Leslie Sessions, Technology Coordinator for a small Texas school district, was kind enough to teach me about FOG. Like anyone else, I have a lab full or two of computers. These Windows XP computers have to be reimaged frequently, and doing so can get to be a pain…I’d considered using Clonezilla but to be honest, I just wasn’t understanding it.

Leslie shared that she’s an avid open source seeker, and was quick to point out that she’s using FOG, a Free Computer Cloning Solution. She gave me a quick demonstration on her server, so I’m going to be trying this out when I get a free moment.

A little more on FOG:

Fog is a Linux-based, free and open source computer imaging solution for Windows XP and Vista that ties together a few open-source tools with a php-based web interface. Fog doesn’t use any boot disks, or CDs; everything is done via TFTP and PXE. Also with fog many drivers are built into the kernel, so you don’t really need to worry about drivers (unless there isn’t a linux kernel module for it). Fog also supports putting an image that came from a computer with a 80GB partition onto a machine with a 40GB hard drive as long as the data is less than 40GB.

Fog also includes a graphical Windows service that is used to change the hostname of the PC, restart the computer if a task is created for it, and auto import hosts into the FOG database. The service also installs printers, and does simple snap-ins.

I suppose the only obstacle some folks will encounter is that you have to run off a GNU/Linux server. I don’t think that will be too tough on my end, but time will tell. I’ll report back and let you know how this solution works out!

Thanks, Leslie!!

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