Ghost Multicasting Essay, Research Paper
Ghost Multicasting allows one computer,
the Ghost Server, to download a Ghost image from the Server and then redirects
the image to other workstations, the Ghost Clients, through the use of
TCP/IP settings over the network.
The main advantage of Ghost Multicasting
is that the downloading time is extremely shortened as only one PC is downloading
the image off the Server which dramatically reduces the risk of heavy network
traffic.
The only disadvantage is that the PC chosen
to be the Ghost Server has to have enough free hard drive space to store
the image which will then be redistributed.
The Two Methods Of Ghost Multicasting.
Manually Specified Ghost Multicast ?
Using this method you have to manually
assign unique IP addresses for the Client PCs by using and configuring
the wattcp.cfg file located on each Clients? boot disk.
Automatically Specified Ghost Multicast
?
This second method is by using Windows
NT to automatically assign IP addresses to the Client PCs by the use of
the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, or DHCP, included in Windows NT
ver. 4.00.
Manually Specified Ghost Multicasting:
Setting Up Ghost Server Disk
1. Prepare a boot disk that includes and
loads the necessary network drivers and maps the disk images directory
from the network.
2. Copy over the DOS Ghost Server program
(dosghsrv.exe) to the same disk and add it to the autoexec.bat file.
3. Copy over the wattcp.cfg file to the
disk and change the IP Address, Subnet Mask and Gateway according to network.
(A special IP Address should be allocated for the Server PC)
Setting Up Client Disks
1. Prepare boot disks in the same order
for the server boot disk but copy over ghost.exe instead of dosghsrv.exe.
2. Edit the wattcp.cfg and add in a unique
IP Address for each boot disk. (Usually IP Addresses would have been
up earlier for the specific use of identifying ghost client PCs)
Ghosting Client PCs
1. Load up the PC which will act as the
Ghost Server with the Server Boot Disk and load dosghsrv.exe from the DOS
command prompt.
2. Type in a Session Name and select the
Image File from the disk images directory on the network.
3. Start up Client PCs with the unique
Boot Disks and load ghost.exe. From the Ghost Server, you should see the
IP Addresses of the Clients appear in the window as each Client PC loads
the Ghost program.
4. Once every Client PCs? IP Address can
be seen in the Ghost Server window, you are able to select them all by
clicking on Accept Clients.
5. Click on Send to start the deploying
of the disk image to the Client PCs.
Automatically Specified Ghost Multicasting
Setting Up Ghost Server Disk
1. Format a disk and copy over the ghostsrv.exe.
Setting Up Client Disks
1. Prepare a couple of boot disks with
all the necessary network drivers and commands so that they can map to
the network. (The boot disks contain exactly the same information as each
other and do not have unique settings.)
2. Copy over the ghost.exe and add the
program to the autoexec.bat file.
Ghosting Client PCs
1. Log into a Windows NT PC with admin
rights and run the ghostsrv.exe from the floppy disk.
2. Type in a Session Name and select the
Image File from the disk images directory on the network.
2. Start up Client PCs the Client Boot
Disks and load ghost.exe. From the Ghost Server, you should see the IP
Addresses of the Clients appear in the window as each Client PC loads the
Ghost program.
3. Once every Client PCs? IP Address can
be seen in the Ghost Server window, you are able to select them all by
clicking on Accept Clients.
4. Click on Send to start the deploying
of the disk image to the Client PCs.