Filed under: Enterprise, Software, Cool tools, Freeware
The admin's freeware friend: DeployStudio
For individual Mac users or small businesses, it's usually not a problem deploying new Macs with a standard image -- as a Mac support specialist, you might just load each machine manually. But imagine if you need to deploy hundreds or thousands of Macs, PCs, or XServes. You'd need a small army of techs or a way to do the job automatically.That's where DeployStudio comes in handy. This freeware tool can be used to create deployment files using Netboot, external USB or FireWire drives, or any AFP, SMB, or NFS sharepoint on the network.
DeployStudio works with Mac OS X 10.4.11 to 10.5.3 at this point, and is updated regularly to include new OS versions. The package consists of DeployStudio Server, DeployStudio Assistant, DeployStudio Admin, and diffPackageMaker.
DeployStudio Server creates a network based deployment server containing the images. Assistant is used to configure the server and to create the NetInstall sets, while Admin is used to monitor deployments, manage disk images and scripts, enter configurations, and more. diffPackageMaker can look at the difference between two file system snapshots and create installation packages based on what has been changed or added.
Detailed documentation PDFs and screencasts are available on the DeployStudio site.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joseph said 5:26PM on 10-17-2008
The SysAdmin in me says YES!!!
The Designer in me says YES!!!
I am now complete.
Reply
ars_workerbee said 5:26PM on 10-17-2008
What's the point of dealing with something new when I've gotten the process for deploying images via NetRestore in place, and it doesn't need updates to work with new client OS versions?
I mean, heck, I had a NetRestore setup that was done from 10.3, served from a 10.4 server, delivering a 10.5 image, and it didn't even cough.
Reply
Tony said 5:51PM on 10-17-2008
I agree. I don't see where this is anything different than NetRestore, which I use all the time to deploy images via FireWire and/or over the network.
Dan said 9:28AM on 10-20-2008
I never thought I'd leave NetRestore PHP Services behind, especially now that it's populated with 350+ machines in 42 Machine Groups. We have started looking into Deploy Studio as an additional option for deploying to labs where customizations need to be made based on area and when you don't want to rely on ARD Task Manager to do post-install tasks.
As we couldn't really start assessing Deploy Studio with out the migration of our existing NetRestore DB, I wrote up a php script and instructions on how to migrate existing machines and machine groups into Deploy Studio:
http://www.deploystudio.com/Forums/viewtopic.php?id=235
Give it a shot, the server end is a 5 minute install and the plist import is easy with the provided script. Its an additional optional NetBoot image, so it can run side by side with NetRestore, and the option of having workflows is intriguing. In the future, we'd like to maintain one thin lab image for all labs, with individual software pieces installed via workflows with a solution comparable to Deploy Studio.
Joseph said 5:27PM on 10-17-2008
boo! netboot only works on OS X server.
Reply
Luman said 12:28PM on 10-18-2008
I have used both Bombich's tools, Filewave, and this. If you do not understand the differences between the tools then so be it, but this tool is very different from Bombich's.
First off, Bombich is a king. Without his hard work, tools, & Mt. Fuji-sized efforts, we would all be worse off.
DeployStudio kind of takes the whole NetBoot / NetInstall / NetRestore scenario to another level and enables you have a true server-client setup. You can create workflows specific to machines, groups, etc. If you are familiar with Symantec Ghost Solutions Suite, this is about the closest Mac equivalent I've found so far.
Your workflow (or "task" as its called in Ghost) can include a multitude of operations - restore an image, create an image, execute scripts, install licenses, whatever you want. These workflows are all setup on the server side of things, and clients know what's available to them by computer group, access level, and MAC address. As long as you have NetBoot working as it should be, taking advantage of evertyhing that DeployStudio has to offer greatly reduces your overhead.
It's really quite cool & a breeze to setup. Again, don't get me wrong, I love Bombich's tools and still use them.
Reply
Jash Sayani said 1:44PM on 10-18-2008
Any tool to backup and restore Applications with License, Prefs, etc.
I have got 10 Macs and have to load the same set of Applications, so instead of installing it 10 times and entering the product key 10 times and changing the settings 10 times. An app to copy selected Apps along with the Library folder and Pref. Plists would be great....
Any such app...?
Reply
V said 2:14PM on 10-19-2008
JAMF also makes a suite of software, the Casper Suite, designed to image computers and after that, manage the software on the machines over the network. I think that Casper would work for what you want.
v said 2:17PM on 10-19-2008
Actually, diffPackageMaker from the DeployStudio suite should do the same thing.
Jash Sayani said 4:35AM on 10-20-2008
Thanks for your replies V.
diffPackageMaker is for OS 10.4 only, so no Leopard support
However, Casper Img (Casper Suite) is a good solution....
hindlist said 8:59AM on 10-20-2008
i agree. its quite useful. http://www.hindlist.com
Reply
discusreilly said 9:02AM on 11-19-2008
You want a reason to consider using Deploy studio? How about the fact that Bombich himself has decided to drop Netrestore 11/18/08 and is recommending publicly the use of Deploy Studio? I am an avid Bombich user (Netresore, CCC, and PHP) and love all his products. I rely heavily on Netrestore and have used it to manage over 800 computers beautifully. On paper, Deploy Studio seems promising. I will have to give it a try (and Dan, I would like to try to use your script to migrate my PHP over to it, so thank you in advance).
It seems like a merge between Netrestore and the new Apple mentality of mass deployment with packages. I am also excited to try something that also works with my PC's (I only have a few, but would like the same power and haven't investigated Ghost yet). Nervous, but excited and happy that I at least have some time to investigate and test this before I need to reimage all my macs again.
Reply