Boot image control
Encyclopedia
A boot image control strategy is a common way to reduce total cost of ownership
in organizations with large numbers of similar computers being used by users with common needs, e.g. a large corporation or government agency. This is considered part of enterprise application integration
in larger shops that use that term since applications are part of the boot image, and modify the boot image, in most desktop OS.
Windows Vista
includes tools for boot image control, displacing third party tools. Mac OS
has always had more flexible handling of boot drives, simplifying control and reducing the need to move boot images around between drives. Increasingly, boot image control is a network operating system function.
how they intend to simplify the purchaser's boot image control problems and the attendant service costs:
The total cost of ownership
correlates strongly to the total number of different images, not the total number of computers, so this is a major cost concern. Three basic strategies are commonly advised:
strategy.
Which strategy will reduce total cost of operations the most depends on several factors:
strategy seems to be the most flexible, the complexity of creating and managing several large boot images, and determining when a department needs to upgrade its applications, can easily outweigh these. Especially if users object and try to subvert the discipline of waiting for a regular boot turn to upgrade all machines at once. If each user is allowed to do this on their own, then, the discipline soon degrades into effectively a bunch of home computer whose issues are not really diagnosable nor comparable to each other. In which situation thin client
s may become the only practical answer:
Many organizations use thin clients for applications which require high security, involve unreliable users or repurpose older machines for continued use. This much simplifies boot image control by facilitating centralized management of computers, and has many advantages:
While control of the images is simpler, there are disadvantages. Thin clients:
Many organizations try to gain the advantages of thin clients without the disadvantages by treating many very standard machines as if they were terminals, but with very much greater capabilities. As they buy new computers, they put the demanding applications on those.
The total cost of operations correlates strongly to the total number of different images, not the total number of computers. To minimize the number of images requires additional discipline:
s, making the thin client approach more viable. Departmental boot images may remain but simply instantiate part of a semantic service-oriented architecture, especially in larger organizations. A service component architecture
would further simplify the implementation of control mechanisms, especially if a single application language like Java
was used for all custom applications in the enterprise. More importantly, shift to software as a service
by most large vendors means that applications are not tied to machines, so the number of variant boot images required (with the applications installed) is reduced.
Other open configuration technologies such as Bitfrost
, OpenID
and even XMPP
would also simplify configuration of boot images, as authentication would no longer be dealt with on the desktop/laptop device.
Total cost of ownership
Total cost of ownership is a financial estimate whose purpose is to help consumers and enterprise managers determine direct and indirect costs of a product or system...
in organizations with large numbers of similar computers being used by users with common needs, e.g. a large corporation or government agency. This is considered part of enterprise application integration
Enterprise application integration
Enterprise Application Integration is defined as the use of software and computer systems architectural principles to integrate a set of enterprise computer applications.- Overview :...
in larger shops that use that term since applications are part of the boot image, and modify the boot image, in most desktop OS.
Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
includes tools for boot image control, displacing third party tools. Mac OS
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
has always had more flexible handling of boot drives, simplifying control and reducing the need to move boot images around between drives. Increasingly, boot image control is a network operating system function.
Economics
Very often a large computer vendor is required to explain in a bid in response to an RFPRequest for Proposal
A request for proposal is issued at an early stage in a procurement process, where an invitation is presented for suppliers, often through a bidding process, to submit a proposal on a specific commodity or service. The RFP process brings structure to the procurement decision and is meant to...
how they intend to simplify the purchaser's boot image control problems and the attendant service costs:
The total cost of ownership
Total cost of ownership
Total cost of ownership is a financial estimate whose purpose is to help consumers and enterprise managers determine direct and indirect costs of a product or system...
correlates strongly to the total number of different images, not the total number of computers, so this is a major cost concern. Three basic strategies are commonly advised:
- a single base boot imageBoot imageA boot image is a type of disk image . When it is transferred onto a boot device it allows the associated hardware to boot....
for each type of computer in the organization, customized by each user with no central control - a thin clientThin clientA thin client is a computer or a computer program which depends heavily on some other computer to fulfill its traditional computational roles. This stands in contrast to the traditional fat client, a computer designed to take on these roles by itself...
strategy where the smallest possible boot imageBoot imageA boot image is a type of disk image . When it is transferred onto a boot device it allows the associated hardware to boot....
is used, typically one that does not include a full operating systemOperating systemAn operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system... - a departmental boot imageDepartmental boot imageA departmental boot image is a boot image for any computer that has been enhanced by adding some applications and passwords specific to a task or group or department in an organization...
strategy where a base boot imageBoot imageA boot image is a type of disk image . When it is transferred onto a boot device it allows the associated hardware to boot....
is customized with applications to fit each group of users, but, the users do not have the ability to upgrade or alter the configurations
Thin client strategies
Organizations that do not closely track, control and set common standards for, acquisition of new computer hardware, typically can only practice a thin clientThin client
A thin client is a computer or a computer program which depends heavily on some other computer to fulfill its traditional computational roles. This stands in contrast to the traditional fat client, a computer designed to take on these roles by itself...
strategy.
Which strategy will reduce total cost of operations the most depends on several factors:
- whether the capabilities of a full operating systemOperating systemAn operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
are required, or just those of a thin clientThin clientA thin client is a computer or a computer program which depends heavily on some other computer to fulfill its traditional computational roles. This stands in contrast to the traditional fat client, a computer designed to take on these roles by itself... - whether applications with inflexible software licenses are in use that must be paid for not only if they are used, but even if they are only installed
- whether poorly-behaved applications that interact badly are in use
- LANLänLän and lääni refer to the administrative divisions used in Sweden and previously in Finland. The provinces of Finland were abolished on January 1, 2010....
or removable disk limits that make it easy or difficult to do re-imaging on demand
More complex departmental boot images
While the departmental boot imageDepartmental boot image
A departmental boot image is a boot image for any computer that has been enhanced by adding some applications and passwords specific to a task or group or department in an organization...
strategy seems to be the most flexible, the complexity of creating and managing several large boot images, and determining when a department needs to upgrade its applications, can easily outweigh these. Especially if users object and try to subvert the discipline of waiting for a regular boot turn to upgrade all machines at once. If each user is allowed to do this on their own, then, the discipline soon degrades into effectively a bunch of home computer whose issues are not really diagnosable nor comparable to each other. In which situation thin client
Thin client
A thin client is a computer or a computer program which depends heavily on some other computer to fulfill its traditional computational roles. This stands in contrast to the traditional fat client, a computer designed to take on these roles by itself...
s may become the only practical answer:
Many organizations use thin clients for applications which require high security, involve unreliable users or repurpose older machines for continued use. This much simplifies boot image control by facilitating centralized management of computers, and has many advantages:
- since servers manage clients and the local environment is highly restricted (and often stateless), providing protection from malwareMalwareMalware, short for malicious software, consists of programming that is designed to disrupt or deny operation, gather information that leads to loss of privacy or exploitation, or gain unauthorized access to system resources, or that otherwise exhibits abusive behavior...
, support costs are reduced - since no application data typically resides on the thin client (it is entirely rendered), it is securely stored on network drives upon its creation
- since disk, application memory, and processors are minimal in thin client hardware, they go obsolete slowly and cost much less
- since they are not as useful as ordinary computers they are of less interest to thieves
While control of the images is simpler, there are disadvantages. Thin clients:
- require more network bandwidthBandwidth (computing)In computer networking and computer science, bandwidth, network bandwidth, data bandwidth, or digital bandwidth is a measure of available or consumed data communication resources expressed in bits/second or multiples of it .Note that in textbooks on wireless communications, modem data transmission,...
- require more host computer power and must typically be served by much larger host boxes
- typically cannot run arbitrary Windows, Linux or Mac software
- perform poorly in multimedia applications or games - an advantage in many business environments
Many organizations try to gain the advantages of thin clients without the disadvantages by treating many very standard machines as if they were terminals, but with very much greater capabilities. As they buy new computers, they put the demanding applications on those.
Boot turns and re-imaging
Administrators perform a regular (often bi-annual) boot turn that re-images many older, off-spec machines at once so that new hardware can be deployed for higher-end use. This procedure is called cascading: the oldest hardware is repurposed with simpler software to let it continue in use for some less demanding or more access-controlled applications, but subjects it to much more rigorous control to minimize the number of images.The total cost of operations correlates strongly to the total number of different images, not the total number of computers. To minimize the number of images requires additional discipline:
- Specify the computer hardware to minimize unneeded machine diversity and minimize the resultant number of boot images.
- Upgrade new machine specifications at low additional cost so they remain useful longer, reduce the incursion of off-spec machines later in the life-cycle, improve standardization, reduce support costs, minimize e-waste with longer lifecycles
- Organize the network so that boot images can be efficiently supported and swapped, independent of data.
- Data must not be dependent on boot devices - use networks to store data on secure servers so that data recoveryData recoveryData recovery is the process of salvaging data from damaged, failed, corrupted, or inaccessible secondary storage media when it cannot be accessed normally. Often the data are being salvaged from storage media such as internal or external hard disk drives, solid-state drives , USB flash drive,...
is literally never required even in a disaster recoveryDisaster recoveryDisaster recovery is the process, policies and procedures related to preparing for recovery or continuation of technology infrastructure critical to an organization after a natural or human-induced disaster. Disaster recovery is a subset of business continuity...
situation
- Data must not be dependent on boot devices - use networks to store data on secure servers so that data recovery
- Confirm, by hardware acceptance testing on each new machine, that it runs the standard boot image
- Any machine that does not must be considered to be dead on arrival
- A strict installation regime to ensure that only supportable standardized boot imageBoot imageA boot image is a type of disk image . When it is transferred onto a boot device it allows the associated hardware to boot....
s are used and any machines that connect to the network for the first time with a nonstandard image are detected and rejected - Diagnostics and troubleshootingTroubleshootingTroubleshooting is a form of problem solving, often applied to repair failed products or processes. It is a logical, systematic search for the source of a problem so that it can be solved, and so the product or process can be made operational again. Troubleshooting is needed to develop and...
so that help desk and other technical support staff can employ standardized tests to identify the source of problems: boot, software, or hardware- Ideally, backups on hand of the boot imageBoot imageA boot image is a type of disk image . When it is transferred onto a boot device it allows the associated hardware to boot....
, or even spare identical computers that can quickly be booted up from the boot device in question to determine if it is a hard disk, computer or software/image problem.
- Ideally, backups on hand of the boot image
- Common desktop system recovery tools and procedures for failed desktop units, typically using backup copies of a boot image created with utilities
- Rapid network recovery procedures that replace a backup boot image in a few minutes or less, with considerable cost savings over using DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, CD or floppy diskFloppy diskA floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
media which require human attention - Ensure services for the disabledServices for the disabledServices and supports for people with disabilities are those government or other institutional services and supports specifically provided to enable people who have disabilities to fully participate in society and community life...
are on every departmental boot imageDepartmental boot imageA departmental boot image is a boot image for any computer that has been enhanced by adding some applications and passwords specific to a task or group or department in an organization...
that require them, or in the thin clientThin clientA thin client is a computer or a computer program which depends heavily on some other computer to fulfill its traditional computational roles. This stands in contrast to the traditional fat client, a computer designed to take on these roles by itself...
hardware and software itself, to accommodate these users in a manner that is ubiquitous and cost effective. - Support telework and secure off-site system access procedures in the standard boot image
- Encourage teleworkers to buy identical machines to those in the office or use thin clients exclusively
- Facilitate worker transfer by changing boots or authorizations instead of moving the actual computer
- Install thin clientThin clientA thin client is a computer or a computer program which depends heavily on some other computer to fulfill its traditional computational roles. This stands in contrast to the traditional fat client, a computer designed to take on these roles by itself...
s on all off-spec machines to eliminate the need for special boot images for them, and subsequent diagnostic problems and data risks.
Open configuration and semantic services
Desktop computing is increasingly relying on web serviceWeb service
A Web service is a method of communication between two electronic devices over the web.The W3C defines a "Web service" as "a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network". It has an interface described in a machine-processable format...
s, making the thin client approach more viable. Departmental boot images may remain but simply instantiate part of a semantic service-oriented architecture, especially in larger organizations. A service component architecture
Service Component Architecture
Service Component Architecture is a software technology created by major software vendors including IBM and Oracle. SCA provides a model for composing applications that follow Service-Oriented Architecture principles...
would further simplify the implementation of control mechanisms, especially if a single application language like Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
was used for all custom applications in the enterprise. More importantly, shift to software as a service
Software as a Service
Software as a service , sometimes referred to as "on-demand software," is a software delivery model in which software and its associated data are hosted centrally and are typically accessed by users using a thin client, normally using a web browser over the Internet.SaaS has become a common...
by most large vendors means that applications are not tied to machines, so the number of variant boot images required (with the applications installed) is reduced.
Other open configuration technologies such as Bitfrost
Bitfrost
Bitfrost is the security design specification for the OLPC XO, a low cost laptop intended for children in developing countries and developed by the One Laptop Per Child project. Bitfrost's main architect is Ivan Krstić...
, OpenID
OpenID
OpenID is an open standard that describes how users can be authenticated in a decentralized manner, eliminating the need for services to provide their own ad hoc systems and allowing users to consolidate their digital identities...
and even XMPP
Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol
Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol is an open-standard communications protocol for message-oriented middleware based on XML . The protocol was originally named Jabber, and was developed by the Jabber open-source community in 1999 for near-real-time, extensible instant messaging , presence...
would also simplify configuration of boot images, as authentication would no longer be dealt with on the desktop/laptop device.