revision control practices applied to computer configurations
The standard computer configuration process at Drew University was far from a formalized procedure. Computer lab workstations, classroom computers, faculty and staff desktops, library public workstations, and student laptops were imaged with different configurations, created independently by several different staff members. When a configuration problem occurred, the staff member responsible for the configuration was the only source of information to troubleshoot problems.With the introduction of Windows XP in 2002, image creation was centralized for all non-server configurations, drawing from the individual methods of all staff members. The standardized configuration was used interdepartmentally, and the steps were made publicly accessible.In August of 2004, a plan was drafted to take advantage of this centralized system, when an image versioning system was suggested. Using standard revision control practices, the exact configuration of a machine could be gathered from the version number of the image found on it. Whether or not a certain patch was applied or application was upgraded could be ascertained from this information, and the appropriate level of support offered before an upgrade was suggested.Computer configurations are created initially as virtual machines on VMware Workstation, allowing support personnel to try to reproduce a problem with the customer's configuration, and giving system administrators a way to test patches on different configurations that exist out in the field before applying them over the network. This paper will examine the versioning system used and explain its benefits.
revision control imaging windows versioning