Organizations Using FOG
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@dclark said in Organizations Using FOG:
(Formerly Used Symantec Altiris Solution)
Glad you moved to FOG?
We realize that FOG is not quite as inclusive of a suit as Altiris. I can say its a hell of a lot cheaper and deploys many times faster. I use to administer an Altiris environment in a former life so I know the complexities involved. If you are looking to round out Altiris offerings, you could look into FOG + PDQ Deploy + PDQ Inventory and get pretty much what you had with Altiris for about $1000USD/year/IT Admin (all PDQ licensing spend) for an unlimited number of clients.
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@george1421 We originally looked at FOG as a cost cutting measure but have found that we probably get more imaging done with less issues with it than my experience with Altiris. I have written a standalone PHP application that pulls data from the FOG database in order to inventory equipment, track power management, track user logins (by user), and track image aging and OS versions we have in the wild among other things. I use a batch file to collect and record software inventory records and a few other parameters and deploy it periodically via the snap-in system. I use FOG’s post image script to detect the machine and copy the appropriate drivers to the new install. In most instances imaging speed is tremendously better, usually in the 6-8gb range with about a 3 minute average for a 20gb image.
We originally re-purposed a used Dell T-110 tower server as the master and Dell 780 desktops as the storage nodes in order to evaluate the system and ended up running on that for about 6 months of production use. We have since upgraded for hardware reliability which was an easy migration compared to any other migration I have been involved with.
The only issue we have had that has not easily been solved either in house or on the forums is Multi-Cast but I believe that it is a network configuration issue on our end tied into VOIP operations, just haven’t had time to sit and follow the breadcrumbs.
So… Yes, we have found FOG to meet all our needs and then some. What it doesn’t include we can easily add with a little creativity.
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@dclark Excellent, it looks like you fully embraced the FOG environment. Well done.
Just a comment on multicasting. Yes it can be difficult to setup. With a large and disperse network I can see where you might have issues because multicasting only is transmitted from the master node in each storage group. So in your setup it would only be practical on your main campus.
So I have to ask you a question. What one feature do you feel is missing in FOG that would make your deployments easier/faster/greener?
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@george1421 That’s a tough question. One thing I have been toying with is some Active Directory integration as far as comparison between FOG hosts and AD hosts. I currently have a framework in PHP to pull records from both and do a daily comparison. I use this to both find hosts that don’t have the FOG client installed for whatever reason, or possibly a client that has broke and also find hosts that have gotten deleted from FOG and not AD or vice-versa. It helps to keep both the FOG host records and AD cleaner and keep clutter to a minimum. If FOG could be directly integrated that when you delete a host you have a choice of also deleting it from AD if it exists. I don’t know if that is something that the community would use or if it would be more of a one-off type of feature, maybe an optional plug-in.
Greener? - I have to say as it stands it has changed things for us dramatically already! We used to average at least 2500 machines left on all the time, now with the shutdown features available in FOG we have it down under 100 most nights/weekends which are mostly machines that need to be on (HVAC controllers, etc…).
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@george1421 We also have a White Paper I wrote about our initial integration of FOG if you are interested - PM an email address if you would like.
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@dclark Please do share with the community. This is an excellent way to contribute to the fog project. Also, it’s always refreshing and nice to hear positive stories about FOG.
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Here is the basic white paper on how it helped the district during a tough budget year and ended up being one of the better finds we have made within the IT department.
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@dclark mind retrying the upload?
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@dclark Checking in from Milford School District. I heard you guys switched over to FOG.
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@tom-elliott Tried it as images - I can email it to you in pdf format if you would like. Just let me know if/where.
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@adukes40 It will be a year next month that we started out with a test instance. Honestly it has been less headaches than our old solution ever was!
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Boyum IT Hosting A/S
Denmark
About 50 systems
+1 Year -
Pickaway-Ross Career Technical Center
United States
350+
We began playing with FOG a year ago and have been slowly implementing it more and more
Wiki listing is fine and the same attached image -
Technische Hochschule Deggendorf
Deggendorf Institute of Technology
Germany
about 120 Clients
1 Server
Using since Jan 2017 -
@dclark Awesome white paper! If I could upvote it 20 times, I would.
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@dclark said in Organizations Using FOG:
@adukes40 It will be a year next month that we started out with a test instance. Honestly it has been less headaches than our old solution ever was!
#famousquotes
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@tom-elliott said in Organizations Using FOG:
Organization Name: EKIMIA company
Location (Optional) : Marseille , France
Approximate Number of systems: more than 500 systems shipped to customers using FOG
How long: Since Mid 2015.
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Organization Name: Instituto Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - Campus Viamão
Location: Viamão, Rio Grande do Sul - Brazil
Approximate Number of systems: 50 in our 2 laboratorys
How long: 3 months
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Organization Name: UWC Robert Bosch CollegeLocation: Germany
Approximate Number of systems: 70
How long: since mid 2018
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@Tom-Elliott said in Organizations Using FOG:
Organization Name: Davidson County Sheriff’s Office
Location: Nashville, TN
Approximate Number of systems: 750
How long: since 2012
