Initial image creation
Ok, I am finally to the point where I need to create the computer images. Seeing as I need to create "base" images for 3 different sites that all have their own DS server can anyone point/guide me to a place where I can find information on how to create the cleanest image possible free from server settings that will point it to the wrong Altiris DS server. I came across the "Stand-Alone" boot disk option and cannot find any clear information how that works. I kind of thought it would work that you can boot off this CD or Flash drive created and it will connect to the server so you can pull and maybe even push images to a computer without having the AClient or DAgent installed and not having any Automation partition installed. However when I boot off this CD it loads into Altiris Automation but sits at a prompt like it waiting for a command. Now I guess I assumed this would establish a connection (at least a temporary one) to the server so I could pull this "base" image I created so I could use that to build a few specific images off it and share it with my other schools that also have computers of this model without having any settings for my Altiris DS server in the image.
I hope that makes sense and if anyone wants to outline how they accomplish pulling the images they create and it would be awesome if you were a mulitple site scenario that was similar to mine. I am coming from using Ghost Enterprise and I fear that I am trying to make this harder than it really is. The problem is I have to get these steps down pat so I can share them with my other technicians and I need it to be relatively easy for them or anyone else to follow.
Thank you in advance.
Hi, I not sure if I get you
Hi,
I not sure if I get you correctly, but in a multiple site scenario with several Deployment Servers I would tend toward the following strategy,
This way, one image is good for all sites. You could also go a step further and inject drivers too with your aclient_install batch file to make the image a bit more resiliant to hardware variations between schools.
Initiating a PXE boot (usually F12) will normally suffice to boot off your site's Deployment Server. Though you can create a automation CD, or USB stick image which will do the same thing.
I hope this helps. If i've misunderstood anything here though, just give me a prod...
Kind Regards,
Ian./
Ian Atkin
Senior Developer for the ICT Support Team,
Oxford University, UK
Let me see if I can clarify
Sorry for the delay in my response, I was off on vacation for a couple weeks. I guess part of my problem is I am comparing the way we did things in the old Ghost Enterprise to Altiris and the other part of my dilema is that I am supposed to teach the use of Altiris to people that can barely manage themselves out of a paper bag. We do not currently use Sysprep but it is something I would like to explore. My network manager insists on telling me not to worry about that yet and just continue to do things the older way. So basically I was going to use a utility like NewSID to change the SID. Since we do not use Windows volume licensing and use the OEM Windows XP using NewSID works well and I am under a time crunch so I need to get something in order before school starts so we can image these computers and then I can revise the process later to improve it. But I am basically teaching myself here as my organization refused to pay for professional services to help me out so I thank you (and everyone) for your patience.
With ghost I was able to make a bootable CD and a Bootable Flash drive that could connect to the ghost server as long as a manual session was set up on the server. I made things real easy to upload an image that was free from the client and any building specific settings. Then the buildings made their slight modifications to the image and installed the client that was specific to their server and so on and re-uploaded their unique image. To me Symantec/Altiris Admin instructions are very hard to read and I can never seem to get a clear idea of what needs to be done. That is why I wish I could have a person that knew Altiris DS in and out for at least a few days to show him what I am trying to accomplish and point me in the right direction. I just thought maybe the Stand Alone Boot disk option was something that could be created on a CD or a flash drive that when inserted and the computer booted off it the computer would show up on the server. Then you could assign a pull image (or push image) task to it. I guess I interpreted that wrong.
Do you have any links to some easy to follow sysprep instructions. At one point I remember seeing some information on Technet about a generic product key that could be used when imaging OEM XP, but I cannot seem to locate that now. I thought I bookmarked it. I seem to be running into circles here and also my Network Manager is saying that he would not want to use PXE on Altiris as it seems to interfere with the way he has our thin client machines set up with CITRIX which also uses PXE and I am not sure what to do there.
You can do this...
PXE boot the machine, and on your pull image job in the deployment console check the box that says "Do not boot to Production." This will pull the image without having to reboot and try to contact the AClient first.
By the way, just because I work with you doesn't mean I can't manage my way out of a paper bag :P
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