PROJECT MULTICASTER

Kenneth Brian GilliamComputer Electronic Networking

Dept. of TechnologyEastern Kentucky University

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OUTLINE

This presentation will introduce a software solution to aid in deployment of software to network clients.

The software is optimized for Symantec Ghost but could be used with other network-aware DOS tools.

The software uses MS DOS and the Windows batch file language.

MOTIVATION When deploying new network clients to a

campus, any amount of time saved can be used for other tasks.

I want my software to be used by IT professionals to streamline their client deployments and save time and/or money.

Boot floppies are the common way to load the Symantec Ghost client, but they are slow and unreliable.

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MOTIVATION I have worked in the Technology

Department at Laurel County Schools during the summer for the past 3 years and have assisted in deployment of many new network clients.

I wanted the process of loading the right NDIS2 (network) driver for each computer to be imaged to be faster and easier.

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INTRODUCTION During my time at Laurel County, I

disassembled many Symantec Ghost boot floppy disks in an effort to reverse-engineer them into a more beneficial form. I learned exactly what DOS requires for

networking. I applied what I learned to create a tool

that automates the process of loading network support for Symantec Ghost.

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INTRODUCTION

Previously, I created a version of Multicaster that supports multiple network interface cards via a menu system.

The new version that I developed for this project automatically loads network support for the detected NIC.

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PROBLEM STATEMENT It was observed that floppy disks could

take over a minute to completely load network support for a single client. CDs and DVDs are faster yet fragile.

When a collection of boot floppies are used constantly, one in 25 disks will physically fail within an hour of use. This is especially true when switching the disks among multiple computers.

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PROBLEM STATEMENT

Multiple discs must be carried by the technician if several different clients with different NICs need software. Multiple discs take up more storage

space than a USB flash drive in a technician’s toolkit.

Misplacing or accidentally damaging a disc can cause loss of time.

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PROBLEM STATEMENT

If a single Ghost floppy disk is used on multiple computers, computer name conflicts will occur unless the disk’s configuration is edited before each use after the first one.

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PROPOSED SOLUTION To solve this problem, Multicaster was tried

on different media during its development. Floppy disks: Placing multiple drivers onto a

single disk was attempted, but floppies are slow and fragile.

CDs: They are faster and hold more data, but are generally more fragile than floppy disks.

The best media for Multicaster is USB flash. It is faster, more durable, physically smaller,

and holds more data than CDs or floppy disks.

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IMPLEMENTATION A USB flash drive was prepared for

boot using a format utility from HP and Multicaster was created. DOS and all required support

programs were loaded onto the drive. PCIScan.exe is the program that allows

Multicaster to automatically load the NIC. Config.sys and Autoexec.bat were

edited to run the necessary routines for network support.

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IMPLEMENTATION PCIScan (by Bart Lagerweij of www.nu2.nu)

looks at the PCI bus and uses a database file called ndis.map to identify the installed hardware based on vendor and device codes.

Ndis.map links the vendor and device codes with the proper driver name.

Ndis.map tells PCIScan to return the driver name for the first detected network interface card to a system variable that is used in Autoexec.bat

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IMPLEMENTATION

A DOS program called Change.com modifies a file inside of Multicaster based on a command in Autoexec.bat to temporarily change the computer’s network name to a random string of five numbers. The text for the name depends on

another program called Random.com

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IMPLEMENTATION Multicaster was tested on as many

different computers (with different NICs) as possible. The required drivers were downloaded

from the manufacturer if the ones already collected were incompatible.

PCIScan’s ndis.map file was updated as needed.

Autoexec.bat and config.sys were edited as needed.

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IMPLEMENTATION

Functionality of Multicaster was verified by running Symantec Ghost after network support finished loading on each test computer. Ghost was initialized into GhostCast

mode so it would retrieve a DHCP assigned IP address and display it on screen.

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RESULTS Multicaster successfully boots

from a USB flash drive and loads full network support automatically.

The same USB drive containing Multicaster can be used on multiple computers without name conflicts or any configuration changes.

The success rate is currently 80%, but downloading more drivers and editing ndis.map will drive this higher.

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CONCLUSIONS

Multicaster is practical for use in a live network environment because is saves time and simplifies the process of imaging multiple computers over a network using Symantec Ghost.

This tool could be used for many network-aware DOS applications.

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FUTURE WORK

Some possible extensions for this project include support of wireless networking, support of multiple NICs, DNS, and conversion from Batch file language to C.

A more advanced version of this software may one day be patented.

CONTACT ME

Any questions or suggestions may be sent to:shadow0384@gmail.com

Please place the text “MULTICASTER” in all caps (without the quotes) somewhere in the subject line of your message.

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