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Microsoft SMS vs. novadigm software and other software?!?!


Hi!


Imagine you have a company with aprox. 500 Client PCs.
It is a windows 2003 domain. Suddenly you want to install
a certain software on 289 of 500 PC. You have 1 hour for this job
or you can pack your things what do you do?
We are looking for a solution / software that can handle Microsoft SMS
(Software Management Services), updates and inventory fully automated.
We looked at the solution of novadigm () and Microsoft SMS.
Has anybody worked with those systems?
What about the idea of keeping the images of OS and applications separately.
So you can install any possible combination of applications on any OS according
to your Company policy. We also need an automatic inventory service with web access GUI.

Any Ideas or hins?

So long

gicio

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Steven52

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For ’s scenario (500 Windows‑2003 clients, 289 targets, one‑hour window) the practical architecture is: keep a small, golden OS image and push applications/patches via a policy‑driven manager. That avoids image‑combinatorics and lets you mix OS + apps by policy rather than building dozens of images. Microsoft’s SMS 2003 supports image‑based OSD (WIM images + USMT integration) and ties into SMS distribution points; Novadigm’s Radia line is built around policy‑based provisioning and a browser portal — both approaches are valid depending on whether you need tight imaging control or continuous entitlement-based provisioning. (itprotoday.com)

If the requirement is “289 machines inside one hour,” design for multicast/prestaging and test throughput beforehand. multicast image sessions (for example Symantec Ghost’s GhostCast) let one server stream a single image to many clients simultaneously and are commonly used for same‑image mass pushes; if you go the SMS/OSD route, prestage images to local distribution points, include NIC drivers in the WinPE boot image, and run a pilot to validate network and disk I/O. (knowledge.broadcom.com)

For inventory and web GUIs, look for a solution with a browser console and role‑based portal (Radia and Altiris both offer this). Use collected inventory to form precise collections for deployment, capture user state with USMT during refreshes, and prefer thin images + package/application deployment (BDD/MDT best practices) to stop image sprawl. (manualslib.com)

Quick checklist: validate network multicast capability and routing; prestage images to distribution points; build and test a WinPE boot with drivers; create task sequences that capture/restore user state; run a small pilot and time it (scale only after success). This approach matches ’s “image + future‑state manager” idea while giving concrete, testable steps.

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Microsoft SMS vs. novadigm software and other software?!?!


Hi!


Imagine you have a company with aprox. 500 Client PCs.
It is a windows 2003 domain. Suddenly you want to install
a certain software on 289 of 500 PC. You have 1 hour for this job?
or you can pack your things? what do you do?
We are looking for a solution / software that can handle Microsoft SMS
(Software Management Services), updates and inventory fully automated.
We looked at the solution of novadigm () and Microsoft SMS.
Has anybody worked with those systems?
What about the idea of keeping the images of OS and applications separately.
So you can install any possible combination of applications on any OS according
to your Company policy. We also need an automatic inventory service with web access GUI.

Any Ideas or hins?

So long

gicio

Member Avatar for Steven52

Gicio:
You are spot-on - maintain an image of the O/S and have a "future state manager" for all other aspects of the stack - HAL, Device Drivers, Patches/Fixes, Applications and customizations.

This software is provided by Intrinsic Technologies with enterprise level deployments, including IRS, SEC, VA.......

Steven

Microsoft SMS vs. novadigm software and other software?!?!


Hi!


Imagine you have a company with aprox. 500 Client PCs.
It is a windows 2003 domain. Suddenly you want to install
a certain software on 289 of 500 PC. You have 1 hour for this job?
or you can pack your things? what do you do?
We are looking for a solution / software that can handle Microsoft SMS
(Software Management Services), updates and inventory fully automated.
We looked at the solution of novadigm () and Microsoft SMS.
Has anybody worked with those systems?
What about the idea of keeping the images of OS and applications separately.
So you can install any possible combination of applications on any OS according
to your Company policy. We also need an automatic inventory service with web access GUI.

Any Ideas or hins?

So long

gicio

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