Workstation OS Management: Core Tasks and States
Workstation OS Management: The Big Three
Managing operating systems on workstations boils down to three basic tasks:
- Loading the system software and applications initially.
- Updating the system software and applications.
- Configuring network parameters.
We call these tasks the Big Three.
Workstation Lifecycle States
The diagram depicts five states:
- New: Refers to a completely new machine.
- Clean: Refers to a machine on which the OS has been installed but no localizations performed.
- Configured: Means a correctly configured and operational environment.
- Unknown: Is a computer that has been misconfigured or has become out of date.
- Off: Refers to a machine that has been retired and powered off.
State Transitions and Entropy
There are many ways to get from one lifecycle state to another. At most sites, the machine build and initialize processes are usually one step; they result in the OS being loaded and brought into a usable state.
Entropy = uncertainty is deterioration that we don’t want that leaves the computer in an unknown state, which is fixed by a debug process. Updates happen over time, often in the form of patches and security updates. Sometimes, it makes sense to wipe and reload a machine because it is time for a major OS upgrade, the system needs to be recreated for a new purpose, or severe entropy has plainly made it the only resort.
The rebuild process happens, and the machine is wiped and reloaded to bring it back to the configured state.
Automation in System Deployment
Be Sure Your Automated System Is Truly Automated
Setting up an automated installation system takes a lot of effort. However, in the end, the effort will pay off by saving you more time than you spent initially.
Partially Automated Installation
Partial automation is better than no automation at all. Until an installation system is perfected, one must create stop-gap measures. The last 1 percent can take longer to automate than the initial 99 percent.
A lack of automation can be justified if there are only a few of a particular platform, if the cost of complete automation is larger than the time savings, or if the vendor has done the world a disservice by making it impossible (or unsupported) to automate the procedure.
Stop-Gap Measures
Q: How do you prevent a stop-gap measure from becoming a permanent solution? A: You create a ticket to record that a permanent solution is needed.
Cloning and Other Methods
Some sites use cloned hard disks to create new machines. Cloning hard disks means setting up a host with the exact software configuration that is desired for all hosts that are going to be deployed. The hard disk of this host is then cloned, or copied, to all new computers as they are installed. The original machine is usually known as a golden host.
Updating the System Software and its Applications
Sadly, as time goes by, people identify new bugs and new security holes, all of which need to be fixed. Also, people find cool new applications that need to be deployed.
All these tasks are software updates. Someone has to take care of them, and that someone is you.
Don’t worry, though; you don’t have to spend all your time doing updates. As with installation, updates can be automated, saving time and effort. Ex: IBM, CISCO, etc.
Network Configuration
The third component you need for a large workstation environment is an automated way to update network parameters—those tiny bits of information that are often related to booting a computer and getting it onto the network.
The information in them is highly customized for a particular subnet or even for a particular host. This characteristic is in contrast to a system such as application deployment, in which the same application is deployed to all hosts in the same configuration. As a result, your automated system for updating network parameters is usually separate from the other systems.