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 set

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.