Working with student laptops we hardly ever get the same group of laptops together when re-imaging them, and creating a group to multicast them is a bit of a chore. (We create the group members - start the task, and then empty the group members.) Could a new item on the PXE menu be added:
- Add to multicast group
You may have to say “Add to group” since some may not be multicasting, yet using groups. Have it work like the image / OS choice when you are registering a client. It can provide you with a list of groups, or if you know the number you just enter it. If it also had a way to monitor the number of members in the group and give you a warning when it hit 10 (or any number you set) so you don’t overload the group when you go to image. After the member is put into the group it powers down the unit and waits for a Wake on Lan from a deploy task. Once you have filled up your group you simply launch the deploy from the FOG console. (OR maybe a Y/N after the client is added to image all clients in this group now). After the job has started you can empty the group members and get ready for another set. (If it would empty the group members after the deploy - that would be helpful as well for us - but not for others using it for lab deployments etc.)
There may be a better way to do this already - but this would work for us. (Now we just have to get multicasting to work well!)