@dpotesta50 We can help you, it’s not too tough. We have step-by-step guides that literally list every command.

Guys, during the struggle to reproduce the issue somehow i found something strange. Let me describe it.

Starting point: host has a valid mac, up to date. i want to change mac. It can cause 2 different output, and i think it can cause the result somehow (i will do more tests to see if it really happens, but the difference made me curious).

mac update method1: host primary mac field is the only field, no additional field. i select the full field, then overwrite mac. result is a new mac on primary and an additional mac field appears with the previous mac address (which is wrong, as it has no another, but a new mac actually)

mac update method2: same starting point, but i only use mouse click to the end of the field, without selection of any char i use backspace, for like 1 char, and type another char instead of the deleted one. here NO additional mac field comes to existence. why? if i change the mac any method i want to change it, not add a new one (i will make test with it, maybe this way it will disappear somehow)

EDIT: sorry, somehow i did not notice what you wrote before me.

@george1421 I was able to add a task with the Task Type Management plugin.

With the below added to the kernel args I am able to boot to iso:

&& imgfree && initrd http://${fog-ip}/fog/isoimg/LiteTouchPE_x64.iso && chain memdisk iso raw

Is there a way I can chain a “Fast Wipe” task right before the boot?

I am looking through the source for the Fast Wipe task definition but can’t seem to find it.

@george1421
I was able to get the one Powershell script to work via a Batch file. But I am having problems getting this bat file to work:
PowerShell.exe -Command “&Import-StartLayout –LayoutPath C:\Installs\StartMenu.xml –MountPath $env:SystemDrive”

@wayne-workman I searched for some time and couldn’t find anything. I will give those links a try.
Thanks!

@bareimage Well I’m still not 100% clear on the provisioning process, TBH that is something new with windows 10 and many people are still stuck in the methods for deploy operating systems from the past. So they try to force windows 10 into something they know. We all will need to understand provisioning packages because that is the direction microsoft will go with all future operating systems.

As I see it you could go about this in 2 ways.

(non-fog) Use an application deployment tool like PDQ Deploy to drop the provisioning package in the proper location on the target computer and then force a reboot. This can be done remotely and all hands off. You are just placing the file in the right location and then letting windows find it on startup. What ever magic happens inside the provisioning package is done there. There is no need to pxe boot or even need fog in this situation.

Use FOG to deploy (push) the (thick or thing) image to the target computer. Once the image is pushed to the computer, then FOG can drop the provisioning package in the proper location then reboot the computer. The target computer would then run through OOBE as it normally would. At the end of OOBE it assume it would see the provisioning package and then it would do its magic. FOG can load a 15GB thick image to a bare metal computer in about 4 minutes for a typical install. In my work infrastructure I can push that same 15GB image in just over one minute.

Option 1 would take less internal resources since you are only dropping the provisioning package onto the target hardware. The issue you have is how will you get windows onto the bare metal to begin with? If you are using OEM versions of windows, then the target system should be loaded from the manufacturer. The risks are if the system hard drive fails you will have to manually reload widows from OEM media.

Option 2 take more internal resources to setup, but you can then have a system to go from bare metal to fully provisioning system using the lite touch process of imaging.

@fogmania Well done!!

@joe-schmitt That fixed it. Thank you… Sometimes the most obvious gets overlooked.

James P…

But, back on your original post. You can either define the VL Key in the proper field for the host, or you can define it in the global key configuration in the fog configuration->AD (I believe). You can also use the FOG group set function to assign a key to a group of existing computers. This will update the key in the individual host management page.

As you can see there are a number of ways to go about doing what you need.

@xenorites That is indeed the best reference for the fog api. I would recommend, however, use the api sparingly as 1.6 will need new documentation. (This is because we’re moving to datatables, so most of the api is switched around to allow easier integration with datatables.)

@ally_uk You can do it with a single network card, just be aware there are a few more steps than standard.

As for your question about dhcp server, you must pick Y to install the proper proper programs. There will be a small risk of dhcp confusion while you are installing fog this way so as soon as FOG is installed unplug the fog server from the business network and plug it into your imaging network.

I started writing these instructions for centos 7, then I realized if you are not familiar with linux the instructions may be pretty daunting. Here is a different guide: https://wiki.fogproject.org/wiki/index.php?title=Installation As much as it pains me to say this, probably ubuntu or fedora would be a better choice if you are a gui based user. The link above is the basic installation jumping off point for a number of operating systems.

Once fog is installed and your fog server is in the imaging network. You will need to first change the fog server IP address to one consistent with the imaging address. For this example I’ll use 192.168.101.x/24. So for the fog server we will use 192.168.101.1 for the fog server.

Update the fog server IP address then reboot. Edit the FOG IP address in
/tftpboot/default.ipxe
/opt/fog/.fogsettings Edit the FOG IP server and subnet range in for the isc-dhcp server. The file will look similar to this one: https://wiki.fogproject.org/wiki/index.php?title=BIOS_and_UEFI_Co-Existence#Example_1 Now off to the FOG webgui. You need to update the IP address in 2 places in the FOG configuration page and then for the IP address in the storage node configuration.

I can tell you finding a second interface will save you quite a bit of pain, even a usb ethernet network adapter will work.

I think it is a BUG, I have to do it twice befor it is permanent saved.

Another Question:
Howto sort iPXE Menu Item Settings ?

0_1522673895600_32b8ec19-c0b9-44e8-822d-dd4214236248-grafik.png

@george1421 My reference image is NOT 1709 and once attached to the domain that update has been blocked by our WUS. Too many problems with it.

Just for clarity, FOG is not a backup system (1 for 1). It is an imaging solution ( 1 to many). It may not be the best use case for your goals.

I can suggest if you ARE looking for a backup solution look at Veeam Agent (free). With this software you can backup your computer to a NAS and create a disaster recover boot drive. If your computer fails, you can boot from the boot drive, connect to your NAS and then recover your computer.

What makes Veeam better than FOG, is how it backs up your disks. FOG does a whole disk clone, where Veeam does a file level backup. Meaning that you can recover any individual file from the backup, where with FOG you would have to restore the entire disk just to recover one file. Veeam is really worth a look.

Will FOG run on a Raspberry Pi 2 or 3, yes. I have a FOG-Pi server setup in my home for development work. For a single capture or deploy it works well in a home lab setup.

Hi ,

just to say that I deployed the same Image to a new SATA disk and the 3rd partition (Swap) had a fixed size as Expected.

So I guess that was a mistake on my side.

Problem solved !

@lof said in ..and one FOG-VM to rule them all.:

I changed the network configuration for my vm in VMware Workstation from Bridged over to NAT’d in order to test

Yeah that would be why. Broadcast messages do not traverse to different broadcast domains by default - because that would create network storms (yes, that’s a real technical term). You need the VM to be in bridged mode so it can hear DHCP requests.

You do not need to ‘burn things down’. Just switch it to bridged. The MakeFogMobile scripts will reconfigure everything for you when a new IP is received.

here is some one that pxe booted the pi or some thing like pxe
https://blog.mythic-beasts.com/2016/08/05/sneak-preview-from-mythic-labs-raspberry-pi-netboot/

@compman while that’s true, in practice zstd at a higher compression level will return a faster overall process when the bottleneck is the network.

Upgrade worked perfectly ! Great. thanks