Ghost Solution Suite

Hi everyone, I was just wondering if I would be able to accomplish the following with GSS 2:

We have 25-30 computer labs, each have which have different images because of the different software used in each lab. The parts of the image that are the same are that each has WinXP SP 2 with all updates, Novell Client, MS Office, and GroupWIse e-mail client. Then, each lab has its own speciality software. We'd like to just have to update the "base" image (i.e- updates to Windows or Novell software) once, and be able the use that for the base image for all of the labs. Then, have different incremental images for each lab, with the "speciality" software.

We'd want to do the following:

1. Create one image of fresh installed Windows XP sp2 with base-level
software.

2. Create 25 differential backups each will include special software
packages for each lab.

Now, if we need to upgrade the base-level software, we could just update
the one base image and then re-image any machine with it and then re-image
it with it's normal back-up image that had previously been created?

And if the specialty software needs to be update in the image, we just add
that to the differential backup and re-image the computers with the new
differential backup.

Any chance this could happen ? Thanks for your help in advance!

If you are using the console you can do this with the Auto Install packager.

Build your base image with all of the software that is common in all labs.
Then on a model machine loaded with you base image you remove the Ghost console client and install the Auto Install tools (snapshot and builder).

You create a snapshot (this records all of the files on your system).

Then you install one of the specialist products and run another snapshot.

Then using the AI builder creates a single .exe file of the differences between the first and second snapshots (copy this up to your console server). On the server you will need to use the package builder again and replace any mention of the model machines 'machinename' with one of the system variables such as $machinename$ and rebuild the package (this makes it generic and should be able to deploy it to any machine built with your base image.

Then on the model machine remove the AI tools, re-install the console client and reload your base image.

Now in your console you can create an image deployment task but with the additional task of deploy ai package. It is important to test as sometimes you may need to do a little tweaking to fix issues. For example I have a package to deploy SQL 200 or 2005 and it works well apart from the fact that the internal @@servername variable is not detectable by the ai builder, so I have a bat files and sql script that I transfer and run as part of the deployment task and it corrects the problem without any user intervention.

Build an AI package for all of your specialist software in the same way. It requires a bit of time, but when complete you have a really flexible system that can deploy a base image and any combination of specialist applications as require. Obviously this is a simplified description but there is plenty of this subject in the help.