Ghost Solution Suite

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  • 1.  Supported image formats

    Posted Feb 27, 2008 03:06 PM
    Hi,
     
    A customer of mine has purchased GSS 2.0 and has images created with Ghost 12 they would like to explore and manage. The problem is these images have a v2i extension. Is there an update for this or are they SOL?
     
    Another issue is that they have the base GSS 2.0 release and the server is on a VLAN with no internet access. Is there a way to get the product update without using live update?
     
    Thanks in Advance,
     
    HGov


  • 2.  RE: Supported image formats

    Posted Feb 28, 2008 05:41 AM
    The product called "Norton Ghost 12" which produces the .v2i images isn't actually related to any version of classic Ghost, it's the consumer version of a product formerly known as PowerQuest V2i (a Windows version of PowerQuest's earlier DriveImage product). The commercial version of V2i is nowadays sold as Backup Exec System Recovery.

    The short answer is that classic Ghost as in currently shipping GSS2 does not read the .v2i image format; future versions of GSS should support a method for imaging from a .v2i if you have to, although there will be a performance cost for doing that compared to using Ghost's native GHO format since the formats are very different (classic Ghost's native being optimized for deployment, the V2i format being optimized for taking backups).

    As for the 2.0.2 update, just use the product CD to install a GSS server on a machine that is connected to the public internet - you don't need to register the server, just install it, and then run LiveUpdate. What running LiveUpdate does for GSS is download a replacement product installer which you can run later. That installer can also be burned to CD or otherwise moved around so you can apply the update to server instances that are not on the public internet.


  • 3.  RE: Supported image formats

    Posted Feb 28, 2008 04:22 PM
    Nigel's suggestion is often the most convenient method, but I thought I would also post some alternative download methods here:

    If still you have the documentation originally provided with your GSS license purchase - you can enter your serial number here and download the full GSS 2.0.2 upgrade installation.

    For 2.0.2 this is exactly the same as the Live Update package.

    Alternatively again, you could call technical support, and I believe they will point you to a one off ftp download location for licenced customers.

    Separately, I'm looking to make these files available on our platinum support site for customers with platinum level support, but this is a little while away.




  • 4.  RE: Supported image formats

    Posted Feb 28, 2008 04:45 PM
    Hi,
     
    OK. I guess we will have to re-image and use the GHO file format - done every few months anyway.
     
    I will use one of the methods you described above to get the updates.
     
    Thanks for your help on this.
     
    Have a great day,
     
    HGov


  • 5.  RE: Supported image formats

    Posted May 09, 2008 02:41 AM
    Just noting Ghost Solution Suite 2.5 provides the ability to convert .v2i, .pqi and .vmdk into the .gho format without an intermediate step.
     
    And, you can also use ghost to restore these image types directly.
     
    Details in the 2.5 Implementation Guide available here.
     
    I have included a few details below, you can find more by searching the guide for the file extension you are interested in.
     
    Support for PQI and V2I images
    PQI and V2I images are supported as a source (but not as a destination) in all
    cloning operations. They can be mounted as read-only disks that can be used by
    Ghost and all the Ghost tools (such as GDisk, GhRegEdit, OmniFS, etc.).
    If you want to use this feature, you must have v2DiskLib.dll in the same directory
    as Ghost.exe.
     
    Ref: Page 50: Ghost Solution Suite 2.5 Implementation Guide
     
    Ghost allows virtual disks to be treated as images. You can clone a computer to a
    virtual disk (create a vmdk file instead of a .gho file), and you can restore a
    computer from a vmdk file.
     
    Ref: Page 50: Ghost Solution Suite 2.5 Implementation Guide
     
    If you want to create an image from a .v2i, .iv2i (both Backup Exec System
    Recovery), .pqi (Deploy Center Library), or .vmdk (VMWare Disk) image
    file, you need to mount the appropriate file as a disk on the source
    computer. You do this by adding the /ad=image file name switch to the
    Ghost command line.
     
    Ref: Page 117: Ghost Solution Suite 2.5 Implementation Guide


    Message Edited by Xan Todd on 05-09-2008 06:42 PM