something goes wrong with it. We don't use ghost for backups if that is what you are asking.

    We don't use the Ghost console, only use the "GhostCast Server". 



  • 9.  RE: Ghostcast Client Auto-connect

    Posted Aug 03, 2012 03:34 PM

    I enabled IGMP on my switch, and I will explain to you what I have set up so far on each end. I created a ghost boot drive with the following settings:

    • Windows PE (Default)
    • Standard Ghost Boot Disk
    • DHCP will assign the IP settings (Router Hops: (16))
    • USB Disk (FAT)
    • No additional files included
    • Then in the Configuration files under "START.BAT: at the bottom I added the line "-ja=xp -sure -rb" because that is what I had heard on another forum
    • Then I create the bootable disk.

    On the ghostcast side there is nothing specially configured specially. The session name is set to "xp" and the image file is pointing to the a local location on the servers hard drive to push to the client. I then hit accept clients and plug the bootable usb into the computer I am imaging and boot from it. Once it loads, It does nothing. It boots up like a normal ghost boot disk, so you have to go through the process. I am at a loss with this, I don't know how to get it to connect to the multicast on its own.

    PS: below is what the "start.bat" script looks like.

     

    set path=%path%;x:\ghost
     
    x:
    cd \ghost
    rem --- This will create primary OS drive configuration ---
    ghost32.exe /setosdrives /blind >> x:\ghost\startlog.txt
    start ghost32.exe
    -ja=xp -sure -rb
     


  • 10.  RE: Ghostcast Client Auto-connect

    Posted Aug 06, 2012 04:34 AM

    To be able to "push" an operating system image, you need to have a client on the target machine and from the description you have provided, this is not going to happen.

    You need a solution where the target machine is booted using the WinPE boot environment, connects to the image folder on your Ghost machine (or any other "server"), and then "pulls" the image down to the machine.

    Your WinPE boot disk therefore needs to have the correct Vista 32 bit drivers (as WinPE is based on the Vista kernel) for the NIC and the SATA chipsets on the target machines. The start.bat is then configured to connect to the image share, and to run Ghost with the appropriate command line defining the source image, the target partition, etc, etc.  This process can be fully automatic.