InstaDMG and casper

Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:22:53 -0500

Will you be installing volume licensed software (one serial number) and will
most of the machines be the same?

You might want to consider Casper Admin 7.0's new feature for compiling
monolithic images from configurations. A compiled image, I believe, would
install using a block copy, which is much faster than installing via typical
methods.

I haven't had a need for this yet but would be interested in someone else's
experiences.

--

bill

William M. Smith, Technical Analyst
MCS IT
Merrill Communications, LLC
(651) 632-1492

Yup I just got emailed that exact answer from one of JAMF's staff so I am looking into it.

I like how instaDMG will let you slip stream everything in, but it looks as if Casper Admin ver. 7 does this already.

Anyone done this yet? I can't be the first...

-Tom

Inorder to use InstaDMG you need a factory LEOPARD install disk. So if you don't have a 10.5.7 disk, you need the combo update and then a package of the Casper tools you want. Then take the thre packages, OS/ Updates/Casper items, combine them, ta-da. Make sure you add in a script to write the Apple First run file, too.( so it is 4 pieces total I guess.)

Karl H. Hehr
Technology/Curriculum Director
South Hamilton CSD
www.s-hamilton.k12.ia.us
515.827.5418 (W)
515.209.9767 (C)
515.827.5368 (F)

Luddite by Degrees
1) Anything that is in the world when you're born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.
2) Anything that's invented between when you're 15 and 35 is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.
3) Anything invented after you're 35 is again the natural order of things --- Douglas Adams

been a while since I tinkered with instaDMG but... seems to me that it would take just as long to get the os running there as it does to make/ update and existing core OS for casper.

my core is somewhat customized and clocks in at about 4.5 GB... it take all of 10 minutes to compose it into a core and another 3-5 to upload it... hell making a netboot set out of it only adds another 5 minutes in the netinstall creator... unfortunately the upload to each netboot serve takes 10-15 :-(

even with a virgin machine, assuming a fresh core OS with it the customizations take no more than 30 minutes tops (including software updates).

Karl,

Yeah I understand that. I have an image of a retail disk, which should work. I had a retail disk somewhere but I can't find it. I think I lent it to someone and it never came back my way. I was going to drop the 10.5.7 combo updater in there to just make it happen. Then I was going to add the quickadd.pkg in the custom packages folder, and just zap that lab real quick with that. Then add in local users via casper policy or send unix command via ARD admin.

I don't want the initial set up screen and I want to have the users just added at boot for these particular machines. They probably won't be bound to the OD either and will most likely be managed by Casper 7 with local accounts.

That Apple First run script does what exactly? Also, how did you trigger any casper policies? did you do custom triggers or do it based on smart groups or what? This lab is maybe 20 iMacs so I need to scope out policy some how for them.

thanks

Tom

I use compiled configurations, I'll update u all tomorrow

I started using compiled images two weeks ago. The overhead of creating the compiled image really saves you time during imaging.

How many of you start with a base untouched image made from a DVD, and who does an install and then image the installed machine? What tools do you use to get the untouched image? Does Composer make an untouched OS image for a factory install disk?

Karl H. Hehr
Technology/Curriculum Director
South Hamilton CSD
www.s-hamilton.k12.ia.us
515.827.5418 (W)
515.209.9767 (C)
515.827.5368 (F)

Luddite by Degrees
1) Anything that is in the world when you're born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.
2) Anything that's invented between when you're 15 and 35 is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.
3) Anything invented after you're 35 is again the natural order of things --- Douglas Adams

Karl,

I just changed my whole work flow. Since the python scripts in InstaDMG are pretty much "idiot proof," and so simple I use it now to create my base, up to date 10.5.8 image. I then drag that into Casper Admin and create a compiled configuration of my OS X 10.5.8 base image (with all apple updates applied via instaup2date script) and all applications that need to be standard on every Mac in my enterprise. Then I use post image shell scripts to pull down specific packages to specific buildings/groups. Like teachers, students, desktops, laptops, high school, lower schools, and so forth.

Then I use an asr script to actually block copy the image. This allows me to maintain 1 master image for every Mac in my enterprise (roughly 8,000 macs) and then build smart configurations with that parent configuration of the asr script. In fact, my whole imaging configuration consists of just scripts. The is a prestage script that actually does the block copying of the image to the client machine. Then it is set to run a post image script at reboot, which binds it, and installs specific apps and packages based on smart group and auto run data. For example, we aren't going to load the computrace client on any desktops, and the mobile Internet filter client only gets applied to student machines as we do not filter the teachers off campus. So, each script will install these packages via manual trigger policies.

So when a user logs in to a Mac there are zero log files, zero accounts created, all preferences are pushed out via MCX or set with the post image shell script. It is clean and pristine and this allows me to apply it to every single Mac, and then build custom trigger policies to apply packages that are specific to a user/group/building.

-Tom