Re: Problem with the System Cloning Tool

Larry,

How are you going to identify the client machine on the network remotely?

You could connect to the machine by its IP address. But if you use DHCP you will have to either guess on the IP or use the server
logs if accessible.
Or you can have a static IP built-in but then don't turn on all the targets the same time on the same network.

Alternatively, you can have a common name for all machines (again, don't turn them all on once) or uniquely generated during FBA
(you may or may not end up seeing the bug Rob reported). Then you connect to a machine resolving the name and change the
name/reboot.

Another way of changing the network computer name manually would be connecting to the target over serial.

But again, if you have a programming skills, I'd rather suggest you to write a tool to automate the process. This is all pretty
straight forward to implement with a script language and a server write access share.

--
Regards,
KM, BSquare Corp.


> I was hoping for just a command line program that would change the computer name on a
> remote computer?
>
> In article <OmJqiS2RFHA.3336@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Km wrote:
> > From: "KM" <konstmor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Subject: Re: Problem with the System Cloning Tool
> > Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2005 10:56:55 -0700
> > Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.embedded
> >
> > And just to add to that.. If you happened to get an IP for a device and NetBT works,
> then you can try to resolve the "<fixed prefix>
> > NN" netbios names on the network and the first unresolved one would show you the current
> number top. This will give a simple
> > incrementing procedure.
> > Adding proper error handling considering possible network problem would also help.
> >
> > --
> > Regards,
> > KM, BSquare Corp.
> >
> > > Could you write a run once app, something that could contact a network
> > > service which arbitrate's network names, something in a vain of a DHCP
> > > server, or you could do it on the basis of IP address? So you plug the
> > > terminal into a network, get its IP address and set the name of the machine
> > > on the basis of its IP, that way you could rely on the DHCP server
> > > infrastructure to keep names unique. I don't think that there's an off the
> > > shelf way that you could do it, but writing your own shouldn't prove to be
> > > that difficult.
> > >
> > > HTH,
> > > Rob
> > >
> > > "Larry Waibel" wrote:
> > >
> > > > I'd like for my cloned systems to take on names that begin with some fixed prefix
> and then
> > > > have an incrementing number on the end. I don't see how I could automated that. My
> > > > systems are headless and keyboard-less. How can I change the computer name from a
> remote
> > > > network connected location?
> > > >
> > > > In article <eNPZebrRFHA.3072@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Km wrote:
> > > > > From: "KM" <konstmor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > > > > Subject: Re: Problem with the System Cloning Tool
> > > > > Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2005 14:13:05 -0700
> > > > > Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.embedded
> > > > >
> > > > > Rob,
> > > > >
> > > > > I am taking back some of my previous statements about how FBA generates computer
> names.
> > > > > A quick journey in to FBA just showed me that the algorithm is extremely simple.
> No use
> > > > of MAC, and the seed is the same but just
> > > > > updated with the local time current to the call.
> > > > > It they happened to use CRT's srand/rand then the generated pseudo-random names
> are not
> > > > random at all.
> > > > >
> > > > > Since all your target are the same it might have happened that you turned them on
> the
> > > > same time and get the same seed for some (15)
> > > > > of them.
> > > > > This is all just a guess of mine, of course.
> > > > >
> > > > > But I'd recommend you to come up with your own good algorithm for generating
> computer
> > > > names and use APIs like SetComputerNameEx.
> > > > >
> > > > > --
> > > > > Regards,
> > > > > KM, BSquare Corp.
> > > > >
> > > > > PS. There are even some obvious bugs in the FBA gen name algorithm implementation
> but
> > > > this is irrelevant to your problem.
> > > > >
> > > > > > I'm using the System Cloning Tool to name my machines, now I seal the image,
> > > > > > clone the drives and put the drives in our terminals. However, on a sample of
> > > > > > only 80 images we've had about 15 network name clashes. Is there a setting
> > > > > > that I have to have change, or is there a top limit that the machines will
> > > > > > safely clone to?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > My concern is that we are toying with the idea of using remote boot systems
> > > > > > that will have in the order of a 1000 units. Will we end up in the situation
> > > > > > where large numbers of our terminals will have name clashes?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Thanks for any information you might have.
> > > > > > Rob
> > > > > > --
> > > > > > .Net Development Engineer
> > > > > > ECM Systems Ltd
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> >
>
>


.

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