Universal Imaging Revolutionizing Desktop Support

Universal ImagingRevolutionizing Desktop Support

Presented By:

Steve Lewis and Sara Rodgers

Agenda

• Introduction• Limitations of conventional

imaging practices• Universal Imaging defies the

status quo• Technical Discussion

Lehigh University is located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Over 4,500 undergraduates and 2,000 graduate students

IT staff supports nearly 600 lab/classroom PCs and 2,000

departmental PCs

Identical hardware configurations

Lab Image File

Advantages

• Efficient and Consistent

• Upgrades and configuration changes easily applied

• PCs refreshed (reloaded from an image) at any sign of trouble

Departmental Computers

Hardware configurations differ

Departmental Disappointment

• Departmental PC are rarely alike.

• Images are specific to a defined hardware configuration.

• Try to deploy a Gateway image on an IBM ThinkPad; won’t work.

Desktop Support Challenges

• Spyware and Viruses

• Keeping current with software

• New security policies

Isn’t there a better way?

• Standardization?

• Take away administrative rights?

• Hire more staff?

Our Solution

What does the UIU do?

One image; can work on any PC

See what we mean…

Enough text – Let’s see some photos that describe exactly what’s going on at Lehigh!

“Hello Help Desk? I’ve got a problem! Pop ups

galore…”

“This thing is so slow, and look at all these

pop ups!”

“I’d be happy to take a look.”

I know I won’t be able to remove every trace of the spyware…

Encountering difficulties

Ugh... This spyware just

won’t die!

“Keith, we’re going to need to format the PC and reinstall Windows from

scratch.”

2 Hours to reinstall Windows – a graphical view

“Two hours! Steve, you’re killing me…”

Windows reinstall commences.

Installing software per our four-page checklist

Waiting for software to install

Still waiting…

“I’m almost done, sir.”

“Glad to see it’s fixed Steve, but I have so much

work to make up.”

“Turkey on rye, hold the onion”

New ways of doing things

Let’s try this again – However, now we will illustrate the same situation addressed using Universal Imaging.

“Hello Help Desk? I’ve got a problem!

User explains his situation to IT support.

“No big deal – We’ll just refresh it.”

Refresh begins…

The 30 minute refresh – a graphical view

Refresh in progress…

Windows and campus software reloaded – all in about 30

minutes.

Which would you rather do?

Comments from Lehigh IT staff

“The time that Consultants are not

spending on mundane tasks like waiting for

Windows to install, can be spent on more complex

client problems where we provide more added

value.”

Comments from Lehigh IT staff

“What a timesaver!  Easy to use.  Makes short work of a new system setup. (Sorry it sounds like advertisement,

but it's all true!)”

Comments from Lehigh IT staff

“Although I was initially skeptical that the concept

of a "universal" image could work, I'm becoming convinced that this

approach not only works from a technical standpoint

but also provides tremendous benefit both to Lehigh and to our clients.”

So what exactly is the UIU ?

• Comprehensive set of “white box” drivers

• Fancy scripts

How to make a Universal Image

Step 1: Master PC SetupStep 2: Install UIU on Master PCStep 3: Capture image of Master PC using Ghost or other imaging software

Step 4: Deploy your image to nearly any PC.

UIU in place at Lehigh since June 2005

56%

13%

3%

25%

1%

2%

Brand New PC Setup

General Slowness

HDD Failure

Primary User Change

Spyware

Virus

Conclusion

• Universal Imaging works!

• Significant time savings for IT staff and end-users

• Not bulletproof by any means, but the massive time savings makes up for occasional glitches.

• For more technical details, please see our full paper. http://www.lehigh.edu/uiu/

Universal ImagingRevolutionizing Desktop Support

Presented By:

Steve Lewis and Sara Rodgers