Linux Dividends; Friendly "Ghost"

Friendly Ghost

Regarding Steven Hill's Sneak Preview of Symantec's Ghost Corporate Edition 8.0 (Jan. 22, 2004), I'm planning to buy the product to manage roughly 200 PC configurations remotely. One of Ghost CE's selling points is the ability to roll out Windows Hotfixes and Service Packs.

I'm having a hard time figuring out how to install a Hotfix to all Windows 2000 PCs at midnight. Is it simply a matter of pushing the image of the Hotfix, then executing the Hotfix? Or do I need to create an AI (Automatic Install) package for every Hotfix?

MARK A. HOVEY

IT Specialist
Deschutes Public Library
[email protected]Steven Hill replies: Ghost CE will let you push the Hotfix executable directly--either in advance, in the case of a large file, by scheduling a separate transfer task, or directly from the host as part of a transfer/ install task. Most Windows Hotfixes are available as executables that support conditional installation switches allowing unattended patching, such as those listed below.

/? : Display the list of installation switches.

/u : Use Unattended mode.

/f : Force other programs to quit when the computer shuts down.

/n : Do not back up files for removal./o : Overwrite OEM files without prompting.

/z : Do not restart when installation is complete.

/q : Use Quiet mode (no user interaction).

/l : List installed hotfixes.

/x : Extract the files without running Setup.The only drawback is that you have to identify and download the Hotfix executables in advance. You'll need to create an AI package only if the patch doesn't natively support unattended installation.

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