mac os x panther imaging do's and don'ts
In fall of 2003, our department decided to deploy OS X on our 100 or so Apple lab computers. Apple provided a free training session on its OS X Server Network Image Utility, and we jumped at the opportunity. A month of testing left us frustrated with the Network Image Utility and the NetInstall procedure; they simply did not work as advertised. Apple's OS X Server imaging tools work fine in certain environments, or with post-flight modifications, but we found them to be unusable in our environment. After consultation with Apple engineers and with colleagues from other schools, we settled on Mike Bombich's Carbon Copy Cloner and NetRestore applications in conjunction with Apple Software Restore and Mac OS X Server's NetBoot feature. This paper and presentation discuss our experience with Apple's imaging tools as well as third-party imaging software. We detail the advantages, disadvantages, and recommended use of each program. We also discuss pairing the Apple Remote Desktop software with scripts and tools such as ARD Companion and NetRestore to create an easily managed and deployed OS X lab environment.
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