A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving a request to install one of a plurality of different operating systems (OS abc, OS def) on one of a plurality of heterogeneous target machines (208, 310), two or more of which comprise different hardware environments, the request comprising a name of the operating system to be installed and a name of the target machine; selecting, by a controller and based on the name of the operating system and the name of the target machine in the received request, a corresponding interface driver from a set of interface drivers coupled to the controller, further characterized in that each interface driver in the set being associated with a different operating system and a different target machine interface or hardware type that a user may request to be installed; invoking, by the controller, the corresponding interface driver; issuing, via the corresponding interface driver invoked by the controller, one or more commands translated from a common set of commands from the controller to the target machine named in the request to install the operating system named in the request on the target machine; and wherein issuing, via the corresponding interface driver invoked by the controller, one or more of the commands to the target machine to install the named operating system further comprises: determining an installation type of the operating system named in the request from an operating system table, the installation type being one of a scripted type or an image type; when the installation type is a scripted type, retrieving a scripted installer from the location of the operating system to be installed; and when the installation type is an image-based type, loading the operating system on the target machine, wherein the operating system comprises a plurality of imaging tools. receiving a request to install one of a plurality of different operating systems (OS abc, OS def) on one of a plurality of heterogeneous target machines (208, 310), two or more of which comprise different hardware environments, the request comprising a name of the operating system to be installed and a name of the target machine; selecting, by a controller and based on the name of the operating system and the name of the target machine in the received request, a corresponding interface driver from a set of interface drivers coupled to the controller, further characterized in that each interface driver in the set being associated with a different operating system and a different target machine interface or hardware type that a user may request to be installed; invoking, by the controller, the corresponding interface driver; issuing, via the corresponding interface driver invoked by the controller, one or more commands translated from a common set of commands from the controller to the target machine named in the request to install the operating system named in the request on the target machine; and wherein issuing, via the corresponding interface driver invoked by the controller, one or more of the commands to the target machine to install the named operating system further comprises: determining an installation type of the operating system named in the request from an operating system table, the installation type being one of a scripted type or an image type; when the installation type is a scripted type, retrieving a scripted installer from the location of the operating system to be installed; and when the installation type is an image-based type, loading the operating system on the target machine, wherein the operating system comprises a plurality of imaging tools. determining an installation type of the operating system named in the request from an operating system table, the installation type being one of a scripted type or an image type; when the installation type is a scripted type, retrieving a scripted installer from the location of the operating system to be installed; and when the installation type is an image-based type, loading the operating system on the target machine, wherein the operating system comprises a plurality of imaging tools.