using symantec ghost for distributing images to pc/ disk duplication

[superdave_1987]

hi sorry if this is in the wrong area
i am quite new to linux and have made a thinclient like system based on debian to run a client to connect to a virtual desktop client. the problem i have now is that we need to deploy this configuration to several hundred machines. We already have symantec ghost solutions suite that we use for windows deployments so this would be the preferred method however i am unsure how to deal with problems like the mac/ip address been in config files and the host names been the same or given that these pcs will only run this one piece of aoftware if this is even an issue. any advice would be greatly appreciated.

ps if anyone has experience ghosting linux and whether you need to use specific modes i.e sector by sector of if the compression works then any info on this would be great

[Rubberman]

Check into clonezilla: Clonezilla - About

[superdave_1987]

Check into clonezilla: illa.org/]Clonezilla

i have looked into clonezilla and other alternatives howver due to the size of deployment we need to image 30 pcs at a time as we are going to rollout over 500 images so we would need clonezilla server as me already have ghoat solution suite as set up multicasting and as a pxe boot point it is going to be hard for me to get the network admins to set clonezilla server up so i couls really do with using ghost. the problem i have is making the machines individual i.e. in windows we use sysprep i know there are no sids in linux but how well does it adapt to having a differnt image pu on it i.e. the same host name ip address mac address etc or will dhcp sort this

[superdave_1987]

ps sorry about the apelling above im on a phone

[Rubberman]

The Clonezilla server edition (Clonezilla - Sever Edition) will clone up to 40+ systems at a time, using multi-casting. You might want to go back and investigate that option a bit further.

[Irithori]

Network bits and pieces like IP, network mask, gateway, nameserver and the clients hostname can be controlled and offered to the clients by a dhcp server.
If you want always the same IP/hostname for a client, then you would need to collect MAC addresses first and use these in the dhcpd config.

If network config is the only difference between the deployed machines, then you only need to make a ghost image.
A brief google says, that ghost does know about linux partitions and at least ext2/3 filesystems.

If there is need for an client specific initialization after the image deploy, then a init script comes to mind.
ie: Check for the existence of a file "INITIALIZED" (or similar)
If there is none, start the init script.
As a last step after a succesful run, it will create said file "INITIALIZED"

This is a bit of a ducttape approach, and usually I would point to a full featured systemconfig tool like puppet.
But this may or may not be overkill for your situation.

Actually..
If I think about it, it may not be the worst idea to have a puppet manifest instead of said script.
You would then call puppet apply <manifest> to initialize a client.