Compiled Configuration

I have been having nothing but headaches trying to image my laptops for deployment this year. I have a rather simple configuration that will install without issue, but takes FOREVER (20 machines on a Gig connection will take 4+hours). SO after talking with JAMF the solution was to compile the configuration. I did this (also rather time consuming) and the once working configuration now causes a kernel panic on reboot of the imaged machine. SO, next solution compile the image on the same hardware that I am trying to image. I now go to compile this configuration and it compiles in a matter of seconds and gives me a config that is 1.5MB which I know is wrong. I am now out of ideas and need to have all my machines ready for roll-out night on Monday. I am open to suggestions, because right now I am having more success using CCC and firewire cables.

Server running the JSS and hosting all configs is a quad-core XServe with 6GB RAM
All machines I am trying to image are MacBooks about 1 year old
Config includes: Some (dmg, pkg, mpkg, .sh)
10.6.4
Office 2008
Google Earth
Google Sketchup
iWork 09
iLife 09
Blender
Firefox
SeisMac
Paintbrush
Ambition
Decisions
Inspiration
Stellarium
Flash
Reader
LoggerPro
4 printers
A handful of scripts to set time, network prefs, etc.
OD Bind.

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

As far as imaging goes, if you're doing multiples at one time you can look
into the multicast imaging tool in JAMF's resource kit.

I have honestly not used it, but if anyone else out there that has can
attest to it, please do.

http://www.jamfsoftware.com/support/resource-kit

Although, now that I think of it, and we have multicast enabled on the
network...I should look at using it when I redo labs.

Reference of the Resource Kit twice in one day. Nick rules!

Craig E

The OS portion of your image, is it a snapshot using Composer or InstaDMG,
On Thu, Aug 12, 2010 at 9:01 PM, Karl Hehr <karl_hehr at s-hamilton.k12.ia.us>wrote:
or is it a disk image of an OS DVD that you are telling Casper Admin is a
Macintosh Installer? If it is the latter method, using the OS DVD, then you
cannot compile that configuration. It will do exactly what you describe,
give you a 1mb file.

I always create my OS image using InstaDMG on the latest hardware I have in
shop. In this case, I would use one of the laptops to create the image
using InstaDMG and the OS DVD that came with the machine, or a Retail OS DVD
that then would be updated to 10.6.4 during the InstaDMG build process.

Steve

Sorry to hear about your troubles. It can be frustrating trust me, I know first hand. I have a compiled image that I use all day every day in my 1 to 1 I work with. I use instaDMG to create the OS image, and the package up individual apps in composer and compile them together. It works out very well. In fact I use a compiled configuration as my base for a smart configuration, then base every school configuration off my parent compiled configuration. I do everything via ASR scripts. My compiled image has the following in it:

OS X 10.5.8 iLife 09 Office 2004 Firefox Paint Brush various academia apps Flip4Mac Google Earth Self Service

I image 10 Macbooks netbooted from a Mac mini turned into server and they finish from start to reboot to post image script in about 25 minutes for 10.

-Tom

Karl,

While there are many ways to image, and I see many people use InstaDMG, you
could also break this down into a fairly simple form since you are in a time
crunch without the use of extra tools, and just using the Casper suite.

Since you have plenty of bandwidth (running everything off of a gig switch),
you shouldn't really have any bottlenecks there.

A simple thing to try would be setup a base install (from DVD) onto the
newest hardware (or in you're case, maybe off the computers you will be
imaging this week), and make an OS image with Composer.

Then drop your new base into a config with all your packages and scripts..
You could compile it, or just run it as is.. (Maybe try as is first to make
sure everything checks out, and depending on the speed you may or may not
choose to compile the image.)

I push our configs un-compiled and can do a lab of 30 in roughly an hour.
That includes the OS, iLife, Office, iWork, and a handful of other apps plus
some scripts.. We are also running with a gig connection, so should have
similar results.

In any case, hope you get it going and good luck with imaging!

-- Jason Weber
Technology Support Cluster Specialist
Independent School District 196
jason.weber at district196.org

Hi Karl,
That sounds way too slow, like something is wrong. If you look at the server that is serving the files, what kind of throughput do you get? I assume the computers are being netbooted. First thing would be to make sure it isn't something with the netboot environment. Try target-booting a computer and run Casper Install to image the computer and see if you get better throughput.

We can image a lab of 30 desktops or laptops in about 25 minutes with one of our larger student configurations, so your times really point to an issue somewhere. I assume you're on Gigabit networking and have otherwise tested the throughput on that to see that the issue isn't there?

John

--
John Wetter
Technical Services Manager
Educational Technology, Media & Information Services
Hopkins Public Schools

We support many different environments so we manage many different configurations. All users get the same BaseImage, and then we have a (very long) list of applications that get layered on during the imaging process. In the interest of increasing imaging speed, we compile images as necessary. Our rule is to compile using stuff that 80% or more of the environment uses. If something is used by less than 80% of the users, it gets layered on via configuration...if something is used by 80% or more of the users it goes into the compiled image.

Everyone is going to have a different workflow for their environment....that's ours. YMMV :)

Don