One of the most time-consuming tasks as an IT Administrator is setting up a new workstation for a new user. A workstation is typically a laptop these days, but could still be a traditional Windows desktop or possibly a Linux-based workstation. As part of SPK’s infrastructure support service, we utilize Clonezilla for setting up a new user workstation. It’s a fast, free, and extremely easy to use. On average, it takes about 1 to 2 hours to setup a new Windows-based workstation from scratch. That includes installing the operating system, common applications, and any specific job-related applications that the new user might need. If you were to have 5 new users starting on Monday, it would take you anywhere 5 to 10 hours to setup their machines! Clonezilla reduces this time significantly and allows IT Administrators greater flexibility when setting up a workstation for a new user.
Some of the features of Clonezilla include:
- Bootable CD, portable
- Supports a wide range of hardware
- Creates clone images on local and network-based media
- Fast, secure and accurate
- Many different filesystem formats are supported natively
- Can be setup as a network server to support PXE boot and automated network installations.
I’ve come up with a 10 step howto for creating a standard workstation image and saving it to a file server all using Clonezilla.
Bradley Tinder
Systems Integrator, SPK
