< Back
Page 8 of 8
This chapter is from the book
Review Quiz
- What is the minimum version of Mac OS X supported by a new Mac computer?
- What two methods can be used to create a Mac OS X v10.5 system disk image suitable for deployment?
- What are the benefits of each system image creation method?
- Which files should be removed prior to creating a cloned system image?
- What are the main steps required to build a modular system image?
- How can Apple Software Restore (ASR) be used to restore a system image to multiple computers simultaneously?
- What do you enter at the command line to start an ASR restore or clone?
- How can the Apple Custom Software Solutions (CSS) help with your deployment?
Answers
- The minimum version of Mac OS X supported by a new Mac computer is the version that it shipped with from the factory.
- The two methods that can be used to create a Mac OS X v10.5 system disk image suitable for deployment are a cloned system image created by setting up a model computer and then copying the system to a disk image, and a modular system image built by applying multiple installation packages to a disk image.
- Cloned system images offer an easier workflow for novice administrators and require less time to create the initial system image. Modular system images offer these benefits: system images are clean because they have never been booted; system images have no model-specific settings; Apple updates won’t interfere with customizations because updates are always applied prior to customizations; this method decreases your workload when creating multiple system images that require unique software and configurations; this method decreases your workload when updating system images; multiple and updated system images are perfectly consistent for similar items every single time; all configurations are fully documented and easily audited; this method requires simplified testing for updates and image modifications; this method is easily automated; and this method is easily integrated with system maintenance workflows and third-party deployment tools.
- Before creating a cloned system image, you should remove user-specific files, computer-specific files, and cache files that could cause problems when deployed to other systems.
- The main steps for building a modular system image are create a new sparse disk image; reformat the sparse disk image to permit the installation of Mac OS X; mount a disk image of the Mac OS X installation media; install Mac OS X to the sparse image optionally using an installation choices file; install additional Apple software and updates; install third-party items and custom configurations; create a read-only disk image from the contents of the mounted modular disk image volume; and scan the read/write modular disk image for restoration purposes.
- A Mac computer can be configured to host a multicast ASR stream that can be simultaneously accessed by multiple computers to restore a system image to a local volume.
- To start an ASR restore or clone, at the command line enter sudo asr -source followed by the path to the source volume or prepared disk image, and then -target followed by the path to the destination target, and then any options that you want to specify.
- The Apple CSS team can build and test a customized system image based on your deployment specifications. This custom system image can be deployed to new Macs “at the factory” before they are delivered to you.
< Back
Page 8 of 8