Disk image is a replica or a copy of the data stored within the disks in your computer. A disk image will contain the contents of the data storage device and replicates the structure of such devices. It will also contain OS partitions. Disk imaging is essentially a means to copy the Operating System and the data stored in a disk from the master system to distribute it to other target computers. Automating this process is beneficial for the IT team, which OS Deployer does in a few simple steps.
A disk image comes in handy in the event of an accidental disk crash due to a virus attack or an unforeseen hardware failure. It will also be useful in deploying the captured disk image to the computers of new joiners in an organization, migrating to a new model/manufacturer or when you want to perform hard disk upgradation or change the existing hard disk.
Disk imaging works by copying the content stored in partitions, partition details, disk details and Os partitions. All these data will be stored in a network share. The contents of the disk can be compressed based on the user's requirements. All the configurations and installed applications will be copied from the selected partitions.
OS Deployer works as provides a disk imaging tool that enables you to create an image OS and data partitions of the disk in your computer and store them in an Image Repository, a network share. This OS image can be deployed in the required system in the time of need. Administrators must provide a proper OS for users' computers without disturbing the systems' functionalities. To deploy an OS, the admin has to capture an image of the system containing the required OS. Once the admin sets up a master computer with the required operating system, they can easily acquire the disk image using the techniques listed below. OS Deployer supports both online and offline imaging modes to image a computer. These images can either be deployed on a bare-metal computer or a computer with a corrupted OS.
This method allows administrators to capture the disk image of a system when it is live and functioning in the network. This method does not require a system reboot to perform imaging. It finishes the work, without interrupting the user and their ongoing work.
Administrators can use this method to acquire the disk image of a system in the network that is shut down. When this method is used, the system is booted into the Windows pre-installation environment, and disk imaging is performed using the WinPE component. This WinPE component can be stored within the bootable media (USB, ISO, PXE). To know more about PXE boot server, click here.
This feature helps you create an image of a single partition, multiple partitions, or an entire disk based on your requirements. You can also use this technique to take a backup of a system before performing migration, or when the system is corrupted due to technical issues.
By shrinking the disk partitions, you can reduce the space occupied by the primary partitions and logical drivers. This also helps to eliminate the disk size incompatibility errors.
You can set the image compression level, which will minimize the size of the image and reduce the image storage space.
You can select the memory usage level for the imaging process. This ensures that the available memory is used based on the requirements.
During the process of disk imaging, drivers are automatically collected from the imaging machine and stored in the configured driver repository, a network share.