Automating Software Installation
Rick Moore
When a company spends significant amounts of resources
engineering server infrastructure, it seems worthwhile to enforce
the results as the standards. Our first attempt at doing so
produced a large bundle of meticulous documentation coupled with a
customized version of the manufacturer's standard installation
procedure. The sum package was known as a "Gold."
Although the package clearly defined the standards, it was
another matter entirely getting the installers to follow the
procedures correctly. People with the best of intentions had
difficulty following the two-inch-thick documentation. People with
less than the best of intentions found it too easy to stray from
the procedure based on their own preferences. Additional problems
were the lengthy time it took to perform the procedure and the cost
of putting together the distribution media. Furthermore, the Gold
package did not comprehend anything beyond the operating system;
applications and system specifics all had to be applied on top of
the standard operating system load.
It became clear that we needed a way to capture and restore a
server. The process needed to be as follows: Our department would
build and test server designs using traditional installation
procedures. Certified designs would get captured and cataloged.
Customers, in turn, would use the catalogue to make requests for
server images. Our department would then deliver media and
documentation for an automated load which would restore our
certified configuration on the target server. These business
requirements then drove the following technical requirements:
- standard installation process for all servers
- high degree of automation
Hence, ShrinkWrap was born.<>
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