I'm working for an MSP that currently doesn't use any tools to automate our workstation deployments. We order laptops in small batches through a vendor and build them out manually, which takes a considerable amount of time. Each build generally takes about 2 hours, if everything goes smoothly. We mainly operate in the AEC sector, so we have to deal with large Autodesk packages and various niche add-ins. I'm curious if anyone has found a dependable method for deploying a golden image across different laptop models. I'm particularly interested in SmartDeploy and Chocolatey as potential solutions.
5 Answers
If you're committed to using golden images, I've successfully used FFUs to deploy images across laptops in a couple of different setups. You can pre-install drivers and software, which really cuts down the setup time—from multiple hours down to about 15 minutes, not counting moving user data.
Don't forget to check the imaging rights if you're aiming for compliance with Microsoft's licensing. You'll want to know what requirements you have to meet to properly deliver your product.
We utilize Windows Autopilot paired with Intune. It's not exactly a golden image, but it pulls the Microsoft image and deploys the configured apps, which helps streamline the process.
If you're a Microsoft customer, Intune can handle it so well that you can just hand the laptop to the user without even unboxing it. Once they connect it to the network, everything gets deployed automatically.
I've used Chocolatey to ready the vanilla image provided by IT for deployment. For our developers, if they can handle it, we just direct them to the documentation to have them run it. For regular users and contractors, someone would assist in running it, usually just one command. Any failures are often just network issues, and rerunning usually solves it. It can definitely be automated if you have the right setup.
Absolutely! Chocolatey can make things a lot easier once you have everything configured right.