- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
thomsen,
The templates are for creating more than one 'instance' of the same operating system. You can for instance deploy more than one windows XP machine by importing the bootfiles once (OS -> Configure OS) and then create more than one template based on that OS (Templates -> Create Template).
I'll give an example: you're at home and you want to deploy your laptop and a desktop with Windows XP. The first should have hostname MYLAPTOP01 and the second one should be called MYDESKTOP01. You may want to have DHCP for the laptop (in case you take it somewhere where DHCP is supported) and a fixed IP for the desktop.
Here's what you do in that case:
1. Import the Windows XP iso file using the 'Configure OS' option in the webinterface 'OS' - tab.
2. Create a template (Template -> Create Template and choose Windows XP) for the laptop and call it e.g. xplt1 . Edit the configuration file for the template (Templates -> Edit configuration for the xplt1 template) and set the IPconfiguration to DHCP and the hostname to MYLAPTOP01.
3. Create another (XP based) template for the desktop. Call it e.g. xpdt1 and edit the configuration file so that the IPadress is fixed to a value you want and the hostname is set to MYDESKTOP01.
When you now boot up the laptop and and press F12, you can choose the template xplt1, so XP is installed on the laptop with the configured settings for that template. When you boot up the desktop and press F12, you can choose the xpdt1 template and have it installed with different settings (Fixed IP and other hostname).
In the configuration file you can do more settings (include or exclude windows components, run a program right after installation etc..). A template is basically a configuration file tied to an operating system flavor.
I hope this explains it, and it probably answers your second question too. By editing the configuration file of the template you can change the installation options. If it's still a little fuzzy, do not hesitate to ask...