sysprep

[Guest]

hi! I'm intending of using sysprep and norton ghost(multicast) to clone a
master image which has already joint a domain. Will there be any implication
when doing the restoration? I normally use sysprep to join domain using a
master image that's in a workgroup. I've not try it on a master image (joint
domain). Will there be any problem in norton ghost corporate edition and pc
joinining the domain AD when cloining the clients PCs?

Please advise. Thanks.

 

[David H. Lipman]

From: "dkblee" <[email protected]>

| hi! I'm intending of using sysprep and norton ghost(multicast) to clone a
| master image which has already joint a domain. Will there be any implication
| when doing the restoration? I normally use sysprep to join domain using a
| master image that's in a workgroup. I've not try it on a master image (joint
| domain). Will there be any problem in norton ghost corporate edition and pc
| joinining the domain AD when cloining the clients PCs?
|
| Please advise. Thanks.

Yiou use SysPrep to strip SIDs. When you Mult-Cast the image to multiple PCs they will rin
the Mini-Setup where set the machine name, IP address and add the PC back to the Domain.

Using SysPrep with a program like Ghost is the proper way to clone platforms on a Domain and
you have no problems,

Of course it is best to restore an image to platforms of the same make and model (or sluight
variants of the image's model).

 

[Newbie Coder]

DKBLEE

If you use SysPrep you will strip the computer name... out of it etc. It
will leave any cookies, temp internet files or junk intact too so think
about cleaning that up first.

Next. Using Norton Ghost Corporate... & ghosting over a domain will be fine
because this is what I do on a daily basis as a network admin. However, you
will need a boot loader to allow using your network card. Then just setup
the session number after rebooting when the boot loader (for IP/network card
drivers) is installed then use Ghost to send the 2 Gb parts of the image.
Once the image is 100%, reboot with the network cable in for the domain,
rename the computer to the required name & login. Do what you need to do &
then send the machine out

Remember ghosting across a network will slow down the network & maybe you
may want to think about setting up a seperate hub... just for ghosting... I
have a seperate Ghost server, 24 port hub setup for ease as you don't want
your users complaining when they click on a network app & it takes 10 mins
to load...

Hope this helps,

 

[David H. Lipman]

From: "Newbie Coder" <[email protected]>

| DKBLEE
|
| If you use SysPrep you will strip the computer name... out of it etc. It
| will leave any cookies, temp internet files or junk intact too so think
| about cleaning that up first.
|
| Next. Using Norton Ghost Corporate... & ghosting over a domain will be fine
| because this is what I do on a daily basis as a network admin. However, you
| will need a boot loader to allow using your network card. Then just setup
| the session number after rebooting when the boot loader (for IP/network card
| drivers) is installed then use Ghost to send the 2 Gb parts of the image.
| Once the image is 100%, reboot with the network cable in for the domain,
| rename the computer to the required name & login. Do what you need to do &
| then send the machine out
|
| Remember ghosting across a network will slow down the network & maybe you
| may want to think about setting up a seperate hub... just for ghosting... I
| have a seperate Ghost server, 24 port hub setup for ease as you don't want
| your users complaining when they click on a network app & it takes 10 mins
| to load...
|
| Hope this helps,
|

Use an Ethernet switch instead so each PC being Ghosted can be in Full-Duplex mode and will
send and receive packets at the saem time. This will decrease the time it takes to image a
PC orr restore an image. To keep the Multi-Cast traffic off the MAN, use a mangaed switch
where you can filter out Multi-Cast packets from the UpLink port.

BTW: The "boot loader" is a Ghost Boot Disk and can be a bootable CDROM or floppy disk.

 

[Newbie Coder]

The boot loader that I use contains a text file with an IP address plus oter
files which is only Floppy sized or less so using a CD ROM is pointless in
my eyes & you cannot change the IP address. Besides, you may be deploying
machines with no CD ROM/DVD ROM drives like we do so adding one is just a
waste of time & you lose the speed gained by the ghosting process Dave
mentioned in his last post.

Why you need a managed switch if you don't have one & have to pay a lot of
money for one? Again, unless you have one laying around its pointless.

--
Newbie Coder
(It's just a name)

Dave

Be careful as Verizon is a major SPAM domain

 

[Guest]

Hi!! Thanks for the reply. So, in conclusion, there will not be any problem
whether my original image is in workgroup or domain as long as i key in the
pc name when the system restart after restoring and sysprep is configured to
join domain.

Does that mean that norton corporate edition will also register itself to
the norton server with the new pc name even if the original image(backuped
image before using restarting with sysprep) is with a different pc name? any
problem for the clients when receiving update from the norton server?

Thanks.

 

[Newbie Coder]

DKBLEE,

Sysprep will strip the details out like Dave & I have both said. Then you
need to use Ghost to create that image. It will reboot the machine
(workstation) & pull an image back usually storing the image in blocks of 2
Gb.

All you will need to do then is plug in a network cable & use a network card
boot loader like I mentioned before. It will then ask you for the same
session you have given the Ghost Corporate edition (Example: 1). You remove
the floppy disc, reboot the machine which will load the boot loader. You
type in the same session number like you did earlier to the corporate
software & click OK The image should then be transfered. When it gets to
100%, exit out of it, go to the DOS prompt, set the active partition (I have
the tool added in the image). It will ask you 'Are you sure you want to use
'bla bla bla' as the active partition? Click Y, ESC ESC ESC to end that app.
Now, press ALT CTRL DEL & it will boot into Windows. It will ask you to name
the machine & then login locally as the admin. This is done automatically
due to the admin password in the sysprep config file... The last step after
the naming is how I set it up. I do it this way as I have my own Ghost
server connected to a hub. I then swap cable to the main domain cable &
reboot & login as the domain admin... You can then do what is needed before
the machine goes out

Then SysPrep is redundant until you built another Desktop image to
distribute...

Hope this helps,

 

[Guest]

hi! Thanks.
Actually i know all the steps required for using sysprep and ghosting. I
used to backup a workgroup pc and use sysprep to join the clients to domain
when starting up the clients using sysprep + Ghost. Just that i never try
backing up a domain pc as a master image, and restore it to clients with
sysprep and rejoin to domain using different pc name. Just worry that there
might be problem for a pc to rejoin domain with different name without going
into workgroup first.

Thanks.

 

[David H. Lipman]

From: "Newbie Coder" <[email protected]>

| The boot loader that I use contains a text file with an IP address plus oter
| files which is only Floppy sized or less so using a CD ROM is pointless in
| my eyes & you cannot change the IP address. Besides, you may be deploying
| machines with no CD ROM/DVD ROM drives like we do so adding one is just a
| waste of time & you lose the speed gained by the ghosting process Dave
| mentioned in his last post.
|
| Why you need a managed switch if you don't have one & have to pay a lot of
| money for one? Again, unless you have one laying around its pointless.
|

Set the IP address to; 0.0.0.0 and the DOS Ghost.exe program will use DHCP to get an
address so you can get a different IP address. As for the point the a CDROM is a waste, I
agree. On platforms w/o a floppy drive I use a USB Floppy Drive but a CD can always be used
becuase these systems always have at least 1 CDROM drive. Additionally, one can use a CDRW
disc such that you can change the configuration by erasing and re-burning the CDRW disc. In
systems w/o a CD or floppy drive, just use a USB Floppy Drive.

A managed E-Switch is better in an enterprise environment because, as I stated, you can
filter Multi-Cast IP traffic from the UpLink port. Then when Ghosting, the Multi-Cast
traffic would not get past the LAB environment and effect the users. Additionally, a
managed E-Switch will always have a lower latency than its cheaper rivals and thus the
transfer rate will be higher than a cheaper, unmanaged, E-Switch. In my previous contract
in the Ghost Server (Symantec Enterprise Ghost v7.x) I used an Intel server NIC that had its
RISC i960 CPU that clock-doubled the 33MHz PCI bus.

** Ghost - the only Symantec product I swear by and not swear at !

 

[Newbie Coder]

LOL at the Ghost message at the end - cool

The managed 3com switches I use are between £1000-3000 each & you wouldn't
want to waste that sort of money ghosting

If you set it all up the way I mentioned you can ghost 20 machines quickly &
easily with the added benefit of not affecting other domain users. Plus, my
way stops 11, 000 phone calls on why the network has collapsed as it
couldn't handle the traffic. I wouldn't be very popular & neither will you
if you ghost across the domain with users working from it

The DCHP in the past has clashed & that is why I suggested adding an IP to
the boot loader & not using DHCP to begin with. Plus with no OS... on the
disc then DHCP isn't any use which is another reaso to add an address in the
boot loader. When you reboot the machine let the domain then use DHCP to
give it an IP like normal. Then everything would be fine.