[H-GEN] Ghost for Linux or *nix for that matter

R&J Stuart rjstuart at bigpond.net.au
Thu Jun 19 05:30:38 EDT 2003


[ Humbug *General* list - semi-serious discussions about Humbug and     ]
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pyrotek wrote:
> [ Humbug *General* list - semi-serious discussions about Humbug and     ]
> [ Unix-related topics. Posts from non-subscribed addresses will vanish. ]
> 
> 
> Sorry to but into the Topic but on the subject of cloning machines, is
> it possible in Linux to give a full set of drivers needed to work on
> different systems but still be the same base image, What I am trying to
> say is there a Linux = to Sysprep from windows?
> OR am I on the wrong track here lol

Hi,

First off for the people who aren't aware what sysprep is; sysprep is 
winnt/2k/xp tool that is used machines to prepare them for cloning after 
all sw etc is installed - it removes windows licencing info, machine 
name and authentication / domain stuff, probably a couple of other 
things.  If you then boot the machine after syspreping, it will prompt 
for this info.

A Linux box will have very little use for any of that sort of 
information that sysprep looks after, except possibly a hostname.  If 
you want to images lots of linux boxes like this, then you'd be better 
off using dhcp to automatically have the boxes configure themselves 
anyhow and hostnames would be looked after.  The other sysprep stuff (ie 
licencing, domain binding etc) doesn't generally apply for free unixes, 
and I don't think it would apply to many if any commercial unixes too.

If on the other hand protek was asking if linux had an equiv tool to 
sysprep that would work on windows boxes (or FSs), then the answer is 
probably no.  There could be something out there that is commercial, but 
I don't know why anyone would - you have to get windows set up 
appropriately in the first place so you might as well do the sysprep 
before imaging...  As to the drivers (for windows), that should be a 
matter of getting the right files installed in the right place on a 
windows machine (this is going a bit OT) - windows matches HW to drives 
with its inf files; there is nothing stopping you installing the inf 
files before hand and putting the tree of drivers in the same place as 
the windows cab files.  If you want to do this, there should be plenty 
of references on the 'net with more info about this.  Of course once you 
are at this stage (drivers copied, sysprep run), you could use linux to 
image away....

[appologies for wandering OT]

Regards,

Robert


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