Today was a good day! In conjunction with the general availability of Ghost Solution Suite 3.0, we held the third in our series of "How-to" webcasts to help our customers get up to speed on this exciting new release. Topics included announcing the official availability of Ghost Solution Suite 3.0, WinPE driver injection, performing a scripted OS installation, and capturing and deploying an image.
- Download or play the webcast recording
- Slides (attached to this post)
- Sample sysprep answer files (attached to this post)
- Q&A transcript (see below)
Q&A Session for Ghost Solution Suite 3.0 Webcast on June 3, 2015
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Doug C - 11:00 AM
Q: You came out with a production release, and we were not given an offer to upgrade or even download if we are current customers?
David Evans - 11:32 AM
A: Hi Doug, we had a beta open for 3 months and if you are a current subscriber you can get 3.0 today, I apologise if the marketing and messaging didn't reach you. Sometimes we struggle to get information out as we only have the purchaser information .
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Eric G- 11:13 AM
Q: As a current GSS 2.5 shop with current maintenance, how do we get GSS 3.0 and licensing?
David Evans - 11:34 AM
A: We will have sent an email to the contact email we have on file with the new license. If you don't have that you can call into our Customer Care and they will get it sent out. You will definitely have access to 3.0 at no cost if you have current maintenance . Customer Care in the US can be reached at 1 (800) 721 3934 or you can visit this link to get numbers for other countries: https://support.symantec.com/en_US/contact-us.html
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Aaron F - 11:14 AM
Q: DS 6.9 did a good job with built-in remote control via right click, but didn't work well on Windows 7 endpoints. Is this improved?
David Evans - 11:36 AM
A: Unfortunately, remote control has not been maintained as part of GSS 3.0. Remote control technology has moved so far in recent years that our technology had fallen too far behind. This was as much a security issue as it was a functional one.
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Doug C - 11:15 AM
Q: is there going to be a beta program for the next generation of GSS like stage 4,
David Evans - 11:38 AM
A: I will try and run a beta as frequently as possible so you can get an advance look at the product. I really support running betas as we are usually still in a phase were we can make fast changes.
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Francisco R - 11:19 AM
Q: We would love to give feed back, is there a email or posts that we should be looking at?
David Evans - 11:39 AM
A: The Ghost Solution Suite forum on Symantec connect (https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/endpoint-management/forums/ghost-solution-suite) is a good place to start and we also have the ideas portal for enhancement requests. Posting feedback there helps other customers to see it and we can all share the response.
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Eric G - 11:21 AM
Q: I have not received that email with the updated license.
David Evans - 11:40 AM
A: We will have sent an email to the contact email we have on file with the new license. If you don't have that you can call into our Customer Care and they will get it sent out. You will definitely have access to 3.0 at no cost if you have current maintenance . Customer Care in the US can be reached at 1 (800) 721 3934 or you can visit this link to get numbers for other countries: https://support.symantec.com/en_US/contact-us.html
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Matthew L - 11:21 AM
Q: Where is the speed increase with GSS 3? Maximum deployment for me is still ~1800MB/min unicast with great hardware. I can deploy a Mac using DeployStudio ~ 3600MB/min with equitable hardware server and client, same network infrastructure.
David Evans - 11:41 AM
A: It's something we have on our list to take a look at. I'm very aware that we need to take a couple of steps forward in this area.
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Kelly M - 11:21 AM
Q: I currently have DS 6.9 under current maintenance. Is licensing for GSS 3.0 not covered under the ITMS 7.6 maintenance?
David Evans - 11:44 AM
A: Not automatically. However, for your next ITMS renewal, you can buy Ghost Solution Suite 3.0 and renew your IT Management Suite licenses together at the combined total cost of just your renewal for IT Management Suite.
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Erik D - 11:24 AM
Q: What if we have DS 7 now, but want to use GSS 3.0?
David Evans - 11:45 AM
A: You can buy GSS 3.0 licences at the same cost as your DS 7 renewal, when your renewal comes around (or before if you want). Just contact your sales contact and we can make that happen.
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greg s - 11:26 AM
Q: Are there any special offers for DS 6.9 users that have expired licenses?
David Evans - 11:28 AM
A: Yes. You can purchase Ghost Solution Suite 3.0 at the renewal price for Deployment Solution instead of the higher version upgrade price effectively trading over your licenses to Ghost Solution Suite 3.0. Your sales rep will handle this through pre-approved discounting.
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Aaron F - 11:26 AM
Q: Is GSS 3.0 an in-place upgrade to DS 6.9 or a new install?
David Evans - 11:46 AM
A: It's a fully in-place upgrade .
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Dan G - 11:27 AM
Q: We're currently using using GSS 2.5.1, but with several different licensing files with various contacts. Is there a way to unify our licensing for GSS 3.0?
David Evans - 11:51 AM
A: We should be able to combine these purchases together. If you put in a call to our sales team they can take care of it for you.
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Eric G - 11:28 AM
Q: There is a known issue with installing embedded automation partitions on XP machines (when trying to install the partition an error of "not a valid Win 32 app" occurs. Has this been addressed/Fixed? This is critical for us since we have many XP machines .
David Evans - 11:51 AM
A: This is fixed in HF1 which will be available in a few weeks.
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Doug C - 11:30 AM
Q: So a real question is could Rob build a windows 2012 server and install everything scratch? not just used the program
A: Absolutely, but my goal with this product is to make it so that you don’t need to understand the inner workings of process to be able to use the product. Hiding the layers of complexity while still maintaining the depth of functionality is our mission.
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Mike K - 11:30 AM
Q: will there be support for LinuxPE Symantec? That expertise in Symantec Support has been lacking the last few years.
David Evans - 11:58 AM
A: We do fully support LinuxPE. If you find some challenges with our support team reach out to an escalation manager or one of us on the call. Linux knowledge is somewhat of a specialism but we definitely have those skills on our team.
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Doug C - 11:32 AM
Q: I have found that building a pe oackage with ADK vs bootwiz images faster. Almost 15 mon an hour. When the image is 3 hours that is alot of time?
A: We agree and have this on our list to improve. The way we enumerate drivers is the primary cause of this and we are looking to speed this up.
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Matthew L - 11:33 AM
Q: Where is the speed increase with GSS 3? Maximum deployment for me is still ~1800MB/min unicast with great hardware. I can deploy a Mac using DeployStudio ~ 3600MB/min with equitable hardware server and client, same network config
A: The short answer here is that we haven’t improved speed in this area. We will improve imaging speed but it’s a little further down the line. We have a lot of work to do regarding usability and modernization but will be working on this in parallel.
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Francois B - 11:34 AM
Q: Will a retail package be available for GSS 3.0 once hotfix 1 or 2 has been released?
A: GSS 3.0 will be provided by electronic means only.
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Tony G - 11:36 AM
Q: where would the -ntexact switch be entered?
A: Into the command line as part of the image deployment job.
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Mike G - 11:38 AM
Q: If I remember right, there used to be a utility to convert a boot disk image into an executable that could be run the desktop on the system being imaged. Is this still an available function in the new product?
A: We’re looking at returning this to the product, updates will be available soon.
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Mike F - 11:40 AM
Q: We were a DS 6.9 environment, then moved to 7.1 then 7.5. I image system in Brazil, US, and Canada, so DS 7.5 really works well for me here. When I move to DS 7.6, what do I really get?
A: Full details are here: http://www.symantec.com/docs/DOC8035
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Francois B - 11:41 AM
Q: Will there be details on what functions GSS 2.5 that will not be incorporated into the final GSS 3.0 product?
A: We haven’t taken anything off the table yet, we are scoping out the next release now and as soon as we take some firm decisions I will put out a communication, probably through the forum and maybe a webcast.
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Mike H - 11:42 AM
Q: Sorry I am checking in late...where can I download the new GSS3 release??
A: Ghost.com is the best place to start, the required links are there.
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Matthew L - 11:46 AM
Q: Does UEFI PXE boot work well? Or is CSM/Legacy BIOS still required?
A: UEFI PXE boot is supported.
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Matthew L - 11:46 AM
Q: Is there a way to initiate the restore the client as opposed to the console?
A: We are working on an update to enhance these capabilities in 3.0.
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Doug C - 11:47 AM
Q: In the begining there was talk about apple support is that still going to be a realitly?
A: We support managing Apple machines but imaging them is still something I’m thinking about. We added this functionality to DS 7 and that taught us that many customers are looking at the layering approach of taking the OEM image and adding configuration/apps rather than bare metal restore. This is still a discussion point.
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Todd H - 11:27 AM
Q: David... if I understand correctly. If we're lic for DS 7.5, then we are eligible to use GSS3?
David Evans - 11:48 AM
A: You can buy GSS licenses at the same cost as your DS renewal, effectively trading over your licenses. The only issue with this is that in theory you would need to wait until renewal time for this to be 100% cost effective. If you have a lot of maintenance left on your DS 7 licenses then contact your sales contact and we'll try and do something to help.
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Doug C - 11:50 AM
Q: Is there an option in the console to Secure wipe a lab of comptuers? or 1? a DOD erase?
A: We don’t have this built-in, but you can certainly create and execute a job with an external tool.
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Francois B - 11:50 AM
Q: Will there be an option to have the Label Match the PC name that was pushed out? Like a check box or something to have the label automatically change to the PC name?
A: If you mean within the console, this can be done as follows:
Tools ---> Options
Global Tab
Check "Synchronize display names with computer names"
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Denis B - 11:29 AM
Q: The new product looks very interesting but I will not be able to move to the new product until next spring. Currently running GS 2.5 - will I still be able to get tech support on the version?
David Evans - 11:52 AM
A: GSS 2.5 is still in extended support for another 12 months. We'll do whatever we can to keep you going during that time.
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Mike G - 11:54 AM
Q: Does the sysprep process also remove SCCM GUIDs?
A: Not by default.
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John S - 11:57 AM
Q: How would this "auto-deploy" handle different models of PCs?
A: We use a technology we created called DeployAnywhere that is able to manage and deploy drivers based on different hardware. There is a lot of information in the user guide and lot of articles on our connect forum.
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matt s - 11:58 AM
Q: Are we able to push gss 2.5 sysprepd images using GSS 3.0 with the "prepare using sysprep" check to apply updates to this image?
A: GSS 3.0 is backwards compatible with images GSS 2.5.
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Jason A - 11:58 AM
Q: Does GSS 3.0 support GPT partitions for EFI images?
A: We still have a couple of gaps we’re working on as quickly as we can.
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Tony G - 11:58 AM
Q: is it necessary to use the /generalize to have the deployed image generate a new SID?
A: For required OSs this is recommended
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Francois B - 11:59 AM
Q: Does the GSS 3.0 downloads include the manuals on PDF?
A: Yes, although we update our docs all the time and getting them our KB is the best option: http://www.symantec.com/docs/DOC8558
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Dwight B - 12:00 PM
Q: Can we add our own Linux PXE images to the PXE boot menu?
A: Yes, there is a user supplied option.
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Scott R - 12:00 PM
Q: Are all of the Embedded bootworks issues resolved with the GA 3.0 code ?
A: We have a number of updates coming to our embedded partition support, watch out for some updates soon. If you have specific issues I can check them out to see what the status is.
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MIke H - 12:01 PM
Q: How can I download a video of this meeting?
A: Available here: https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/blogs/how-webcast-series-ghost-solution-suite-30-june-3rd-recording
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Aaron F - 12:01 PM
Q: If Rdeploy is no longer supported then why did I see it in the drop down lists of the demo?
A: I decided not to drop it in this release to give customers a chance to transition off it. It is fully deprecated however and is not supported.
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Matt K - 12:01 PM
Q: Is Partition Engine on the road map for 3.1?
A: We’re already working on this, it should be available in one of the hotfixes before 3.1
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Scott R - 12:01 PM
Q: Link to slide deck?
A: Available here: https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/blogs/how-webcast-series-ghost-solution-suite-30-june-3rd-recording
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Daniel B - 11:57 AM
Q: Can we run GSS 2.5 and 3.0 agent client together?
A: We haven’t tested it but in theory it should work. You can only use one PXE infrastructure though.
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Vicky N - 12:01 PM
Q: when will 3.0 or 3.1 be covered in Symantec eLearning?
A: That’s currently being worked on. We will update everyone as soon as it is available. As we have incorporated much of the Deployment Solution 6.9 product the e-learning for this will still be 90% valid and will add a lot of value. http://go.symantec.com/education_elibrary
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Mike L - 12:02 PM
Q: Does DeployAnywhere now work for 2012 & win 8?
A: Yes it does.
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Josh S - 12:02 PM
Q: GSS & Mac support, Will imaging and capturing be available?
A: Not natively in this release. We support managing Apple machines but imaging them is still something I’m thinking about. We added this functionality to DS 7 and that taught us that many customers are looking at the layering approach of taking the OEM image and adding configuration/apps rather than bare metal restore. This is still a discussion point.
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Ken B - 12:03 PM
Q: Will snapshots still be a part of the new GSS 3.0?
A: We’re currently discussing this, I will provide updates when we have some direction with this feature.
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Laura H - 12:03 PM
Q: Will this be available to watch later?
A: Available here: https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/blogs/how-webcast-series-ghost-solution-suite-30-june-3rd-recording
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Todd Z - 12:03 PM
Q: Was this webinar recorded?
A: Available here: https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/blogs/how-webcast-series-ghost-solution-suite-30-june-3rd-recording
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Ken B - 12:03 PM
Q: And will existing GSS 2.5 clients show up automatically in the new console?
A: Unfortunately not, although you can remotely install the new agent the console.
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Mike H - 12:04 PM
Q: I have reached out to our sales person and I still do not have pricing. We have several license file. I work for a School Dist & reimage 95% of computers every Summer and need to get GSS3 up & officially running. Who can I call that will really help me?
A: As the release is very new information is still filtering out to all our sales teams and partners. Proving is fully available to all sales folks so they should be able to help. If you don’t get any help grab their name and PM me (David Evans) on connect.
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Denis B - 11:05 AM
Q: I have started to install the demo - is PXE required?
A: We have a couple of different automation partition options available so PXE is definitely not required.
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Denis B - 11:08 AM
Q: Can the GSS pxe co-exist with SCCM pxe?
A: I do not believe so although we don’t test it.
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Jack S - 11:19 AM
Q:We are eploring imaging otions at our university including Ghost. Is Symantec committed to this product? Can you provide some useful documentation?
A: We have worked very hard on this product of the last 12 months and I can assure you that we wouldn’t do that unless we were focused. Documentation can be found here: https://support.symantec.com/en_US/article.DOC2207.html
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Scott R - 11:22 AM
Q: Can you explain if we are going to pay more for GSS 3.0 if we are a current 6.9 customer?
A: You can buy Ghost Solution Suite 3.0 licenses at the same cost as your Deployment Solution renewal, effectively trading over your Deployment Solution licenses to Ghost Solution Suite. The only issue with this is that you would need to wait until your Deployment Solution renewal is up for this to be 100% cost effective. If you have a lot of maintenance left on your Deployment Solution licenses but want to begin using Ghost Solution Suite 3.0 right away, please contact your sales rep to see if we can help.
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Scott R - 11:23 AM
Q: If you own 6.8 and 2.5, and 6.9 is under maintenance, should we re-activate the 2.5?
A: Either way you should be paying broadly the same to convert over existing licenses. The cleanest way is to use the GSS promotion for existing expired maintenance licenses but either option should be fairly trouble free. It will take a little time for all sales teams to get to grips with this but we have the guidelines posted internally.
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Jack S - 11:26 AM
Q: We are familiar with Ghost but not DS. What is DS?
A: Deployment Solution has two products, version 6.9 and 7.x. Some technology DS 6.9 has been incorporated into GSS 3.0 and this will the platform we will move forwards with. It’s definitely a learning curve for existing GSS customers and you may want to stay with 2.5 while you learn the new product. 3.1 will have several improvements that will help the transition.
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Jan T - 11:27 AM
Q: How about Remote Control options? DAgent, RDP, pcAnywhere or Bomgar?
A: GSS will not have a remote control tool moving forward other than RDP. This reflects that remote control technology is changing and Symantec as an organisation has taken the decision to exit this market.
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Jeffrey K - 11:29 AM
Q: Do you have to use PXE?
A: We have a couple of different automation partition options available so PXE is definitely not required.
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Jack S - 11:33 AM
Q: We do not use PXE, is PXE required for imaging?
A: We have a couple of different automation partition options available so PXE is definitely not required.
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Steven G - 11:34 AM
Q: can you map a share for images only?
A: you can map as many drives as you need during the final stage of creating a boot image. Just add them to the final stage where you get to edit the ini file.
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Derek M - 11:35 AM
Q: In Boot Disk Creator, during step six (map network drives), does Ghost support variables such as '%ALTIRIS_PXE_SERVER%' so I can map drives to PXE relays and allow images to come a remote location rather the Ghost deployment server? I do this to help disk R\W.
A: There are several ways I can think of using this variable based on your description but at the very least you should be able to map a network drive using this variable.
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sangita p - 11:47 AM
Q: In script OS install task u have selected xml file.. for what purpose it is there
A: I believe you mean the answer file that allows values are pre-populated during the install. This means the full OS instal can be done without any end user interaction. Microsoft publish a huge amount of literature on it, just search the web for unattended windows install.
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Angel M - 11:53 AM
Q: what if you have SEP installed on the image will this reset the UID's?
A: Not automatically, but you can just run the official tool to remove the GUID as a job after the OS install. Find it here: https://support.symantec.com/en_US/article.HOWTO54706.html
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Scott R - 11:53 AM
Q: Are we Windows 10 RTM sysprep ready for GSS 3.0? If not will Windows 8.1 work for Windows 10 Sysprep tasks?
A: We’re working on Windows 10 support currently. We’ll have more to share once our work is complete. We will definitely be supporting Windows 10 as soon after release as possible.
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Scott R - 11:59 AM
Q: Will the license embeded into express.exe 6.9 work for GSS 3.0?
A: We have changed the licensing technology, so you will require a new license.
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Don N - 11:59 AM
Q: Was the ghost deployment process utilizing UEFI boot or legacy?
A: We support both.
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Mike B - 12:02 PM
Q: can you clarify how the image rollout works if you want to put to a specific disk partition?
A: We’re in the process of making some updates to this function. I will post an update when it’s ready.
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Shane P - 12:02 PM
Q: We use GSS 2.5 Console to image our computer labs (multiple machines) at a time. We can image the stations in mass, have the stations renamed and joined to our domain in a single task. I didn't hear much discussion on GSS 3.0's ability to image multiple machines at once. Also, our GSS 2.5 environment client workstations are reporting in to our current ghost server using the 2.5 console client on the workstations. If we upgrade our existing ghost server, will these workstations report into the new server or must we manually upgrade the clients on our existing stations?
A: Unfortunately, the upgrade is a manual process and they will use a new agent. The console easily support 2000+ machines so imaging in large numbers won’t be an issue.
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robert w - 12:03 PM
Q: How soon will a copy of this presentation be available online?
A: Available here: https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/blogs/how-webcast-series-ghost-solution-suite-30-june-3rd-recording
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