[Casper] Automating Server Installs

[Jeremy Matthews]

InstaDMG +1 - love it...mostly

Instead of local config files how about creating directory records  
(for servers)?

-j

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Message: 1
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:16:55 -0400
From: "Miles Leacy" <miles.leacy at themacadmin.com>
Subject: [Casper] Automating Server Installs
To: "Casper List" <casper at list.jamfsoftware.com>
Message-ID:
	<ec2e75ff0810311216w4e7ea84bo50bea1df9f474fde at mail.gmail.com>
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This message is in two parts...

For anyone using InstaDMG with the Casper suite, I'd like to hear your
experiences.  I like the idea of never having booted my base system  
before
dropping it.  I'm curious as to how deeply we can mesh the InstaDMG  
concept
& methodology with the Casper tool.  It seems that they should be  
largely
compatible.

Secondly, I'm trying to automate my Mac OS X Server installs.  Right  
now,
I'm just thinking through workflow conceptually.
If I create a Netinstall image from the OS X Server install disc, I'll  
still
need to get a configuration file to the machine.  There's the simple  
Apple
answer of putting the configuration file on a USB key attached to the
server, but I'm looking for a more automated way that won't require me  
to
ever see the server, just to know its serial number .  I've got  
Casper, and
I want to rebuild Xserves via my iPhone at a caf? while on my way to  
more
interesting things.

One thought I had was to create a traditional image at a point before  
going
through the server setup, and include the configuration file as
a separate package on top of the image.  Theoretically, at first boot,  
the
system should see a config file present and use it.

If anyone has any ideas, or better yet, proven workflows, I'd love to  
hear
about them.

Thanks,
Mile