Karena Kamu Bisa

Step Two: Create The Configuration Database

Once an image file has been created and saved on the network server, the manager uses the disk cloning management console to create the configuration database. As described above, the configuration database contains all of the unique configuration information for each of the target PCs as part of the configuration SET. During this step, a connection is made between the configuration database SET and the image file created during step one. It should be pointed out that step one and step two can be accomplished in any order.

Step Three: Create The Client Boot Diskettes

As stated previously, the client configuration agent runs as a DOS process on each of the target PCs. The third step of the deployment process requires that DOS boot diskettes be created for the target PCs. These boot diskettes will contain the network drivers, protocol stacks, and network control files necessary to boot the machine, connect it to the network, and map a network drive to the location where the image file is located.

Step Four: Download The Desired Image

The next step in the sequence consists of booting the target PCs with the DOS boot disks created in step three, downloading the image file, and writing it to the target PC's hard drive. As stated previously, this process is actually accomplished by the imaging software running as a DOS process on each of the target machines.

During this part of the operation, the boot diskette will cause each of the target PCs to attach to the network server, map a drive letter to the location where the image file is located, and map a drive letter to the location where the cloning programs are located. The imaging software is then executed. This imaging software then checks the configuration database (created in step two) to determine what image file should be used and what the configuration values are that should be assigned to the target PC. It then copies the assigned image to the target PC and writes the configuration values to the target drive for later use by the configuration agent. As progress continues, status is written back to the status database and reported to the management console.

Step Five: Boot Client PCs To Run The Configuration Agent

Prior to the final step of the imaging/configuration process floppy disks must be removed from each of the target PCs. This allows each target PC to boot to the hard drive after the download process described in step four is complete.

Providing the client configuration agent was included in the image file, it will run automatically following the boot sequence. The PC's registry file will be automatically updated with the configuration values assigned to that machine from the configuration database. Some changes to the registry require that the target machine be rebooted in order for the changes to become active. Should this be the case, the client configuration agent will cause the machine to perform one final reboot in order to complete the configuration process.

If access to the network is still possible following final configuration of the target PC, which will be the case in most environments, the client configuration agent performs one final update to the status database in order to report that the target PC has been fully configured. Should any errors be detected during this final step, they are reported to the status database and written to an error log on the target PC's hard drive.

In the case of PCs running Windows NT, it's important to create a unique security ID (SID) for each computer as part of the final configuration process. This is a critical step in the imaging process. Otherwise, all NT machines would have identical SIDs, thus compromising standard Windows NT security.

One job remains in this final configuration step: that of having the client configuration agent remove itself, along with the configuration values from the target PC's hard drive. This avoids problems that could result from inadvertently restarting the client configuration agent at some future date.

Two of the main reasons IS professionals in corporations, configuration centers, and value added resellers use cloning software to deploy computers are to maintain configuration consistency and to save time on individual computer setup.

Even though cloning software handles general configuration issues as they relate to operating systems and user applications, as mentioned in the final step of the cloning process, it's critical to use a solution that also addresses the need to configure a computer's unique properties. For example, Windows 95-based computers rely on unique settings such as Computer Name, Workgroup Name, IP Address, IP Gateway, IP subnet mask, etc. Configuring each computer's unique settings can be very time consuming. This problem is exacerbated when configuring PCs with NT. Since cloned PCs are an exact duplicate of the original source PC, all cloned NT PCs will have the same SID.

At first glance, configuring the computers' unique settings may not seem like a big deal. After all, it may take only about five minutes to configure one computer's unique properties. However, five minutes per computer becomes very significant when deploying large quantities of computers on a regular basis. For example, twenty-five computers per week can add multiple configuration hours. Systems integrators that do over a hundred computers for that same time period can waste more than eight-and-a-half hours per week. For this reason, it's critical to choose a cloning solution that gives IS professionals the means to automatically configure each target computer's unique settings without physically going to each individual computer.

The introduction of computer cloning solutions makes a major impact on IS productivity. It has revolutionized the way new computers are deployed. With effective disk cloning technology, not only does adherence to PC deployment standards become much easier, but it also becomes possible to deploy new computers in a fraction of the time that was previously required. Used effectively, cloning can significantly reduce the Cost-Of-Ownership and increase the Return-On-Investment for resellers and integrators doing system deployments on any scale. 

by Jan Newman

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