Multicasting with ASR – A Brief Overview
Apple’s venerable Apple Software Restore (asr) tool includes the insanely useful ability to image a nearly unlimited number of network clients. It accomplishes this via a router’s ability to broadcast data to any number of clients simultaneously from a single IP address. Known as multicasting, this allows even a modest computer to image a hundred Macs with 35GB images in a single fell swoop.
An ASR Restore Image in Disk Utility
The disk images asr works with are the same format used by Mac OS X’s Disk Utility. This means you can do a rollout over the network and keep the master file on hand in your re-imaging kit, should one of your workstations run into trouble and need to be re-imaged over FireWire. To ensure the sanctity of the final result, disk images include an embedded checksum which is automatically verified during the deployment process. This can be a significant advantage in using asr over of Apple NetInstall, which requires its own folder-based setup of restore source files.
Disk images are also hardware agnostic for the most part. You can build your image on a Mac Mini and apply it to anything from a PowerMac G5, to an Macbook Pro so long as it can get on the same subnet as the asr host.
The usual caveats of disk imaging apply unfortunately. You’re going to have to sweat individual serial numbers if you don’t employ network or volume licensing. Settings like hostnames and non-ubiquitous local users will require individual workstation visits without centralized management. However, having asr around to do the heavy lifting means you may be able to turn a strenuous two day deployment into a breezy one day affair.
Charlie Miller
Jeff Winesett
David Rocamora
Colin O'Donnell
Michael West
Ivan Wright
Matteo Rinaudo
Max Oglesbee
Pat Rafferty
Bob Birga
Miles Green
Scott Anderson
Chris Ross
Louai Abu-Osba
How does an Apple roll out with ASR compare to a Windows roll out with ImageX roll out? I hope I’m not opening up an APPL vs MSFT flame war..
OS3000
May 26, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Comparing the two essentially is the old debate between apples and oranges. A better comparison would be between ASR and MDT (Microsoft Deployment Toolkit.) ImageX is a component of the MDT which is pretty much the same thing as ASR, essentially ASR = MDT / MDT = ASR. Both are capable of multicast with the proper infrastructure in place, the images can be made to be customized with both, essentially they offer the same benefits. I don’t know the nitty gritty details about ASR but MDT does allow a great depth of customization on how the deployment can be done and what components, applications, and settings can be configured. I assume that ASR can do the same or at least something comparable with little more effort.
Michael West
May 27, 2009 at 1:34 pm