[geeks] MS SBS Server - issues and questions

[Nick B.]

I'm not sure which version of Ghost you're looking at, but the Enterprise 
version runs 40$/system for 10-24 licenses, dropping to about 24$ by the time 
you hit 100 licenses, so if you're doing any kind of volume it's well worth it
(at least to me).
http://www.symantecstore.com/dr/sat1/ec_Main.Entry17C?SID=49999&SP=10023&CID=0&PID=799460&PN=1&V1=799460&CUR=840&DSP=&PGRP=0&ABCODE=&CACHE_ID=195834#
I've always been a big fan of ghost though, and you can sell the client on the
cost saying "And we'll leave behind a DVD with a full system image!" and other
such BS.
	Nick
On Sat, Aug 12, 2006 at 04:18:10PM -0500, Brian Dunbar wrote:
> Hey,
> 
> I've picked up a part time job (hooray for keeping busy) with a local
> integrator.  My role is to 'flip' his new clients from whatever ad-hoc
> mess they'd been using* to SBS 2003.
> 
> One of these is okay - but I can see that a great deal of my time is
> going to be spent watching SBS install.  Naturally my mind turns to ways
> to reduce the boring bits.
> 
> Ghost is expensive but g4u** seems like a decent alternative.  Plus it's
> BSD so we can put my unix skillz*** to work.
> 
> The big problem is SBS.  After pushing the image you'd need to change a
> hundred little settings inside the OS for the new customer.  Bob reports
> that he's looked into this a few months ago and gave up in despair - too
> many weird setting in odd places and the result never seemed to work right.
> 
> Is Bob right?  Surely somewhere has had this problem and come up with a
> solution, but my Google skills have failed me in this regard.  A script?
>  Registry hack?  Black magic?  If I could just _do_ this then we'd cut
> the time down to flip a client from 'all damned day' to 'reasonable'.
> 
> Okay, yes, the downside is that I - and thus Bob - wouldn't make as
> much.  But the upside is I'd spend more time doing 'interesting' things
> and less staring at crawly progress bars.
> 
> 
> * This weekend's client had installed W2K Pro on a Dell PowerEdge for
> example.
> 
> ** http://fbim.fh-regensburg.de/~feyrer/g4u/
> 
> *** d00d.
> 
> -- 
> Brian Dunbar
> System Administrator
> Liftport - The Space Elevator Company
> 
> brian.dunbar at liftport.com
> aim: bdunbar1967
> 
> this email is: [ ] bloggable [x] ask first [ ] private
> 
> Remember.
> But move forward, too. Light a candle, yes. But also drive a rivet.
> ~Lileks
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