DeployStudio and Casper

[tep]

Is anyone out there using DeployStudio for imaging and Casper for management? We are new to Casper, and really miss DeployStudio for imaging. I know that we need to go all in to Casper, but don't think we can get everything where we need it to be by fall semester. Is anyone splitting their deployment?

[kuwaharg]

I might be... All depends on how I get along with the Casper stuff in two weeks, when I need to start re-imaging/deployment for fall term (we start at the end of Sept).

For our simple labs (OS, Office, web) I'll Casper image them. Get some experience doing a deployment with something small, if i have to repeat a few times it doesn't take long.

For a couple labs that have a lot of odd software I might just quick-add them into the JSS and manage them until I get a build for them this winter. The build on them is fine for another term, no need to rush.

Our regular (big) image I'm going to try to do it Casper, but I know deploystudio is there as my backup.

It seems we are in the same shoes... I know deploystudio quite well and know it would get the job done, Heck, I could have had a build done 2 weeks ago. But if I really want to learn to use the new tool I need to stick with it.

Ask me again in 2 weeks and we'll see where I end up :)

--Gretchen

[rtrouton]

I'm using DeployStudio and Casper together very successfully. DeployStudio handles my new machine builds and existing machine reimaging, Casper handles the post-deploy management.

One particular thing I like about using both together is that I can use DeployStudio workflows to automatically uninstall the existing Casper agent as part of an OS upgrade process, then automatically reinstall the Casper agent as the last step in the upgrade process.

[bruce_gannett]

Hello tep,

You can leave your existing DeployStudio set up in place, and just manage the Macs with Casper.

We do that here in our environment. We will probably move to the Casper Imaging method eventually.

DS and Casper Imaging live happily together on our NetBoot box.

Post back if you have any questions.

Bruce Kincheloe
Gannett

[tep]

Do you run Recon to update the Casper inventory, and get the machine managed?

[rtrouton]

I'm using QuickAdd installer packages to install the Casper agent on the Macs.

[FastGM3]

Same here! We created a QuickAdd package in Recon then use it as a post-action install in the DeployStudio workflows.

Works great!

When we first implemented Casper we used Recon to find 90% of the computers that were already deployed, and everything afterward that gets imaged gets the quickadd.

[alexjdale]

Yeah, no reason you can't use both. I replaced DeployStudio with Casper Imaging last year, then moved to Casper for client management this year. I still maintain the old Imaging server infrastructure, and sometimes it is nice to have them separated.

The only thing I miss about DeployStudio is the partitioning task, since that functionality is lacking in Casper.

Anyways, if you know DeployStudio, Casper will be simple to learn since it is conceptually very similar.

[arekdreyer]

The only thing I miss about DeployStudio is the partitioning task, since that functionality is lacking in Casper.

Wait, what? Did you know you can use Casper Admin to create extra partitions for a configuration?

[John_Wetter]

I guess you could use both, but I'd look at it as why spend more time on another set of software when you've bought a suite that does it all? Unless there is a huge missing piece, that just sounds like more work to me...