How do you build servers in your job?

Showboat

Showboat

Showboat

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We currently support 2000+ servers and are building them at a crazy rate, however the build process is cumbersome and pretty crap.

Using Altiris to deploy the OS
Then using IBM Bigfix to deploy the packages to the server.
We also have to manually reserve IP's in infoblox and update countless spreadsheets...

We are looking at possibily moving to SCCM in the future, but i'm not sure if it will be as powerful as bigfix, the downside to bigfix is it is ridiculously complicated to create packages, as i think its written in apple script!

At present the OS can be deployed in 30mins. That includes all the HP sum stuff.
We then get the bigfix stuff done in under an hour, while filling in all the spreadsheets :(


How do you build your and how long does it take?
 
Good old disc and driver downloads.

Although we use HP kit so the ServerGuide cd takes a lot of hassle. Into 2012 desktop under 45 minutes usually. However were a very small SMB IT support co so we don't warrant the need to automate this kinda stuff.

SCCM is pretty sweet when setup though. However for an org your size its going to take a long time to switch over to this id imagine.
 
We built our own single system for this. Builds virtually any OS from scratch, on physical tin or virtual. All from spec files which are pretty much auto-generated as well. Will 1st and 2nd stage a machine so you can have a fully working webserver for example in about 30mins.

I've not built a machine by hand in the last 18months now!
 
Deploy from template in VMWare.
Join domain.
Deploy McAfee.
Patch from WSUS.
Move Swap file to separate disk.
Configure SRM for DR.
Done, takes about 45 minutes.

If you have 2000 servers, you really should be looking at Virtualisation. I can understand not virtualising DB's and the like, but for pretty much everything else it makes a lot of sense.
 
Deploy VM's from template, let SCCM take care of the rest.
Depending on what your running, visualization is defiantly the way to go
 
Use API calls to spin up an instance from a master image, Chef deals with post-config into whatever role it needs to be.
 
It certainly is! Got most of the work done, now just in the process of customising unattend.xml's and kickstart files. Along with a few scripts for our custom bits.

Then just the simple task of deploying across 10 sites!
 
Currently VMware templates but I'll be moving them across to SCCM in the new year with PowerShell scripting for end to end automated deployment.
 
We have about 800 servers the build procedure is as below,

1) remove pants
2) dump on a blade server
3) hope for the best

This ensures all servers are built slightly differently and never work properly,
 
Xinn said:
Currently VMware templates but I'll be moving them across to SCCM in the new year with PowerShell scripting for end to end automated deployment.
Click to expand...

Templates are probably quicker. Templates + SCCM would probably be the fastest. Create MSI's if you can and deploy your applications via SCCM.

Essentially you deploy from template, add the computer to the right group in SCCM and off it goes.

In my opinion scripting should be the last possible option and should be done when you can't do it via traditional means. Scripts require maintenance, testing, etc. and also updating if anything changes.





M.
 
For VM's we build from a template for our pysical builds we use HP smartstart/Dell ISM to create the array/Logical drive and install the OS+ drivers + management agents. We then use CA to deploy AV / patches / software

very ancient method i know
 
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