Ghost Solution Suite

I have just set up GSS 2.0 on my Windows 2003 Server.  I have set up a ideal configuration of my worstation and copied it back to the server as a Ghost Image, all successfully.

 

I now have 60 other workstations (Dell 745's) - can I still connect to Solution Suite somehow with a boot disk?  - The reason I'm asking is I haven't used any recent versions of Ghost - the last version I used was just the old ms-dos version with a connection to a Windows NT Server.

 

With solution suite I cannot seem to see which way to connect new workstations to the server to distribute images easily...

I assume you mean to map a network share?  Try the "Drive Mapping Boot Package" in the GSS Boot Wizard if that is what you want.

Well I didn't really want the drive mapping boot disk - I could never get it to work.

 

I basically wanted to run ghost.exe from a network boot floppy and connect it to the the server running GSS 2 and then multicast an image!  If that is possible.....

the ghost executeable + nic support files are too big for a single disk.  At one point in time there was a two disk bootable disk option but I havent used those in ages so I don't know what it gives you.

Can you do a boot cd rom then??

 

Which way do most people roll out an image from the server to new workstations?

 

Otherwise I'm going to have to unpack them, set up windows, join the domain to get ghost console on first.....

 

seems a bit long winded!

there is a bootable CD option in the boot wizard.  Just be sure to check "Bootable" on the second or third step in the cd creation.  Its labeled "CD/DVD Startup Boot Package with Ghost"

Will there be an option in the ghost.exe to connect to the server and for the computer to be shown in GSS?

I guess I misunderstood what you wanted to do.  Ghost.exe will not "Connect" to the console.  Ghost.exe will let you connect to a ghostcast session and image a machine or use a local image. 

 

If you want to connect to the console you might investigate the "Console Boot Partition" option in the boot wizard.  This will yield a ghost image that you can apply to your machines that when you apply it to a new machine will allow it to connect to the console and you to manipulate it.  One thing to note, unlike connecting while in windows you will not get configuration information for the client because it was discovered while in DOS so a name and hardward info will not be present.   Your task will have to include a custom name if you do not want all your machiens to come up with the same name from the image.

Tools menu --> ghostcast server.  But you will need to set a session name (and then refer to it with your clients), point it to an image. Optionally you can set a client count and a timeout to start from when the last client joins etc...

 

If all your machines are not in the same subnet multicast may not be an option for you.  The quantity of clients connecting depends on your infrastructure/server and image size as well as if you are using multicast or not.  My image is 15GB compressed and if I try to get 20 machines unicasting from one server I will kick that servers butt.  Trial and error is probably all you can go with on quantity of connections.