Is FOG for me?
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My set up:
as of now I have 3 Computer Laboratory with mix hardwares so mix OS installed. (XP/7/8)
I activate my Windows7 PCs using VAMT2
Question:
- Can I deploy WindowsXP/7/8 image to a different hardware? (DualCore PC to i3 PC)
- Can I deploy a WindowsImage with custom applications installed ? like Install Windows* OS* then install applications I need like MSOffice and AdobeProducts then make Clone/Image of it and deploy to other hardware/PC.
I want to create a copy of my SOURCEPC with applications installed, then deploy it to all DESTINATIONPC and that’s it, that’s all. i dont want to install applications on each PC after the deployment…
is this possible with FOG? I hope so.
Thanks a lot
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Hi Prince
All of the above can be done with FOG. A full guide on how to do all of this can be found [URL=‘http://fogproject.org/forum/threads/how-to-setup-ubuntu-server-fog-1-2-0-create-univeral-windows-7-image-using-sysprep-step-by-step.11245/’]here[/URL].
[QUOTE]1. Can I deploy WindowsXP/7/8 image to a different hardware? (DualCore PC to i3 PC)[/QUOTE]
Yes you can create hardware independent images that can be deployed across different machines. The guide shows how to do this with Windows 7 however it can be done with XP and 8 as well.
[QUOTE]2. Can I deploy a WindowsImage with custom applications installed ? like Install Windows* OS* then install applications I need like MSOffice and AdobeProducts then make Clone/Image of it and deploy to other hardware/PC.[/QUOTE]
Yes you can add any applications you need into the image as you build it. A point to note is that I’ve found its best to create a “bare bones image”, i.e. Windows OS, all updates, MS Office, Adobe, Java, Flash etc. Then for additional applications I use the Snapins section of FOG. This is because I’ve found that when using Sysprep to create hardware independent images, some applications add registry keys that screw up the Sysprep process and then your images when deployed wind up booting in a loop. This is a Microsoft issue not a FOG issue. So far I’ve found it happens mostly with antivirus software but its likely not limited to just these.
I am a little curious as to why the mixed OS environment, We have around 600 workstations on site ranging from brand new PC’s to those that are around 5-6 years old and I use only one hardware independent Windows 7 image for all of them with all of my apps installed.
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Thanks for that confirmation and tips
How about licensing?
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And i can deploy the image in multiple destination pc all at once right?
I have server2008r2 domain, pfsense router firewall, win7 and win8 on i3 and athlon, xp on pentium4 celeron
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Hi
You already mentioned that you use VAMT for licensing, so depending on whether you use KMS or MAK keys for your install you will still use VAMT. Just supply either your KMS or MAK key in the unattend.xml file you’ll create while building your image and then once the machines are imaged you will licence them. KMS machines should in most cases check in with the KMS server that VAMT is running on and then license themselves, if your using MAK keys then you may need to use VAMT to perform an online validation en-masse. Depends on your setup, but due to the volume of PC’s we have here I use KMS. Simplifies everything a bit
Hope this helps
Cheers
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[quote=“prince xyryl, post: 34283, member: 25316”]And i can deploy the image in multiple destination pc all at once right?
I have server2008r2 domain, pfsense router firewall, win7 and win8 on i3 and athlon, xp on pentium4 celeron[/quote]
Yes you can run multiple tasks and deploy different image types simultaneously. You will need to build a different image for each OS of course but you can set up your machine groups in FOG and then push each image out to each group. Make sure when you set FOG up that you don’t allow it to be used as a DHCP server and that your DCHP options 66 and 67 on your Windows DHCP server are set correctly or iPXE wont boot. This is all covered in the guide I linked earlier
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Hi Liam
Thanks again…
I read your guide and i have a followup question …
I have WS2008r2 for DNS, but pfsense for DHCP and IPs on my main network PCs are static…
What will be the easy but effective solution ?
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[quote=“prince xyryl, post: 34400, member: 25316”]Hi Liam
Thanks again…
I read your guide and i have a followup question …
I have WS2008r2 for DNS, but pfsense for DHCP and IPs on my main network PCs are static…
What will be the easy but effective solution ?[/quote]
I answered that Question for you here -> [quote=“Jaymes Driver, post: 34302, member: 3582”]
My suggestion is using DNSMasq[url]http://fogproject.org/wiki/index.php/Using_FOG_with_an_unmodifiable_DHCP_server/_Using_FOG_with_no_DHCP_server#DNSMASQ_settings_for_iPXE[/url]It does not matter what ip address your machines have, when they enter TFTP they look for a dhcp server and DNSMasq will offer the correct information to the clients so they can boot.[/quote]
You will want to use DNSMaasq to proxy boot your clients looking to TFTP, DNSMasq will help them to resovle your boot server and file name.
DNSMasq works as a proxy DHCP server, it doles out ip addresses to machines looking to TFTP boot. Some environments that don’t have a DHCP server, or an option to enter a next server or boot file name will use this service to acquire the correct boot information and resolve to your FOG server.
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hi! Thanks
I decided to install DHCP server on my WS2008R2…so its serving DNS and DHCP now…
here’s my details
pfsense router = DHCP disabled / IP is 192.168.1.1
WS2008R2 = DHCP + DNS / IP is 192.168.1.2 / gateway is 192.168.1.1
now in my UbuntuServer 12.04LTS
[FONT=Courier New]“”“”“1.#The loopback network interface[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]2.auto lo[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]3.iface lo inet loopback[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]4.[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]5.#The primary network interface[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]6.auto eth0[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]7.iface eth0 inet [B][I]static### Set to static IP[/I][/B][/FONT]
[B][I][FONT=Courier New]8.address 192.168.1.5[/FONT][/I][/B] [B][COLOR=#ff0000] 192.168.1.3[/COLOR][/B]
[B][I][FONT=Courier New]9.netmask[/FONT][/I][/B][B][COLOR=#ff0000][FONT=Courier New]255.255.255.0[/FONT][/COLOR][/B]
[B][I][FONT=Courier New]10.gateway [/FONT][/I][/B][B][COLOR=#ff0000][FONT=Courier New]192.168.1.1[/FONT][/COLOR][/B]
[B][I][FONT=Courier New]11.network 192.168.1.0[/FONT][/I][/B] [B][COLOR=#ff0000] What should I put here?[/COLOR][/B]
[B][I][FONT=Courier New]12.broadcast[/FONT][/I][FONT=Courier New][COLOR=#ff0000] 192.168.1.255[/COLOR][/FONT][/B]
[B][I][FONT=Courier New]13.dns-domain example.org ## Your internalDomain Name[/FONT][/I][/B] [B][COLOR=#ff0000]my FQDN is ccslynx.local[/COLOR][/B]
[B][I][FONT=Courier New]14.dns-search example.org[/FONT][/I][/B] [B][COLOR=#ff0000]ccslynx.local [/COLOR][/B]
[B][I][FONT=Courier New]15.dns-nameservers 192.168.5.3 192.168.5.4## enter your DNS server[/FONT][/I][/B]”“”" [COLOR=#ff0000]192.168.1.2 my WS2008r2 ip?)[/COLOR]I’m doing fine right?
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Hostname Changer == I disable this… I want to join my clientsPC to domain manually.
is it ok?
- FOG Settings IMPORTANT
Active Directory Defaults
= I dont put anything here since I want to join my clients manually in my domain
and i just want to clarify? Once I already deploy the images on target PC… I can now TURNOFF/SHUTDOWN the FOG server?
or FOG server should be ON all the time?
Thanks
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Hostname Changer isn’t just for joining domain, it can change the host name, though this also happens during the download task, if the host isn’t sysprepped after the task is completed with the download to the client.
You don’t need to specify the AD information to enable the renaming of the hosts. If you’re not using the FOG Server, you can shut it off, though in most environments they just have it running all the time so tftp and imaging can happen at the click of a button.
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[B]iv. FOG Client Installation
[/B]On your build system open your web browser and navigate to the FOG interface
a.[B] Download the FOG Client Service [/B]b. Extract the file and run Setup.exe c. On the Configuration page
i. Enter the host name of the FOG Server. (you can use IP, but depending on firewalls and routing non-domain computers may have issues communicating which will disable the auto-domain join feature)
ii. You can leave all other options selected as once the client service connects to the server it will copy the configured FOG options.[B]
[COLOR=#ff0000]how? Where?[/COLOR]
[/B]I cant see this on my FOG management page[B]
[/B] -
[quote=“prince xyryl, post: 34589, member: 25316”][B]iv. FOG Client Installation[/B]
On your build system open your web browser and navigate to the FOG interface
a.[B] Download the FOG Client Service [/B]b. Extract the file and run Setup.exe c. On the Configuration page
i. Enter the host name of the FOG Server. (you can use IP, but depending on firewalls and routing non-domain computers may have issues communicating which will disable the auto-domain join feature)
ii. You can leave all other options selected as once the client service connects to the server it will copy the configured FOG options.
[B][COLOR=#ff0000]how? Where?[/COLOR] [/B]
I cant see this on my FOG management page
[/quote]up…
[B][COLOR=#ff0000]how? Where?[/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR=#ff0000][/COLOR][/B]
I cant see this on my FOG management page ([B] Download the FOG Client Service)[/B] -
[quote=“prince xyryl, post: 36350, member: 25316”]up…
[B][COLOR=#ff0000]how? Where?[/COLOR][/B]
I cant see this on my FOG management page ([B] Download the FOG Client Service)[/B][/quote]
[url]http://youripaddressofyourfogserverhere/fog/client[/url]
Alternatively you can use the links at the bottom of the management page to get to the client.
