Sort of RIS based Question.

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Im studying for my 20-270 (again) and had a wonderance really.

RIS is starting to make a little sense to me, but the book im reading suggests that you can make a cloned image of a system after you have installed all the applications you want to and then copy it to a CD to distribute it to other pc's using this instead.

For the life of me, I cannot see how? Is this actually possible to us normal folk?

Many thanks in advance chaps.

 

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I think that what your book is refering to is using a third part app. like Ghost to clone the system and save the image to a CD.

As far as I know you can't do things like that using just the tools built into Windows.

 

yip you cant... MS says you must use a third party tool eg Norton Ghost to clone the disk BUT the system must have the same hardware..EXACTLY the same!

this is done using sysprep... now for RIS you need a client network adapter that can handle PXE and a server that has the RIS service installed as well as DHCP running...the RIS is just an image of xp and nothing else..

 

So .. . If i used Norton Ghost, I could put an image of a System (If it were going to be rolled out to a lot of indentical pc's) on the RIS server? So, in theory, a cloned imagine of a PC would be copied to many pc's using RIS. Obviously as long as i have the DHCP, etc etc installed.

Would it be possible to then copy the imagine on the server to a CD, possibly using Norton Ghost, so it would do the same as it would if booted to the RIS server Via the PXE NIC?

 

a DVD more likely.. the whole topic is UNATTENDED.. im sure you can put a image with all your programs and all through RIS.. btw have you got any experiece of Ghost?

How did your last try at 70-270 go? What resources you using?

ummm im going to be setting up a RIS server is a few hours if you want to stay around maybe we could setup something together? I got VMWare running...

 

I don't think that you can do what you describe, but I could be wrong.

The way that Ghost works is that it takes a 'snapshot' of your PC's hard disk and saves it as an image.

Inorder to take the snapshot you have to be running a Ghost server (a pc with the ghost program installed). This works in a simillar manner to RIS in that the client PC has to boot from floppy or other device with network card drivers on it to connect to the ghost 'server'. Once the connection is established you send the image (either way depending if it is taking an image, or pushing one out).

Unlike RIS which simply remotely installs the software on your PC ghost sends everything as it has bascially copied the entire hard disk from one PC and is sending it to another.

HTH.

 

Ahhh, got ya. Thanks guys.

Iv'e read the 20-270 Sybex book once, about 2 months ago, but got stuck on the RIS/ Unattended bits, so moved on and took my A+ in the meantime, hoping things would be clearer when i picked it back up.

I've also started reading my 70-290 Microsoft self training book, as most of the things it in seem to be very similar to the 70-270 material.

I've also got a VMware lab up and running with Windows Server 2003 and XP Pro, as well as a dummy station for my RIS tests. I installed the RIS server without a hitch, and got my XP Pro CD up on it, and managed to get it installed on the Dummy XP Pc thorugh the RIS. The practical side of RIS im ok with, at present, its just knowing the limititations of of it that throws me.

Thanks for the offer Zimbo, but its just the knowing that catches me.

 

for RIS installations you might want to look HERE

as to what simon im going to dig a little deeper aswell and see what exactly makes this process tick! as far as i know sysprep plays a big part..

 

wait a second... what are we talking here.. RIS was designed to take over Ghost! i nearly lost it there! RIS was designed by ms to rival the ghost product and it actually has more features!

 

Which Process? RIS or Ghost?

Been using Ghost for years, and you don't need to sysprep for it to work (officially you should tho).

As for RIS, I set it up once, tried installing a few PC's, decided that it took too long, and went back to Ghost!

 

ah well then simon you can answer the ghost questions! im sticking to RIS! i know RIS is slower but im kind of looking forward to setting up a client in a office on the other side of the world!

BTW how do you setup this ghost 'server'?

 

Thats what the ghost program is!

It's simply a program that you run when you need to do some imaging.

Can't put it much simpler than that!

 

So . . RIS can basically only install a Windows XP Pc from scratch then. And Ghost can create an cloned imagine of an XP system and install that, only if there is a Ghost server, or Ghost is booted before hand.

So, Ghost is supposedly used with the Sysprep tool (But not in practice.)

And . . . If i wanted to go the long way about installing XP Pro with software, i could automate it from a share point, and use Unattended Installation with an answer file. (Unnatend.txt)

Is that about right?

 

Been following this with interest, as I am just about to use sysprep and Ghost to roll out between 4-7 new PCs for a networking job, plus maintain an image disk for when the client ultimately breaks them.

Here's a great article I'm using for reference and to remind myself about Sysprep.

CLICK HERE (courtesy www.serverwatch.com )

HTH

 

I would just like to clarify what Sysprep actually does.

Sysprep prepares a system that is already configured with a properly functioning operating system and all the wanted applications and settings for cloning. So the cloning part is done by a third party product like Norton Ghost.

What Sysprep does, is remove all the unique identifiers SIDs (Security identifiers) etc. This is especially important in a domain environment because you do not want duplicate SIDs.

It also has an option (tick box) where you can force the newly cloned OS to run the plug and play system. Therefore the hardware does *NOT* need to be identical, it is only the HALs (hardware abstraction layer) that needs to be the same.

When you transfer the image to the new box and turn it on for the first time, a Mini Setup Wizard runs. This wizard asks you for the unique information. Computer name etc. It will then run the plug and play enumerator to detect different video, sound, NIC cards.

So, the idea is to use it in conjunction with Ghost, it is not in competition with Ghost, it is a tool in it's own right.

 

Nice explanation Pete. I'm assuming (since it was so long ago since I studied this) that the driver support using this method of install is the equivalent of doing a clean install from CD (as it is the i386 folder the install files come from anyway) ?

Am I right, or missing yet another vital point here ?

 

I believe you are correct Gav, but a clean install is always the *safest* bet IMHO.

 

Of course, Pete - but then that defeats the whole point of RIS/ image installations of your OS, don't you think ?

 

My point, if I have one, is that if you are only talking about a few machines, you will have less hair pulling and a better end product by doing normal installations. If you are talking major roll outs of numerous operating systems, then RIS is the way to go.

I have pulled out many a hair playing with RIS and Sysprep.

Remember, nothing ever works first time