Thoughtful Problem #5: You have been hired as a technology director for a school district that uses an operating system that is not your main area of expertise. Research the topic "imaging" or "cloning" to see how you might rapidly clone a new shipment of 500 laptops. Pay attention to cost, time and expertise. In three-to-five paragraphs, describe your options, why you chose the option you did, and what problems you may expect with that choice.
Response:
I have a good deal of experience with cloning Windows PC's and have been involved in cloning Linux systems as well. I have never been involved with cloning Mac equipment so I will choose this platform for my response.
Given the task of rapidly installing 500 new laptops, I would start by developing a project plan. I would assign all tasks to be completed to members of my staff along with acceptable time frames that need to be observed. The first and most important task is the image creation. I would immediately order/request a single unit that 100% matches the specs of the 500 to be shipped immediately. With any luck, this unit will be received at least one week prior to the full shipment. I would assign one staff member to build a clean image. An image creation checklist would be used to ensure the image was created according to the district specifications. The image would get built and a midpoint image would be taken. At that point, the unit would be passed off to someone else to verify. Once the verification was complete, changes were made if necessary and then the machine would be ready for a final image to be taken.
For this task, I would use two products together, NetInstall and Apple Software Restore. This solution is an Apple recommended solution. Using NetInstall, the custom image gets pushed out to each machine. From there, if additional changes are needed down the line, they can be sent using Apple Software Restore. By this I mean that if you needed to add PhotoShop to your image after the initial image was deployed, you could create a packaged install and distribute to all 500 units.
This option appears to be the best solution available for large scale imaging of Macs. The software is included with a OS X Server so assuming you have one on-site, there is no additional cost for the product. The interface is very easy to use for any technician that has Mac experience so that should not be an issue either. The main issue that may appear is the speed of pushing the image to the clients. I would recommend they be done in smaller groups of 20-25 machines at a time. At this rate, given an estimated imaging process of about 45 minutes per group, you are looking at almost 2 days to push the image out. From there, each machine will need a final inspection before final deployment. Overall, I would recommend at least two individuals for five days to finish the deployment process. Compared to doing each unit individually, the time savings is huge.
2 comments:
Your experience gives me a good chance to learn real-world cases about technology director’s job. Thanks for your helpful information on the “cloning” concept.
Your statement refreshes my memory of one of my working experience. I did the similar cloning work in a computer center. Even though a cloning process is rapid, we did consume a lot of time on the testing and other trivial things. We worked on all summer (3 months) to build 3 computer classrooms with totally 150 machines. I remembered we spent most of time on unpacking, delivering and installing mouse and keyboard etc…
Interesting response and your experience allowed me to see some holes I may have overlooked in my own blog post. Interesting idea related to the preliminary shipment of 1 100% exact spec and model machine. I personally didn't really think about the concept of evaluating and checking/double checking the image in accordance with the need and district polices/specs. I to spent some time searching through the Apples website but didn't come across the information about the program included in apple servers (thanks for the tip I am actually going to check if I have them at work). I really like the function of the Apple Software Restore- for after the fact push out of programs. I would still like to get my hands on the cost information from apple related to building an image for the school district- with someone from the SD as a liaison with apple . I wonder if that would shorten the process of testing the image? Great stuff thanks...
Post a Comment