CloneDeploy License
CloneDeploy is free and open source software, licensed under GPLv3.
Use this program at your own risk. The makers of CloneDeploy are not responsible for any data loss. Do not use this program on any device with irreplaceable data. Do Not Install On An existing Production Server. This program should not be used as a backup solution. It is intended for mass deployments of generic images only. Read this license agreement before continuing. CloneDeploy Copyright (C) 2016. This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If not, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/ GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
Click Here To View The Entire GPLv3 License
What Is It
CloneDeploy is a free open source solution for computer cloning / imaging. It is an alternative for other solutions such as Symantec Ghost Solution Suite, Acronis Snap Deploy, Windows Deployment Services, etc. It supports imaging Windows XP through Windows 10 and Linux, using both Unicast and Multicast technologies.
CloneDeploy was originally created on the ASP.NET Framework with my preferred language being C#. It was later reworked to be compatible with Mono.net giving it the ability to be installed on virtually any OS. It also heavily relies on some basic scripting.
CloneDeploy was created to be used primarily in schools or small businesses. It can be used to image 1000’s of computers. It was designed be used with an existing infrastructure. Meaning, a network with managed routers / switches, DHCP server, etc. CloneDeploy is intended to be installed on a server that is always running to ensure imaging is readily available.
What It Is Not
CloneDeploy IS NOT a backup solution and should never be used as such. It is only intended to provide imaging capabilities for generic images that do not contain irreplaceable data.
CloneDeploy IS NOT an unattended installation of Windows. CloneDeploy is a cloning program. It creates an image of an existing machine that can then be deployed to other machines. Yes, it could be thought of as unattended because it is totally automated, but there is a difference.
How Does It Work
CloneDeploy is a managed solution consisting of two parts. A server side component and a client side component. The server side is installed on Windows or Linux and the UI can be accessed from any web capable device within your network. There are 3 different clients in order provide greater flexibility / compatibility. One based on WinPE, one on Embedded Linux, and one on Mac OS X. Imaging is achieved through your network with the use of PXE booting and WOL or you can use the standalone client iso for CD booting or USB booting. To achieve the best results all of your clients are added to CloneDeploy, then you simply search for the computer you wish to deploy and start the task. The client will automatically turn on and begin to image. Imaging can be accomplished without ever being present at the physical machine’s location.
System Requirements
Server
The CloneDeploy server can be anything from a standard laptop to an Enterprise Server. The OS must be 64 bit and it must be running a compatible OS. These Include:
- Server 2019
- Server 2016
- Server 2012
- Server 2008R2
- Windows 10 (Limitation – Maximum of 20 concurrent imaging tasks – The Windows maximum concurrent SMB connections.)
- Windows 8 / 8.1 (Limitation – Maximum of 20 concurrent imaging tasks – The Windows maximum concurrent SMB connections.)
- Windows 7 (Limitation – Maximum of 20 concurrent imaging tasks – The Windows maximum concurrent SMB connections.)
- Most Linux Distros
- Docker
Hardware requirements are minimal. CPU and RAM requirements are that of the OS. At least one Gigabit NIC and enough HD space for all your images.
Client
CloneDeploy can image computers with the following OS’s:
- Windows 10
- Windows 8 / 8.1
- Windows 7
- Windows Vista
- Windows XP
- Most Linux distros
Any client that has the option to PXE boot, USB boot, or CD boot, has a NIC, and is compatible with the Linux kernel is compatible with CloneDeploy.
Web Browser
The Web Interface supports the following browsers:
- IE 9 +
- Latest Chrome
- Latest Firefox
Performance
You will almost always be limited by your client machine’s slowest piece of hardware. Not your server. The advantage of a better server( with multiple nics, faster hard drives, raid array) is that you will be able to unicast more clients concurrently before seeing a bottleneck. Also, upload is always slower than download, and multicast is always slower than unicast.
Generally you will see b/w 1.2GB/min and 2GB/min on 100Mb network. And between 2.5GB/min and 6GB/min on a Gigabit network.
Which OS Should I Install On?
Generally you should install CloneDeploy on the OS you are most comfortable using. However, the majority of testing is on Windows 10 and Server 2016 and there are a few limitations depending on the OS you choose.
- Windows 10,8, and 7 all have a maximum of 20 concurrent imaging tasks
- Linux does not support LDAP authentication or LDAP groups
Next Step
Install CloneDeploy.