LARGESCALE PC MANAGEMENT AND CONFIGURATION FOR SNS DIAGNOSTICS

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LARGE-SCALE PC MANAGEMENT AND CONFIGURATION FOR
SNS DIAGNOSTICS
Spallation Neutron Source

• Presented by David Purcell
• For Darryl J Murphy and David Purcell

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DIAGNOSTICS AT SNS
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HOW DO WE MEET OUR OBJECTIVE

• Objective Is to Easily Configure and Manage Over
  300 PC-Based IOCs
• Basic Tool Set
• Windows XP Embedded.
• Relatively Small OS
• (300 MB XPe Vs. 1 GB for XP Pro)
• Control of OS Make-up via Components
• Altiris Deployment Solution
• Client/Server Application
• Windows Server 2003 (required by Altiris).
• Microsoft SQL Server (required by Altiris),

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Developing a Base Image

• XP Embedded Tool
• Target Analyzer Program (TAP) Examines Prototype
  Machine to Determines Base Components Needed.
• Additional Standard Applications
• LabVIEW
• Altiris
• EPICS
• Conveniences
• Shortcuts
• Fonts
• Layout

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CREATING AN IMAGE

• On a Development Machine
• Basic PC Setup
• BIOS and MAC Address
• Add PC to Altiris Database
• Add Base XPe Image
• Add Altiris Client
• Identified by MAC Address.
• Rapid Installation Process (RIP)
• Comparison of Prior Setup to New Setup
• Multiple RIPs can be combined.
• Activate Network Settings
• Simple File Sharing

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Image Distribution Process

• PC BIOS Configured to Wake On LAN and to PXE
  Boot.
• PC MAC Address Stored in Altiris Database
• Communication with Altiris Downloads Initial
  Image
• Two Consecutive Boots Create the Unique Image.
• Security ID - Provided By Cloning Component of
  XPe
• Device ID - Assigned During Boot via JAVA

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PC-BASED CHANGES AND UPDATES

• Altiris Controls Updates and Changes
• Patches Added via Altiris and Device Update Agent
• Only as Commissioning Will Allow
• File Manipulation.
• Rapid Install Package (RIP)
• Hardware Change and Re-Imaging.
• Under 18 Minutes

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Initial Experience

• Altiris worked like a charm.
• considered many commercial tools capable of
  managing over 10,000 PCs.
• Small Learning Curve Because of Prior Exposure.
• Booting To Running Applications Requires Reboots.
• XPe Hard a first. Now much Better.
• Requires Diligence.
• Support Group Very Similar to EPICS Community.
• Some Components to Complex to Build.
• Prototypes Abandoned during DTL Run Good Thing
• No Failures/Crashes Yet.
• Deployment Worked So Well That Instead of Testing
  Any Machine During The Recent DTL Run, Any PC
  Needed For The Run Was Set Up Using An Embedded
  OS Built With Altiris. Nobody Would Have Known
  If We Didnt Tell.

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STUFF TO TRY (FUTURE PLANS)

• Diskless
• BXP by Venturcom
• Network Server Supplies Embedded Image
• Boot Time Is Almost Identical to Hardisk
• Backup System On Hard Disk Failure
• Headless Configuration
• May provide increased Stability?
• Base Configuration Not Dependent on Motherboard?
• Increased PC Efficiency?
• Increased Storage in RDB
• Image Storage
• Script/BAT File Storage