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Enterprise Fit?

Ghost can be used as a standalone program, but I wanted to test it as an enterprise-class product, so I installed the Ghost Console on a Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 server. The Ghost Console tracks and controls the Ghost client machines, configuration resources and the tasks that create the configuration resources or apply them to machines. The Ghost Windows client receives instructions from the console and can cause the PC to reboot on the DOS Ghost partition. The DOS Ghost partition connects the PC to the Ghost server and executes the tasks the systems manager requests. Once the tasks are completed, the PC reboots, this time on the usual Windows partition.

Installing the Ghost DOS partition and the Ghost Windows client was a bit more involved. I started by creating a DOS boot disk and a Ghost image of a DOS Ghost partition for my client machines using the Ghost Boot Wizard. Many people are surprised to find that disk-imaging products are essentially DOS programs. And that leads to problems, as many systems managers have forgotten how to create DOS boot disks, and younger systems managers may not have ever known. Ghost 6.5's Boot Wizard has functions to create boot disks that support multiple NICs. At last check, IC3, eXpress and LabExpert handled just one NIC per disk, requiring a systems manager to carry a shoe box of disks and keep track of which disk boots which PC. Ghost 6.5 ships with a wide range of NICs in its database and adding more through the Boot Wizard menu is easy. However, the boot disks are oriented toward Windows NT, which could cause problems for NetWare shops. The NT emphasis is pervasive: Although there is a NetWare NLM multicasting program on the CD, it is undocumented, making it difficult to use.

The DOS Ghost partition is similar to the boot disks, except that it resides on a PC's hard disk, and has software on it that lets the machine boot and connect to the Ghost server and carry out any pending tasks set up by the systems manager. As with IC3 and eXpress, Ghost offers PXE (Preboot Execution Environment) support, letting a systems manager avoid the creation of boot disks and the attendant headaches. Sadly, our lab isn't set up to test PXE products.

Once the DOS boot disk was created, I was ready to set up the client systems. The manual client installation was tedious, involving backing up the client machines and restoring their data. This installation sequence should be automated since it is the same on all the machines. However, in all fairness, IC3, eXpress and LabExpert all make the systems manager jump through the same hoops--back up, add a new DOS partition and restore the saved data.

Stability Shows

Once the client was set up, life was very good. The stability problems I had found in version 6.0 have been resolved. I was able to sit at the console and order the PCs to reboot and copy themselves to the server or to load new images onto themselves. I toggled the machines among Window 95, 98 and NT by loading different images. Postinstallation tools let me change the SID (system ID) on NT machines, as well as the name, IP information and other low-level information on the PCs. The tools also let me capture systems-configuration information before I made changes, so the configuration information could be restored. Despite the manual, however, it was never clear how the Ghost DOS partition and boot managers would interact. Further, though the Ghost DOS partition is small, it takes up one partition on your disk. If you are using a boot manager to switch between OSes, the Ghost DOS partition reduces the number of OSes you can use by one. A preferable approach is the one taken by V Communications' System Commander, which allows OS choice without wasting a partition.

One of the major additions to 6.5 is the inclusion of Symantec's LiveUpdate. This lets the systems manager ensure that Ghost is up to date. However, LiveUpdate will not update the client software. While I tested Ghost, there were no version updates, so I wasn't able to test LiveUpdate.

Also new in Ghost 6.5 is AutoInstall, a snapshot-based software-distribution package. AutoInstall also lets the systems manager roll out software packages automatically. AutoInstall uses different resident client software than Ghost does, which I found annoying.

A Better Read

One of Ghost 6.0's major shortcomings was its manual. With 6.5, the manual has been greatly improved though its organization and layout still need work. Although many users--systems managers included--never read the manual, a program as rich as Ghost demands that they do.

Two sections of the manual give installation instructions. The installer is referred to many different areas of the manual, making for a great deal of page flipping. Symantec told me that Ghost 6.5 has tie-ins to Symantec's Norton AntiVirus program, but there was no information about this in the manual.

Another major step forward is the Macro Media tutorial files included on the CD-ROM. They explain how to use Ghost, which helps reluctant readers. However, the files would be more useful if they were available from the AutoRun menu on the CD-ROM. If Symantec hadn't pointed out the files, I wouldn't have noticed them. Company officials told me that access to the tutorials will be provided through the menu when 6.5 is released to the public.

Mike Avery is the founder of Gunnison Territory Network Consultants, a firm specializing in network design, management and administration. Send your comments on this article to him at mavery@mail.otherwhen.com.