13.2 Scheduled deployment within one subnet... 77 13.3 Scheduled deployment in other subnet... 79 13.4 Operations with scheduled tasks... 81 14. Custom deployment mode....83 14. 1 Understanding custom deployment... 83 14. 2 Considerations and tips.... 84 14. 3 Setting up the custom deployment mode.. 85 14. 4 Changing parameters of the custom deployment mode.. 87 14. 5 Closing the custom deployment mode.... 87 15. Command line and scripting under Win PE and Bart PE..88 15.1 Adding ASD command line utility to PE... 88 15.1.1 Acronis Snap Deploy PE Builder... 88 15.1.2 Adding ASD command line utility to PE 1.0... 89 15.1.3 Adding ASD command line utility to PE 2.0... 90 15.2 Uploading PE images to Acronis PXE Server... 90 15.3 ASD command line syntax.... 91 15.3.1 Supported commands.... 91 15.3.2 Common options (options common for most asdcmd commands).. 92 15.3.4 asdcmd usage examples... 96 15.4 Sample scenarios.... 96 15.4.1 Deploying images assigned to targets.. 96 15.4.2 Creating images assigned to targets... 97 16. Managing a remote computer....99 16.1 File management on a remote computer... 99 16.2 Executing applications on a remote computer... 100
1. Introducing Acronis Snap Deploy
This chapter gives a general idea of how an IT department can meet various real life challenges using the Acronis Snap Deploy.

1.1 Overview

1.1.1 What is Acronis Snap Deploy
Acronis Snap Deploy is a flexible, efficient software solution for deployment of a fully configured operating system (with or without application software and any other data) to multiple computers. Because the product uses disk imaging technology, it is ideal for rapid bare-metal installations and flexible centralized provisioning.
1.1.2 Who needs Acronis Snap Deploy?
Acronis Snap Deploy is primarily designed to be used by: Small and medium-size businesses: - IT service providers - Hardware retailers IT departments of larger corporations Schools and universities R&D and software testing labs. The enterprise features added to Acronis Snap Deploy v 3 (scheduled deployment, support for Preinstallation Environment, command line and scripting, to name a few) can help automate the tasks of the IT department in large enterprise environments.
1.1.3 Acronis Snap Deploy infrastructure
Components of the Acronis infrastructure are installed on Windows computers. Centralized imaging, deployment and managing the Acronis infrastructure is performed using Acronis Snap Deploy Management Console. A reference image can be taken either in Windows or in the Acronis or Windows PE environment. The Acronis environment provides the GUI mode. Under Windows PE, command line mode and scripting are supported. Deployment is performed in the Acronis or Windows PE environment. A dedicated bootable utility enables full functional deployment with GUI on a standalone computer (a computer isolated from the network or included in a network without Acronis Snap Deploy infrastructure.)

1.2.4 Event-driven deployment (new in v 3)
Deployment can be run when the predefined number of computers is ready. The program counts how many computers have connected to the deployment server and starts multicasting when the predefined number of computers is connected. The administrator can specify a time-out period. On time-out, deployment will start on the computers that are ready despite that the predefined number is not reached. Scenario: 1. An organization receives 100 computers from a manufacturer. The IT department has to deploy systems, preconfigured according to the employees roles, to the predefined number of computers. For example, 10 computers for accountants, 10 computers for the marketing department, 70 computers for sales and 10 for the managers.
1.2.5 Command line and scripting under Win PE (new in v 3)
Acronis Snap Deploy provides a command line utility that can be added to a Windows Preinstallation Environment (Win PE) image. The administrator uploads the customized PE image to a PXE server or transfers the PE image onto removable media. Having booted a machine in the Preinstallation Environment, the administrator can perform imaging or deployment in the command line mode or execute scripts. Using Acronis Snap Deploy in Windows Preinstallation Environment allows a combination of both the products facilities and provides more functionality than using only-Acronis bootable media. The following scenarios can be implemented using Acronis Snap Deploy command line and Win PE. Scenarios: 1. The administrator might need to deploy diverse images on each of the networked computers. The administrator writes a deployment script that can read the targets MAC address (for example, 0102-03-04-05-06) and pull an image with a name corresponding to the MAC address (for example, image-01-02-03-04-05-06.tib) from any convenient location. The script can be executed on any number of targets. 2. The administrator might need to start imaging or deployment automatically each time a networked computer boots from the PXE server. The administrator creates an imaging or deployment script, adds the script to the PE and includes the script in the startnet.cmd file. On booting into the PE, the operation will be performed automatically. 3. The administrator might need to automatically execute pre-deployment operations (disk partitioning, for example) on the networked computers.
The administrator creates a script that performs pre-deployment operations, adds the script along with deployment script to the PE and includes both scripts in the startnet.cmd file. On booting into the PE, both operations will be performed automatically. 4. The administrator might need to execute imaging or deployment in Win PE environment if the Acronis environment lacks Linux drivers for some exotic hardware. Limitation: Acronis Snap Deploy command line utility can generate a new SID but cannot adjust other settings on the fly. To change the computer name, domain or workgroup membership and other settings, apply the Microsoft System Preparation Tool (Sysprep) to the master system and specify the new settings in the Sysprep.inf answer file.

1.5.3 Acronis Snap Deploy trial version
The Acronis Snap Deploy trial version has all the functionality of the standard version. To upgrade from the trial version to the standard product you do not need to re-download the software. Simply buy the licenses and import them to the license server.

1.6 Upgrade to v 3

To upgrade from Acronis Snap Deploy version 2.0 or 1.0 to version 3, upgrade both the licenses and the program components.

1.6.1 Upgrading licenses

Buy the necessary number of upgrade licenses and import the licenses to your license server. The table below illustrates how the various combinations of licenses will be upgraded. Use the table to calculate the number of 3 upgrade licenses you need.
What you can do with ASD 3 after the upgrade
1 Deploy to any target You buy You have 2 Deploy to HostDeploy to any target 4 Deploy to HostDeploy to any target 6 Deploy to HostDeploy to any target

3 Upg 1.0 New

3 Upg 2.0 New
1.0 Used (assigned to Host1)

2.0 Upg 1.0 New

2.0 Upg 1.0 Used (assigned to Host1)
2.0 Used (assigned to Host1)
(1) You have a v 1.0 license that has not yet been used. Import a v 3 upgrade license. You will be able to deploy to any computer with Acronis Snap Deploy 3. (2) You have a v 1.0 license that is used and assigned to the computer Host1. Import a v 3 upgrade license. You will be able to deploy to Host1 with Acronis Snap Deploy 3. (3) You have a combination of v 1.0 license and v 2.0 upgrade license. The licenses have not yet been used. Import a v 3 upgrade license. You will be able to deploy to any computer with Acronis Snap Deploy 3. (4) You have a combination of v 1.0 license and v 2.0 upgrade license. Either license is assigned to the computer Host1 by v 1.0 or v 2.0. Import a v 3 upgrade license. You will be able to deploy to Host1 with Acronis Snap Deploy 3. (5) You have a v 2.0 license that has not yet been used. Import a v 3 upgrade license. You will be able to deploy to any computer with ASD 3. (6) You have a v 2.0 license that is used and assigned to the computer Host1. Import a v 3 upgrade license. You will be able to deploy to Host1 with Acronis Snap Deploy 3. (7) You dont have any ASD licenses. Import a v 3 license. You will be able to deploy to any computer with ASD 3.
1.6.2 Upgrading components
Install the components of v 3 over the v 2.0 or v 1.0 components. Components of v 3 cannot communicate with v 2.0 and v 1.0 components since they use cryptographic communication protocol that was not supported by the previous program versions. Remove old Acronis Snap Deploy components, if the new components are installed on other computers.

1.7 Technical support

As part of a purchased annual Support charge you are entitled to Technical Support as follows: to the extent that electronic services are available, you may electronically access at no additional charge, Support services for the Software, which Acronis shall endeavor to make available twenty four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days per week. Such electronic services may include, but are not limited to: user forums; software-specific information; hints and tips; bug fix retrieval via the internet; software

Standalone deployment

Target disk Target computer (Target) Deployment template (Template)
Administrator Custom deployment mode User
The person who has rights to manage Acronis Snap Deploy infrastructure. The mode when deployment can be initiated on the target side only.
The person on the target side who initiates the custom deployment. This term relates to the custom deployment mode only. 15

2.2 Components

Acronis Snap Deploy includes the following components: 1. Acronis Snap Deploy Management Console is an administrative tool for remote access to Acronis servers and Acronis Snap Deploy Management Agent. When disconnected from the Acronis components, the console allows only installing Acronis products on remote machines. 2. Acronis OS Deploy Server is a component that performs centralized deployment through the network with the help of Acronis Snap Deploy Agents. 3. Acronis Snap Deploy Agent is a bootable component that performs deployment on each target computer under control of the Acronis OS Deploy Server. There are two ways to load Acronis Snap Deploy Agent on target computers: locally from bootable media or remotely using Acronis PXE Server. 4. Acronis Master Image Creator is a bootable, locally controlled component that takes an image of the master system. There are two ways to load Acronis Master Image Creator on a master computer: directly from bootable media or remotely using Acronis PXE Server. 5. Acronis Snap Deploy Management Agent is a component that takes an image of the master system in Windows environment under the administrators control through the Acronis Snap Deploy Management Console. The administrator can also manage files and execute applications on a remote computer using Acronis Snap Deploy Management Agent. 6. Acronis PXE Server allows for network booting computers into Acronis Snap Deploy Agent, Acronis Master Image Creator or Preinstallation Environment. The computers must support PXE. Using Acronis PXE Server considerably reduces the time required for booting multiple computers as compared to using bootable media. It also eliminates the need to have a technician onsite to install the bootable media into the system that must be booted. 7. Acronis Wake on LAN Proxy is a component that enables the Acronis OS Deploy Server to wake the target computers located in the other subnet. 8. Acronis Standalone Utility is a bootable component that enables full functional deployment with GUI on a standalone computer (a computer isolated from the network or included in a network without Acronis Snap Deploy infrastructure.) 9. Acronis License Server is a component that tracks licenses of Acronis products. 10. Acronis Universal Deploy (optional) is an add-on to Acronis Snap Deploy that enables hardware-independent operating system deployment.

Manual deployment

2.5 What is Acronis Universal Deploy
This section describes the Acronis proprietary technology that helps deploy and boot up Windows on dissimilar hardware. Acronis Universal Deploy saves you from configuring a new master system for each make of hardware you have to deploy on. If you plan to deploy Windows on multiple computers that are identical to each other, but differ from the master computer hardware; deploy the master image on one of the identical computers using Acronis Universal Deploy. This will adjust Windows to the dissimilar hardware. Then image the adjusted system and deploy it to the identical computers. The Acronis Universal Deploy option is not available in the standalone mode.
2.5.1 Acronis Universal Deploy purpose
A system disk image can be deployed easily on the hardware where it was created or to identical hardware. However, if you change a motherboard or use another processor version, the deployed system could be unbootable. An attempt to transfer the system to a new, much more powerful computer will usually produce the same unbootable result because the new hardware is incompatible with the most critical drivers included in the image. Using Microsoft System Preparation Tool (Sysprep) does not solve this problem, because Sysprep permits adding drivers only for Plug-and-Play devices (sound cards, network adapters, video cards etc.). As for the system Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) and mass storage device drivers, they must be identical on the source and the target computers (see Microsoft Knowledge Base, articles 302577 and 216915). Acronis Universal Deploy technology provides an efficient solution for hardware-independent system deployment by adding the crucial Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) and mass storage device drivers.
2.5.2 Acronis Universal Deploy general principles
1. Automatic HAL and mass storage drivers selection Acronis Universal Deploy searches the Windows default driver storage folders (in the image being deployed) for HAL and mass storage device drivers and installs drivers that better fit the target hardware. You can specify a custom driver repository (a folder or folders on a network share or CD) which will also be used for drivers search. The Windows default driver storage folder is determined in the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current version\DevicePath. This storage folder is usually WINDOWS/inf. 2. Manual selection of mass storage device driver If the target hardware has a specific mass storage controller (such as a SCSI, RAID, or Fibre Channel adapter) for the hard disk, you can install the appropriate driver manually, bypassing the automatic driver search-and-install procedure. 3. Installing drivers for plug and play devices Acronis Universal Deploy relies on built-in plug and play discovery and configuration process to handle hardware differences in devices that are not critical for the deployed system start-up, such as video, audio and USB. Windows takes control over this process during the logon phase, and if some of the new hardware is not detected, you will have a chance to install drivers for it later manually.

The option to save the agents log to the deploy server is designed for troubleshooting. Normally, you should leave this checkbox unchecked because additional operations performed by the agent
can slow down the deployment. If you choose to save the agents log, the log will be available on the deploy server in: \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Acronis\DeployServer\AgentsLogs. 3. Select the type of bootable media to create. You can: create CD, DVD, diskettes or other bootable media such as USB flash drive if the hardware BIOS allows for boot from such media build an ISO image of a bootable disc to burn it later onto a blank disc upload the selected components to the PXE server. The previously uploaded components will be deleted from the PXE server before uploading the newly selected ones. When using 3.5 diskettes, you will be able to write only one component at a time on a diskette (or a set of the diskettes) for example, Acronis Snap Deploy Agent. To write another component, start the Bootable Media Builder once again. 4. To create physical media, insert the blank disk, so the program can determine its capacity, or attach the flash drive. To create a bootable disk ISO image, specify the ISO file name and the folder in which to place it. To upload the components to a PXE server, specify the server and provide the user name and password to access it. 5. The components being uploaded to the PXE server can be protected with a password to prevent the components from unauthorized execution. The password prompt will come up before displaying the Acronis boot menu.
Protecting the boot menu with a password
6. Next, the program will calculate how many blank disks are required (in case you have not chosen ISO or PXE) and give you time to prepare them. When you have finished, click Proceed. After you create a boot disk, mark it and keep it in a safe place.
Acronis Snap Deploy bootable components are based on Linux kernel and equipped with the Linux system and device drivers. Acronis regularly supplements the driver set with drivers for new devices. However, there may be a chance of drivers being incompatible with your hardware and the bootable component cannot start, hangs or cannot access the necessary device. In this case, try to elude using Linux drivers by building Bart PE or Win PE media with Acronis Snap Deploy command line utility.
6. Configuring PXE Server
You can access Acronis PXE server configuration in the following ways: - when creating Acronis bootable media - when creating bootable media for custom deployment mode - using direct server configuration. To perform the direct PXE server configuration: 1. Start Acronis Snap Deploy Management Console 2. Click Configure PXE Server 3. Connect to the server. Configure PXE Server click to upload Acronis Snap Deploy bootable components in the same way as when creating Acronis bootable media. The previously uploaded components, including PE image, will be deleted from the PXE server before uploading the newly selected ones. Upload PE to PXE Server click to upload the Preinstallation Environment image (.wim or.iso) previously created with Acronis Snap Deploy PE builder. See details in 15.2 Uploading PE images to

Acronis PXE Server.

Remove products from PXE Server click to remove any component or PE from the PXE server. Disable PXE Server click to disable the PXE server. The service does not stop, but no longer responds to incoming requests. Enable PXE Server click to enable the disabled PXE server.
Acronis bootable components are uploaded

7. Taking an image

To be able to deploy a system, you need to create the desired system configuration and save the image of the system hard disk on a network share, detachable or removable media. Acronis Snap Deploy also supports images taken with the Acronis True Image products family, including password protected images.
7.1 Preparation of the master OS
It is very common to prepare a master operating system with the Microsoft System Preparation Tool (Sysprep) before creating the system image. Sysprep is designed for corporate system administrators, OEMs, and others who need to deploy and automatically configure operating systems on multiple computers. After a syspreped operating system is deployed, Sysprep generates a unique security ID (SID) for the new host, initiates Windows mini-setup for plug-and-play devices, applies the computer name, domain or workgroup membership and other settings specified in the Sysprep.inf answer file. Use Sysprep on the master system if the system image will be deployed in Preinstallation Environment with Acronis Snap Deploy command line utility. The command line utility cannot generate a SID or adjust settings on the fly, it simply deploys the system as is. In Acronis environment (any case except for command line mode), Acronis Snap Deploy automatically configures the deployed system using parameters you set in the deployment template. Therefore, you have the choice of using the functionality of either Sysprep or Acronis Snap Deploy. You can download Sysprep from www.microsoft.com or extract it from deploy.cab located on Windows NT/2000/XP/Server 2003 installation CD. We strongly recommend that you read articles about Sysprep and disk duplication in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.
7.2 Online vs. offline imaging

Prompt for configuring the master image creator
The image creator can be pre-configured to apply the default network settings automatically on timeout. The manual configuration is needed if auto configuration is not possible (no DHCP server on the network) or does not succeed. To configure the network connections manually, click OK in the prompt window.
Acronis Master Image Creator configuration: network settings
Set the preferable values and click OK. 7. When Acronis Master Image Creator starts, it displays the Master Image Creator welcome window:
Master Image Creation Wizard: welcome window
8. In this window, click Next and go to step 7.5.1 Disks or partitions to image.
7.4 Starting online imaging
Online imaging means that the master system is imaged live (without reboot or suspending operations). Online imaging can be performed remotely whenever you need. The disadvantage is that you have to install imaging software that is included in the master image. This is not always rational. 1. Install Acronis Snap Deploy Management Console and Acronis License Server. Import licenses to the license server. 2. Configure the master system. 3. Install Acronis Snap Deploy Management Agent on the master system locally or remotely, using Acronis Snap Deploy Management Console. Reboot on prompt. Once Acronis Snap Deploy Management Agent is installed, you can image the master system online (without reboot) at any time. 4. Start the Acronis Snap Deploy Management Console. 5. Connect to the master computer. 6. Select Create Master Image -> Next -> Create master image on a remote computer. If you choose Create master image using bootable media, the program will suggest that you create the bootable media for offline imaging.
7.5 Steps of the Master Image Creation Wizard
7.5.1 Disks or partitions to image
Select the disks or partitions to image. You can select a random set of disks and partitions. The Master Boot Record (MBR) will be also included in the image.
If your operating system and its loader reside on different partitions, always include both partitions in the image. The partitions must also be deployed together; otherwise there is a high risk that the operating system will not start.
Select disks and partitions to image
7.5.2 Image name and location
Acronis Master Image Creator can save an image: - on a network share - on the master computer internal hard drive - on USB and FireWire (IEEE-1394) storage devices (hard drives, flash drives) attached to the master computer - on DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, CD-R/RW loaded in the master computer media drive. A sizeable image can be split between multiple media automatically. Select the image location in the device tree. Type the name of the file in the Filename field. The program can generate a unique file name. Just click the Generate name for a new file button on the right.

13.1 Preparation steps

13.1.1 Getting MAC addresses
Media Access Control address (MAC address) is a 48-bit physical (hardware) address of a network device. In Windows, the physical address can be obtained with ipconfig /all or by selecting Local Area Connection -> Status -> Support -> Details. MAC addresses for bare metal are usually supplied by the hardware manufacturer. You can get a MAC address of any PC-compatible hardware by entering the network configuration menu of any Acronis bootable component (Acronis Master Image Creator, for example): An administrator can execute a script that collects MAC addresses of networked computers and saves them in a text file. The text file can then be imported by Acronis Snap Deploy. This can be a plain text file: ; comment 00-01-23-45-67-1A ; comment 02-01-23-45-67-1B An option to type in the hex MAC addresses is also provided.
13.1.2 Enabling WOL on targets
Before using scheduled deployment, make sure that Wake on LAN is enabled on the target computers. Enter the computer BIOS and set Power -> Wake On PCI PME -> Power On (the exact names might vary depending on the BIOS version.) To enable the Wake on LAN feature on a Windows computer set the NIC properties on the computer as follows:
Control Panel -> System -> Device Manager -> Network adapters -> select the NIC -> Properties -> Advanced: Enable PME -> Enabled Wake On Link Settings -> OS Controlled Wake On Settings -> Wake On Magic Packet.
13.2 Scheduled deployment within one subnet
When the scheduled time comes, Acronis OS Deploy Server sends out magic packets according to the predefined list of MAC addresses. (A magic packet is a packet that contains 16 contiguous copies of the receiving NIC's Ethernet address.) The targets wake, boot into Acronis Snap Deploy Agent from the Acronis PXE Server and connect to the deploy server. When all (or some, depending on your choice) targets connect, the deploy server starts multicasting.
Scheduled deployment within one subnet
Steps: 1. Install Acronis Snap Deploy Management Console and Acronis License Server. Import licenses to the license server. Install Acronis OS Deploy Server and Acronis PXE Server. 2. Make sure that Wake on LAN is enabled on the target computers. If you cannot or do not wish to use Wake on LAN on some or all of the target computers, you will have to boot them into Acronis Snap Deploy Agent manually before the scheduled time comes. 3. Create bootable media with Acronis Master Image Creator. 4. Configure and image the master system. 5. Create and save a deployment template. 6. Create a list of target MAC addresses. This can be a plain text file: ; comment 00-01-23-45-67-1A 02-01-23-45-67-1B ; comment
7. Configure Acronis PXE Server: upload Acronis Snap Deploy Agent (to boot the targets into the agent before deployment) set Booting from HDD as the default boot menu item (to boot the targets into the deployed OS after the deployment) set up a reasonable timeout so that the OS can start automatically.

13.3 Scheduled deployment in other subnet
Computers in other subnets can be woken through a WOL proxy. The WOL Proxy agent is delivered with Acronis Snap Deploy. When the scheduled time comes, Acronis OS Deploy Server sends out magic packets according to the predefined list of MAC addresses. (A magic packet is a packet that contains 16 contiguous copies of the receiving NIC's Ethernet address.) Acronis WOL Proxy transfers the packets to targets located in other subnet. The targets wake, boot into Acronis Snap Deploy Agent from the Acronis PXE Server and connect to the deploy server. When all (or some, depending on your choice) targets connect, the deploy server starts multicasting.
Scheduled deployment in other subnet using Acronis WOL Proxy
Steps: 1. Install Acronis Snap Deploy Management Console and Acronis License Server. Import licenses to the license server. Install Acronis OS Deploy Server and Acronis PXE Server. 2. To enable the Acronis PXE Server to work in other subnet (across the switch), configure the switch to relay the PXE traffic. The PXE server IP addresses are configured on a per-interface basis using IP helper functionality in the same way as DHCP server addresses. For more information please refer to: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/257579 3. Install Acronis WOL Proxy in the subnet where the target computers are. 4. Make sure that Wake on LAN is enabled on the target computers. If you cannot or do not wish to use Wake on LAN on some or all of the target computers, you will have to boot them into Acronis Snap Deploy Agent manually before the scheduled time comes. 5. Create bootable media with Acronis Master Image Creator. 6. Configure and image the master system. 7. Create and save a deployment template. 8. Configure Acronis PXE Server: upload Acronis Snap Deploy Agent (to boot the targets into the agent before deployment) set Booting from HDD as the default boot menu item (to boot the targets into the deployed OS after the deployment) set up a reasonable timeout so that the OS can start automatically.

14. Custom deployment mode
Acronis Snap Deploy can be configured in such a way that users will be able to deploy and re-deploy their computers with one click on the boot menu.
14. 1 Understanding custom deployment
An administrator creates a set of deployment templates that meet the organizations needs and assigns to each template a name that can be easily understood by a user. The administrator creates bootable media or a PXE package containing the set of templates and switches on the custom deployment mode. Users that need to re-deploy their computers boot the computers from bootable media or PXE and select the template by name from the boot menu. The deployment starts immediately and proceeds independently on each computer.
Custom deployment mode: a user initiates deployment
In software testing labs the choices can be various operating systems, various editions of the same operating system, the same operating system with various settings or various applications. In a university or school lab the choices can be various exercises that students have to explore or the initial system image for the purpose of self-restore.
The custom boot menu A user can start deployment with any of the two templates or boot into Windows
To find the target template in custom boot menu templates list, press a letter key which corresponds to the first letter of the template name. The cursor will jump on a template, which name begins with the pressed letter.
The custom deployment mode is intended for continual work without administrators assistance. Once the mode is set, other methods of deployment (manual, scheduled, event-driven deployment) become unavailable. Any scheduled task, that has to start while the custom deployment mode is on, will not start. Only users (the ones on the target side) can initiate deployment. However, the administrator can view logs, create new deployment templates, change the custom deployment configuration (add, edit or remove boot menu items) and perform other management operations except for deployment. To initiate deployment on the console side, the administrator switches off the custom deployment mode.
14. 2 Considerations and tips
When enabling or configuring the custom deployment mode with PXE, the program first removes all bootable utilities (Acronis Snap Deploy Agent, Acronis Master Image Creator, PE image) from the PXE server since users might be confused by the unknown items appearing in the boot menu. Then the program uploads to the PXE the templates selected by the administrator. So you will have to upload the bootable utilities again, if they are needed after switching off the custom deployment mode. You can use another Acronis OS Deploy Server to perform manual, scheduled or event-driven deployment while one OS Deploy Server is in the custom deployment mode. To do so, ensure that the targets connect to the appropriate deployment server by specifying the OSDS on the bootable media or by configuring the Acronis Snap Deploy Agent at boot up. The deploy servers cannot share the Acronis PXE Server though.

15.4.2 Creating images assigned to targets
Scenario: The administrator might need to deploy on a computer a previously created image of the same system, to roll back the system to the imaged state. Solution: The administrator creates a script that images the computers and names each image according to the computers MAC address. The images can be deployed to the corresponding targets as described in the previous section. Sample script: setlocal SET IMG_PATH=\\image_server\images SET TMP_DRV_LETTER=h:
net use %TMP_DRV_LETTER% %IMG_PATH% echo off for /f "tokens=1-13 delims= " %%a in ('ipconfig /all') do ( IF %%a EQU Physical ( for /f "tokens=1-3 delims= " %%a in ('echo %%l') do ( echo IMAGE FILE: %%a.tib asdcmd.exe /create /filename:%TMP_DRV_LETTER%\%%a.tib /harddisk:1 /compression:8 goto end ) ) ) :end echo on net use %TMP_DRV_LETTER% /d wpeutil Reboot endlocal What this script does: Mounts the shared folder Retrieves the booted computers MAC address. Generates a TIB file name (if MAC address is 01-02-03-04-05-06 then the TIB file name must be 0102-03-04-05-06.tib.) Images partition C of the computer to the shared folder using the generated file name. [OPTIONAL] Reboots or shutdowns the computer.
16. Managing a remote computer
16.1 File management on a remote computer
The following operations with files and folders are available on remote computers through Acronis Snap Deploy Management Agent: - creating and editing text files (for example batch files or scripts) - copying to the clipboard - pasting from the clipboard - renaming - deletion. 1. Install the Acronis Snap Deploy Management Agent on the managed machine. 2. Connect the console to the managed machine. 3. Select Manage files from the list of operations. 4. Use the toolbar buttons or context menu to perform operations.

File management

Create new text file Select the target folder -> Create new text document -> Type in the new file name -> OK. Edit file Select the file -> Edit. The file will be opened with the associated editor. The file will be opened with Windows Notepad, if the file type is not associated with any editor.
Create folder Select the target folder -> Create new folder -> Type in the new folder name -> OK. Copy file or folder to clipboard Select the file or folder -> Copy. You can copy files and folders on the remote computer and paste them to your local machine and vice versa. Paste file or folder from clipboard Select the target directory -> Paste. Rename file or folder Select the file or folder -> Rename -> Enter new name -> OK. Delete file or folder Select the file or folder -> Delete -> OK.

16.2 Executing applications on a remote computer
You can schedule execution of service applications such as batch files or scripts on a remote machine through Acronis Snap Deploy Management Agent. The purpose of running applications is to make changes to the deployed system. The applications run silently in the background, so please do not try to run applications such as Explorer, Notepad or any other application that has the user interface. For example, you can execute the Movefile.bat file, which contains the following commands: mkdir c:\Folder copy c:\Somefile.txt c:\Folder del c:\Somefile.txt This will create the new folder \Folder and place the Somefile.txt file into the folder. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Install the Acronis Snap Deploy Management Agent on the managed machine. Connect the console to the managed machine. Select Run application from the list of operations. Click Create new scheduled task to launch the wizard. Select the application. Select the task start parameters.

Start parameters

Manually later the task will be saved, but not launched automatically. You will be able to launch it later One time only the task will be executed once at the specified time and date Upon event:
Application can be executed on event
An application can be executed at system startup or shutdown, at user logon or logoff or when free space on any internal hard disk either increases or decreases by the specified value. The preset is 20MB.
After the specified period of time elapsed:
Set the time interval between executing application
Daily the task will be executed once a day or once in several days Weekly the task will be executed once a week or once in several weeks on the selected day Monthly the task will be executed once a month on the selected day 7. Specify the name of the user who owns the executed task. 8. Check your settings in the summary screen and click Finish. Once the task is scheduled, you can access it at any time in order to edit the task or view the tasks results. To do so, connect to the managed machine and select Run application.
Executing application is scheduled
You can run, edit, rename or delete the task using the toolbar buttons. Editing is performed in the same way as creation, however, the earlier selected options will be set, so you only have to enter the changes. Deleting or editing a task does not affect the current task execution. A task, that has been edited or deleted while running, will come to an end without any changes. The changes you made will be applied when execution is completed. To run the task immediately, click Execute selected task now. The task schedule remains valid.