Build base on a laptop, Mac Pro or Mac Mini?

i use instadmg to avoid using any specific hardware. when/if apple ships hardware specific builds, i bake a new image via instadmg using those installers. my base builds are very basic. configuration management/automation (casper, puppet, munki) takes over after initial imaging.

Cloning an image from one computer type to another is fraught with this kind of issue. The 10.6 Deployment Apple Training guide from Peachpit discusses imaging options, including making a "modular" image. This is where you install Mac os x into a blank disk image that has never been booted. I would recommend you look into InstaDMG, or some other modular imaging methodology. Cheers, - D

Sent from my Tricorder. ?

We have a base image (built on macbook, works on macbook, macbook pro and iMacs) and a base Mac Pro (because of the multiple NIC issue).

Using composer to build a base image seemed easier to me than dealing with learning/using InstaDMG. This is 10.6.

Which do you use and why? I made my base from a Mac Pro but when it is installed on a Mac Book Pro two Ethernet connections show. Or do you use different base builds depending on what type of machine that is being imaged?
On 12/29/11 12:09 PM, "Neal Smith" <Neal.Smith at perrigo.com<mailto:Neal.Smith at perrigo.com>> wrote:

Others have mentioned InstaDMG already. Similarly, Casper Admin allows you to add a .dmg of a retail Mac OS X installer and use that for a pristine install every time. Even if the version of the installer is older than what the hardware supports you can continue applying the latest OS updates and it will still work.

--

William Smith
Technical Analyst
Merrill Communications LLC
(651) 632-1492

You should invest the time to learn InstaDMG. The setup may take slightly
On 12/29/11 12:26 PM, "casperadmin" <casperadmin at lmsd.org> wrote:
longer but it's something you can use and reuse with much less effort
later.

Casper's alternative to InstaDMG takes even less setup.

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Admin if you need to push the same image to multiple machines. And they'll
all be cruft-free.

--

William Smith
Technical Analyst
Merrill Communications LLC
(651) 632-1492

I used to create on a Mac Pro.

As part of my image build I removed all but Ethernet 1 then ran a script post imaging that created all the computers interfaces. This did cause some issues with MacBook Airs though.

BUT, i've since moved to a completely modular image.

I now create my base OS in Casper admin by compiling a configuration with the OS, driver updates & java.

This I then add to my base config as a DMG.

This OS DMG is a never booted OS that will create all the network interfaces needed.

Regards,

Ben.

When I started working with instaDMG it seemed very complex but found out quickly that it is extremely simple to work with. instaDMG will give you a updated clean OS that you can use on any hardware that is listed in the platform support plist

-Grant