Imaging Computers

Capturing an Image

• Prep

  • computer is set up according to ComputerConfiguration (only needs to be done once)

  • network infrastructure is set up according to NetworkConfiguration (only needs to be done once)

  • run through the ImageChecklist to see that software meets requirements

• Imaging
  • login using ssh (Putty on Windows)

  • run dcs command

    [yourusername@drbl ~]# sudo dcs

    on DRBL, starting an interactive series of questions

  • Follow the prompts to specify computer by IP, clonezilla start, save disk, beginner, shutdown (at your option)

  • Boot prepped computer from network
  • Should be hands-off, imaging happens (30-50 minutes)
  • Computer turns off

Deploying an Image

• Imaging
  • login to drbl.physics.wisc.edu using sshPutty

  • run dcs command

    • [yourusername@drbl ~]# sudo dcs

      on DRBL, starting an interactive series of questions:

    • Follow prompts to select a group of PCs by IP address

    • choose clonezilla start, beginner, restore disk, reboot (or your option), choose image (created after the Capturing an Image step), multicast restore (for multiple PCs), and set a time which will allow you to get all computers ready.

• At the recieving computer
  • Shouldn't be much, boot all computers to the boot media selection screen in BIOS (press F12 shortly after power-on)
  • Choose network boot.
  • Should be hands-off, imaging happens (10-40 min, slightly shorter than capturing)
  • Computer turns off
• After multicast is done, turn off clonezilla mode. THIS IS NECESSARY because otherwise the computers might get a wake-on-LAN packet, and then boot from network device. (Boot from network device after waking from LAN is a BIOS option which is turned on at the moment.)
  • Again start DRBL

  • [yourusername@drbl ~]# sudo dcs

  • Select a All clients, clonezilla stop. (Will take awhile to return to command line.)

CategoryComputing