IS DUAL BOOTING IN THE ENTERPRISE WORTH IT? ERIC T GADSBY [email protected], [email protected] HTTP://WWW.ERICGADSBY.COM About Me: • My name is Eric Gadsby. I have worked for Towson University's Cook Library the last three years. For fourteen years prior to that I worked at Goucher College. • I have worked with Apple computers since I was in Elementary School, I used my first Mac when I was in Middle School. • Much of my professional work has been devoted to integrating Apple products into Windows based educational environments with focuses on: • Apple products and Active Directory • Introducing higher levels of service for Apple products in said environments • Implementing Mac OS X Server for management • Implementing Casper Suite for management • Heading up two major Dual Booting initiatives at both Goucher College and Towson University's Cook Library. About Towson University & Cook Library: “Towson University is "One of the nation’s premier regional public universities, Towson University offers a welcoming environment for living and learning in close proximity to the area’s top educational, cultural and community resources...With a rich 150-year tradition, Towson University offers students the best of both worlds – a breadth of academic programs and exceptional faculty typical of a large university, coupled with the close-knit community and highly personalized approach of a small college.” (http://www.towson.edu/about/)
The Albert S. Cook Library is the main library on campus and serves as an academic hub for the campus As our director is fond of reminding us "Nobody graduated from a library, nobody graduated without one"...
You can learn more about Towson University at http:// www.towson.edu and Cook Library at http:// cooklibrary.towson.edu Agenda: • We will talk though many aspects of dual booting • Some history and background • The good, the bad, and the ugly • Other Mac Admin's impressions gathered from the survey • There will be ample time for questions and discussion What this session is: • A 365 degree look at dual booting macOS and Windows • Linux and other OS's an Apple computer may also be able to run will not be discussed simply because it is out of the scope of this discussion
• Not particularly technical, but some processes, and products will be discussed What this session is not • A full blown end to end look ROI or TCO • but it will be touched on • A workshop or technical session even though a lot of technology will be discussed
• If you are looking for step by step instructions or a boot camp on BootCamp then this is not the session for you “Worth” defined: • Let's jump in head first and get an operational definition out of the way “Worth” defined: • A simple definition of “worth”:
"an amount of something that has a specified value, that lasts for a specified length of time, etc.
the amount of money that something is worth
usefulness or importance”
(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/worth)
• Given many factors this session will focus on the 3rd given definition, and look at the process’s usefulness and the importance of this process in the Enterprise "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"
~Arthur C. Clarke Dual Booting: • What is Dual Booting? • Modern computers, configured to consistently utilize two different operating systems and associated applications . • In this case we are talking about Macintosh computers running macOS and Windows • Multi booting is not new: • Early Apple II's and IBM compatible computers had the OS on the program disks you put into the floppy drive— so in theory you could use 20 operating systems in a day and not really know it... Apple's vision of dual booting... when "BootCamp" works best: • For a home user
http://aaplinvestors.net/wp-content/themes/revolution-20/investorimages/1977AppleIISpread.jpg How is BootCamp Involved: • An install wizard that helps you install Windows on Macintosh computers • A set of Windows drivers for Apple computers • BootCamp helps a system dual boot but is not 100% required to dual boot • A common mistake made by users and non technical management Dual Booting Is Not A Panacea • There are advantages and disadvantages
http://backporchgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/the-lego-movie-awesome-e1392309318427-big.jpg So what this is really about?
1995 -1998 Warner Brothers Animation Why might you want to do this?
• Sometimes it's a good idea • Sometimes is's a necessity • Address Inclusively • Address Exclusivity • Apple hardware does tend to be very nice http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2oplteSfv1qgum3lo1_1280.png • Hardware is well built • It lasts a long time • It tends to have a better TCO • The iMac is a very appealing form factor • Thought many PC vendors are catching up in this respect Inclusivity & Exclusivity • Address Inclusivity • Make your users able to use the features of the Western world’s most popular operating systems • Offer your users choice over their competing environment • Address Exclusivity • Give users who primarily use one operating system access to applications or features not found on the other • Example: Only on Windows; Microsoft Project • Example: Only on macOS; Final Cut Pro Why you might not want to do this • Sometimes it's just a bad idea • Not a good use case
http://imgur.com/0RkTF • Example: It’s cool (Or your CIO thinks so…) • Other technology like SaaS or virtualized applications function better
• Can be more expensive then you might first think • Can be very labor intensive Aside: Still Fighting Platform Wars?
• Are your needs for dual boot systems a grand bargain?
• Is your dual boot system a new battle in platform wars or the last battle?
• Do you not know yet? http://www.technobuffalo.com/2012/10/21/time-trippin-apples-hideous-1996-mac-promo-video/ "Change is inevitable. Change is constant.”
~Benjamin Disraeli History: • Apple’s Intel transition • The decision to move away from PowerPC architecture had a lot to do with a lack of innovations in PPC technology by Motorola that came to a head when the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs lost his temper with Motorola and decided to partner with Intel. (Steve Jobs, 446-448)
• Apple announced this transition on Jun 5th, 2005 and the process was competed by early 2006. (http://www.theregister.co.uk/ 2005/06/06/apple_intel_migration/, Steve Jobs, 446-448) • After the 2006 transition, Intel based Apple computers were technically able to run Windows • Apple's use of more stock components and less "invented here" products makes running Windows possible Parts Of A Dual Boot Enterprise: • Mass Deportment
• Deploy Studio • Casper Suite
• WinClone • Other solutions
• OS support and software Support • Mac OS X Server
• Windows Server • Casper Suite
• Munki • Puppet • And many more… Parts Of A Dual Boot Enterprise:
• Hardware Support • Providing methods to choose the OS • rEFInd • BootRunner • A custom solution Dual Booting's Dirty Secret(s): • You are still running two OS's... • You might need twice as many Minions... I mean support staff • You will need more support technology to monitor and keep up two OS’s: • A Mac management product like Mac OS X Server, Casper, or another solution
• A Windows management product like SCCM, Ghost, or others
http://files.vividscreen.info/soft/f7de61a688e2033cde30ef3266120730/Minions-Wallpaper-for-Laptop-1920x1200.jpg Dual Booting's Dirty Secret(s)
• Depending on your needs your costs could be very high • Monetary Costs • To achieve close to 100% parity between your macOS and Windows installs you may need two licenses of the same software; • Example: Adobe Creative Cloud • Understanding your vendors and contracts is important • Some educational institutions may enjoy special pricing though a consortium • For example, in Maryland MEEC helps… • Small enterprises and shops may find pricing burdensome • If you are an exclusively macOS or Windows shop you will need to purchase additional management tools Dual Booting's Dirty Secret(s)
• Staffing and expertise costs • Even a staff very talented in deploying and maintaining macOS and Windows will experience a learning curve • If you are new to supporting one of these OS's then your staff will need to get up to speed • In the area of management there are many FOSS tools, but your staff will need the time and expertise to learn and maintain them "We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon … and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, …that challenge is one that we are willing to accept..." "
~John F Kennedy Are you prepared?
• Is your enterprise primed to support this kind of process? • You will need means to support both OS's • Do you already have that in place? • Are you willing to put it in place? • Are you prepared to work hard on this? Are you prepared? • Get your project management on: Project Management Institute (PMI) outlines 5 stages in it's handbook the "A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)" 5th edition:
Initiating
Planning
Executing
Monitoring and Controlling:
Closing Are you prepared? • My experience with Dual Booting suggests that planning is the most crucial step • Requirements gathering • Setting scope and expectations • Does this work in real life? • Sometimes, it depends on your corporate culture About the survey and testimonials • Quite a few members of the community have offered their ideas and comments via email, phone, and an on- line survey • Thank you for your help! Many great comments and observations! • NOTE: This was very informal information gathering and is in no way complete, scientific, or IRB reviewed • Many have asked for their comments to remain anonymous. Names are used only with permission. Have you deployed dual boot Macs? Have you found the process to be worthwhile? “We have programs that require applications that are unique to both platforms. Putting two sets of hardware in place is not feasible. Dual booting is the only reasonable course of action.”
–Bruce Carter, Senior Systems Engineer, University of Notre Dame “Dual boot is worth the trouble when there is a compelling business case that requires running Windows on a Mac and when a virtual OS will not meet the need”
–A fellow Mac Admin “In the past 12 months, I have been advocating (here, internally) to stop dual-booting. Your questions, so far, have been in the past tense, and to date it has been worth it. However, going forward I no longer see the effort required worth the advantages.” –A fellow Mac Admin Have you found the process to be financially advantageous? Have you found the process to be financially detrimental? Have you found the process to be functionally advantageous? Have you found the process to be functionally detrimental? “I found that Dual Booting can be a pain to deploy when trying to deploy two different images to the same MAC. Experienced issues with DNS as well as issues with pushing out timely GPO's. The alternative to Dual Booting would be to leverage virtual technologies like VMware, Citrix, or Parallels. Though this alternative has its own problems when implementing a virtual environment.” –A fellow Mac Admin “Presents difficulty with Active Directory, keeping an accurate inventory, and imaging using Casper Imaging, which is our primary imaging tool. ”
-Andrew Uchenick, Mac Administrator, Goucher College What successes have you had with the process? “We were able to remove Windows PC's from the lab, and only have the Apple hardware.”
-Ross Shaffer, Systems Administrator Stevenson University “One model computer to rule them all - easy, planning, budgeting, purchasing replacements. Supporting a 50/50 mix of Windows and OS X users. Tremendous hardware reliability with Macs - even if our certified techs cannot fix an issue, an Apple store that can is 30 minutes from campus.” –A fellow Mac Admin “was able run one piece of windows only lab software”
–A fellow Mac Admin “I have found, for the money, solid works runs very well on a Mac and can keep my overall costs down.”
–A fellow Mac Admin What challenges have you had with the process? “Large image deployment does take some time, especially for both partitions”
-Ross Shaffer, Systems Administrator Stevenson University “Keeping both OS's updated with OS patches and software updates. Hard time keeping time in sync (even with different regedit's - may be different with Windows 10).”
–Stephen Hudak, Special Projects, Robertson County Schools “One of the biggest problems we had was with the initial deployment of both operating systems. No real set of instructions to go by. No real standards. Trying to get both images onto workstation without failing. The imaging process took a very long time. ” –A fellow Mac Admin Other thoughts? “We have been 95% dual boot here since 2008, so I feel like I've seen it all. That said, it will take me a year to convince everyone that we should not do it anymore. Classrooms are a big issue, because we use Mac Minis with SSDs and we rather not install two computers there. The solution here looks like more laptops for faculty. Longer term I think things like VDI will help too.” –A fellow Mac Admin “Eliminating dual boots has been an entirely worthwhile endeavor, and I'm glad to no longer have to worry about them in our environment. ”
-Andrew Uchenick, Mac Administrator, Goucher College “Dual Boot is good for switching or when visualization could be poor in terms of performances (3D, high computing)”
-Gymnase d'Yverdon, High School, Switzerland “It would be nice to have adding Windows on Mac hardware as a bit more of an "expected" activity, rather than it feeling like a hack or workaround. In a high-use environment where you need to make sure you're getting everything you can out of each machine, I think dual boot machines have a lot of value.”
-David Dahl, Director of Consortial Library Applications Support, University of Maryland Libraries A developer and vendor’s point of view: “Dual booting has a been a consistent part of our business and people continue to find great value in running Mac and Windows on the same hardware. We just make that process easier.”
–Tim Perfitt, Twocanoes Software Is Dual Booting past its prime? • No & Yes • No: • If you need direct access to hardware for both OS's then dual booting is still the way to go • If you are trying to give users a choice of OS's from one computer dual booting might be the way to go • but some virtualization solutions might work like BootRunner 2 Is Dual Booting past it's prime? • Yes: • If you need general Windows centric application functionality virtual application delivery might be better
• If your needs are met by a Internet/Cloud service like Google Drive or Office 365 then any modern OS should work New Challenges:
1984, Columbia Pictures New Challenges (cont.)
• When I first presented on this topic I quoted this portion "Ghostbusters" because the process was new and untested
• Does it still apply? • Yes because technology is always changing
http://www.hitfix.com/motion-captured/how-meeting-comedy-giant-harold-ramis-exceeded-any-expections-i-had New Challenges (cont.) • macOS Sierra • Windows 10 • SIP and BootCamp • 5k iMac's and BootCamp • Achieving your goals with alternatives like virtualization or SaaS
• Apple's somewhat hands off and inconsistent support of BootCamp drivers • Will Apple continue to support dual boot in the future?
• Will Apple support the version of http://cdn.movieweb.com/img.news.tops/NEPI7dx83s5OSS_2_b.jpg Windows your enterprise uses? Conclusions: • Dual Booting can be a productive tool but has its drawbacks
• The process can be troublesome, but when well executed can offer many benefits
• You need a strong use case • You need to be prepared for the effort and cost • There are alternatives that might work better for your use case Resources: • macOS Sierra: http://www.apple.com/macos/sierra-preview/ • Windows 10: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/features • Boot Camp Support: https://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/ • Deploy Studio: http://www.deploystudio.com • Twocanoes Software: http://twocanoes.com • WinClone 5: http://twocanoes.com/products/mac/winclone • BootRunner 2: http://twocanoes.com/products/mac/boot-runner • JAMF Software: https://www.jamfsoftware.com • JAMFnation: https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/index.html Acknowledgments: Willam Helman, Towson University
Arthur Dana, Towson University
Dr. Deborah Nolan, Towson University
Aaron Davis, Apple Inc.
The MacAdmin’s at Penn State Team
Tim Perfitt, Twocanoes Software
The MacEnterpise Listserv
JAMFNation Acknowledgments: Ross Shaffer, Systems Administrator Stevenson University Gymnase d'Yverdon, High School, Switzerland
Bruce Carter, Senior Systems Engineer, University of Notre David Dahl, Director of Consortial Library Applications Dame Support, University of Maryland Libraries
Andrew Uchenick, Mac Administrator, Goucher College JP Coenraad, Sysadmin-Several Clients
Matthew Carasso, System administrator, for Philadelphia Kyle Tousignat, Desktop Systems Engineer, Wesleyan Performing Arts Charter School University
Mike Donovan, Desktop Sys Admin/Casper Admin, Killeen Aziz Moalim - NCC ISD Anthony Vann, Systems Administrator, UC Berkeley Jon FitzGibbons, Owner, FitzTec Solutions, LLC. Jonathan Trigaux, Managed Desktop Administrator, Sandy Hinding, Systems Administrator, ISD 197 (K12 Public) University of Vermont
David Perry, operations manager, pulse evolution Carlos Topete - Desktop Support Specialist - Rightside
Gabriel Sterritt, iOS Device Administrator, Chicago Public James Robson, Infrastructure Analyst, Southampton Solent Schools University
Samuel Look, Technical Lead Customer Experience, AUT Brian Rittermann, Software Architect, Cisco Systems, Inc. University. Tim Sutton, Systems Administor, Concordia University Adrian A - IT Admin, Clark County School District And all those who contributed anonymously! Andy Carver - Senior I.T Specialist
Larry Staley, Sys Admin, Horace Mann School, Riverdale NY
Sanjeev kumar mandal American computer center
Reuben Herfindahl, CEO Digital Brigade Discussion Time:
“Winston Zeddemore: Tell him about the Twinkie. Dr. Peter Venkman: What about the Twinkie?
~Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis Thanks!
ERIC T GADSBY
[email protected], [email protected]
HTTP://WWW.ERICGADSBY.COM