Distributing Images in a Lab Setting
To learn more about how organizations manage the software and computers in their labs, we surveyed several kinds of learning providers:
- Working from a Top 100 list of IT training community colleges in Community College Week, we interviewed as many of those institutions as we could contact.
- Cruising the Web, we found a surprisingly large collection of articles, reports, and how-to's on computer labs from all kinds of training providers and academic institutions, including more than two dozen colleges and universities.
- We contacted leading trade and technical schools and institutes like ITT, the Chubb Institute, DeVry, and others, to ask how they set up and manage their computer labs. Most of these institutions operate several dozen campuses, each with multiple computer labs.
More than 70% of the respondents said they used various components of the Symantec Ghost tools to build, distribute, and manage images in their labs. Nearly all respondents offer Windows training of some kind, and must therefore distribute Windows images. About one-third of respondents indicated they use Microsoft's SysPrep utility (or other similar Microsoft utilities) to create initial installation images for servers and workstations. Over half offer training on other operating systems, primarily Linux or UNIX, but sometimes use Windows clients to capture non-Windows images. Though Linux image distribution tools are available, they're not as widely used as Ghost or other Windows tools.
Surprisingly, about 10% of respondents use no software distribution tools at all. Instead, they rely on their students to handle installation, configuration, and maintenance during the courses they offer. On the other hand, about 30% of respondents use removable drives or multiple disk partitions in their labs, so they can reboot the same machines for multiple uses during their normal teaching cycles. Virtually all respondents provide some kind of Internet links to classroom networks, so students and administrators can grab and install software, updates, patches, and fixes as needed.
In a typical computer lab in a teaching environment, rows of tables or desks with built-in power strips, wiring conduits, and per-station lights are typical in many labs, with classroom wiring centers and twisted pair hubs also common. Many classrooms include in-room servers that provide file and print services for students and instructors. Likewise, many classrooms also link to campus backbones through their own routers (or share routers with other classrooms in the immediate vicinity). From such backbones, of course, they also ultimately link to the Internet.
Reseller opportunities with learning providers include:
- Software distribution tools
- Classroom wiring
- Workstations
- Servers
- Power strips
- Hubs
- Routers
- Wiring
- Emergency repair and support after security breaches, virus infections, etc.
- Training internal support person
- Software upgrade
Possible sale targets include:
- High schools
- Community colleges
- Four-year colleges and universities
- Technical schools
- Training companies
Be prepared to respond to requests for bid or requests for proposal, since many of these institutions are bound by local, state, and federally mandated purchasing rules and requirements. Resellers with roots in higher education will be especially well-positioned to pursue similar opportunities in high schools, technical schools, and other training programs that also need and use computer labs.
Sidebar: Ghost Components
When 70% of your market uses one piece of software, you'd best know it, too. When it comes to working with software distribution tools like Symantec Ghost, it's important to understand the components involved and how they may best be used. Key components of the Corporate Edition -- the current version, 7.5, is the most commonly used version in computer laboratories -- include:
Ghost Console: Can browse existing networks to locate PCs and deploy the Ghost client software.
Ghost Client: End-station software that can interact with the Ghost console or a GhostCast Server to request disk partitioning and delivery of one or more disk images for local use, including remote boot technology.
Remote boot technology: Ghost Clients can create virtual partitions on demand that deliver complete client capability, making it unnecessary to visit individual PCs to partition disks and load boot diskettes.
GhostCast Server: Supports broadcast, multicast, or unicast transmissions to one or more computers on a network for image distribution, disk cloning, or image updates.
Ghost Walker: Permits a generic Windows code image to be customized with individual, unique security identifiers, account information, and other installation-specific details once an image is delivered to a target computer, to make it fully operational without requiring hands-on administration.
