We later used the image we created to distribute operating systems and software to our client machines. Ghost showed strength over PowerQuest by offering good centralized management--every operation could be controlled from the server console.
Ghost was blazing fast when it came to imaging. We sent our full 718-MB compressed image of Windows XP Pro, Microsoft Office 2000 Pro, McAfee Virus Scan, Adobe Acrobat Reader and LeapFTP to a client in a little more than six minutes. This was by far the fastest of the products tested. Next, we tried multicasting, and the imaging process got even faster. We cloned 10 clients in a little more than five minutes. But the clock kept ticking because we had to visit each of the machines and set them up, thus the time it takes to re-image a particular machine or perform a new image distribution can vary.
We also made use of the staging machine to create software distributions. Ghost calls its software distribution package the Auto Installation (AI) Builder. We installed AI Builder on the staging PC, then used the application's wizard-style interface to make a snapshot of the staging machine. A snapshot is a process where AI Builder searches the hard drive and the registry and keeps a record of everything it finds.
Next, we were prompted to install the application we wished to distribute. We then returned to the AI Builder wizard and ran a post-install snapshot. In this step the tool searches the hard drive and registry, stores a copy of any files added, and generates a script that will update registry keys. The newly installed files and the script are combined into an executable file that can be sent to remote PCs via the Ghost console and remotely installed on the clients' machines. The AI Builder was easy to use and very helpful. We used it to dole out the additional WinZip software that was not included in our image.
Ghost comes with software, Image Explorer, that let us browse image files stored on the server to determine how up to date they were and what software was included. We were disappointed, however, that Image Explorer did not let us edit images of NTFS partitions. We tried to edit a text file inside an NTFS image, and we could open the file and view its contents, but we could not save that file back inside of the image, as we could with Altiris Deployment Solution. Ghost also lacks a Web console. While it is possible to access the Ghost console with remote-control software, it would be more convenient to control imaging operations through a browser, as we could with Altiris' and PowerQuest's products. Symantec says it is developing a Web console for the next version of Ghost.
Ghost's migration tool is not as user friendly as those of its rivals because Symantec uses a scripting approach rather then the wizards the other products use. The tool is controlled from the server, which adds some convenience, but the script-based migration application is time-consuming. Each registry key, file and folder we wanted to capture had to be typed in as a command in our script. We had to be careful not to make any spelling errors here--always a tough task.
Ghost's PXE support is sound. The corporate edition includes a version of 3Com's Boot Services. The 3Com manual is straightforward and relevant. The only thing we don't like is that once PXE is activated, any clients with PXE turned on will boot and run Ghost. Other products we tested prompt the user to ask if he or she wants to boot from the network before going directly into the PXE boot up.
All in all, Ghost's easy-to-use interface, reasonable price tag and centralized control make it a solid product. If you are already using Ghost, it might be time to upgrade so you can take advantage of the slick remote-boot capabilities, which are new to this version.
Symantec Ghost Corporate Edition 7.5, starts at $38.50 per node for 10 to 24 nodes. Symantec, (800) 441-7243, (408) 517-8000. http://www.symantec.com
Power Quest DeployCenter 5.01
PowerQuest DeployCenter combines disk imaging, user migration, virtual floppy support, PXE services and more. If it had better centralized control and integrated Sysprep functionality, it could've been a contender.
PowerQuest has made strides in wrapping its functionality into an easy-to-use Web interface, but DeployCenter doesn't have the level of centralized management offered by its rivals. For example, to make an image that could be easily distributed, we had to use Sysprep locally on the staging machine. This meant we had to install Sysprep, execute the program, and reboot the staging machine from floppy disks or PXE to create a distribution image. PowerQuest does make this process a little easier with a utility called DeployPrep, a front-end tool that makes the Sysprep process less cumbersome via a wizard. DeployPrep asked us where the Sysprep files were located and took care of the rest.
With DeployCenter, however, we couldn't avoid the Windows setup process after distributing the image to a user's desktop. An administrator must make a trip to each desktop, or users must run through Windows setup.
Once the image was deployed, though, we could take advantage of DeployCenter's hidden-partition utility, called the Virtual Floppy, and a client-side tool, the PQClient, that can be used to control the clients. The hidden partition is installed as a part of the client installation, and we were asked during the setup to specify the network drivers to install. Once that was accomplished, we didn't need to travel to the client PCs to execute programs, but the fact remains that the initial rollout had to be done locally.
We used the PQClient to copy files to workstations, distribute software, create and restore images, and execute commands. One test we conducted was to copy a shutdown program to a client and execute that program to restart a user's PC. A single task performed both operations.
It took us a while to get used to the UNC (Universal Naming Convention) path that had to be specified for operations like copying files and specifying where to store an image. Also, the client had to be pulled down from the server--it could not be pushed out automatically, as it can be with Altiris Deployment Solution and Symantec Ghost.
We made good use of the grouping function in DeployCenter's Web console, defining groups to help us determine which machines we wanted tasks to be run on. Also, when we were multicasting, we sent an image to a group rather than individual machines, letting us image 10 machines in 12 minutes. After the image was distributed, however, we had to visit each machine and complete Windows setup, which added 23 minutes. We also used groups to represent categories of machines and departments, for example, to send an accounting application to our finance group only.
PXE support is available for PowerQuest, but once the server was turned on, each time we booted a client with PXE enabled we were forced to choose whether to boot with PXE or resume a normal boot from the hard disk. During our tests we opted to disable the PXE service when we were not using it. If we absolutely needed to have PXE running, we disabled PXE on the client machines' BIOS to avoid having to choose a boot method on every reboot. The PXE service worked great--initial setup was a breeze, and it operated similar to a boot disk. We were able to edit the batch files located in a directory on the server to control what the client would do once connected to the server.
PowerQuest offers a server utility, called ImageExplorer, that let us verify an image's integrity and view its contents. However, as with Ghost, we were unable to edit the image contents--only Altiris' product let us edit the text file "boot.ini" within an image.
DeployCenter manages image updates differently from the other products, letting you create addendums that can be distributed to machines after the image is sent. These addendums can include changes to the image that allow for incremental updates without having to create and deploy a full image. Used with the grouping function, this could be a boon to companies that change or update application packages often.
The product's migration tool has a friendly wizard interface, which was a breath of fresh air after Symantec Ghost. The Migration Manager must be installed locally on the client from which you are going to migrate, which lengthens the process of redistributing an image to a failed machine, but we were able to gather our users' files, folders, preferences and registry entries with a few clicks. Sadly, none of these utilities can be controlled from the server.
PowerQuest DeployCenter 5.01, starts at $19 per workstation. PowerQuest, (800) 379-2566, (801) 437-8900. http://www.powerquest.com
Microsoft Remote Installation Service and User State Migration
If you want to start installing operating systems and applications on your users' PCs, and you don't need a lot of bells and whistles, don't overlook the capabilities of Microsoft 2000 Server's RIS: It lets you do scripted OS installations for Windows 2000 Professional/Server and XP and make an image of a system with all the software you want preinstalled, and it couldn't be simpler to use.
We did have to patch RIS with two separate hotfix downloads from Microsoft's Web site to support more than just Windows 2000 Professional (the patches enabled RIS to distribute XP and Windows 2000 Server). Microsoft's RIS makes heavy use of PXE for distribution. For each OS CD that we made an image of, a new menu item was added to our PXE boot menu. Also, the menu screens are stored as SGML-style text files on the
RIS server and can be tweaked to further customize the software.
RIS lacks the hidden-partition capabilities of the other products we tested, however. To connect to a RIS server you have two options: PXE or boot disk. Boot disk support is available for clients with older NICs that do not support PXE. One nice thing about RIS' PXE implementation is that it lets clients select whether they want to boot to the network, and if they do not choose in a few seconds, the client machine will boot normally.
First we deployed a Windows 2000 CD image using PXE to our staging machine. This simplified the installation process and let us get the compete OS installed without using a single disk. Next we added all our software to the staging machine and ran a utility called Riprep, which dumps an image of the staging PC back onto the RIS server. This image was then deployed to our client machines. Once the image was installed, we visited the clients, entered the Windows setup information, and were in business. Not having to reboot to pull an image from the staging machine was interesting, but it certainly had its trade-offs. We had to stop several services and close many programs before we were able to start the imaging process. And this is done manually--we had to open the Services applet and Task Manager to close more than 30 services and more than 10 applications, one by one.
Microsoft's RIS is not a great backup tool. The other products we tested will take exact images of a system's hard drive and store that, whereas RIS is better suited for deployment. And of course, Linux support is nonexistent.
Even though RIS does a file-by-file transfer of data, it did well in our single-client performance test, but its lack of multicast support meant that transferring more than four images at the same time bogged down our RIS server. Our 1.22-GB image test file was transferred to a single client in a little over 15 minutes. In addition, the images folder is compressed automatically, making it less of a burden on your file server.
Still, while RIS is not a full-blown disk-imaging system, it is virtually free if you're buying Windows 2000 Server and Active Directory anyway. Microsoft does not view RIS as a competitor to specialized disk-imaging software products, however, time spent experimenting with RIS won't be wasted because RIS will integrate with Symantec Ghost and PowerQuest DeployCenter. If you do not need a full-blown imaging suite, configure your existing Win2K servers to use RIS and install the User State Migration Toolkit (see "MS Add-Ons") to ease the burden of distribution and migration tasks. It is by far the least-expensive route.
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Remote Installation Service and User State Migration Tool, included with Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional. Microsoft, (800) 936-5200, (425) 882-8080. http://www.microsoft.com
Cornell W. Robinson III is a research associate at the Center for Emerging Network Technologies at Syracuse (N.Y.) University, and a frequent contributor to Network Computing. His experience includes four years in IT as network manager of Point Park College in Pittsburgh. Write to him at crobin01@syr.edu.
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