Deployment hangs

Hi,

I'm using the latest version (downloaded today) with demo license. I have verified the image and am trying to deploy using PXE. Everything goes well, but then it appears to hang saying "synchonizing with the operating system..." on the desktop and sits at 20% on the server. Any suggestions? This would be urgent, as I am evaluating with a view to purchasing.

 

Hello malcolmk,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Complete System Deployment Software.

Please accept my apologies for the delay with the response.

Could you please do the following in order to create Acronis Snap Deploy Agent logs so that we could continue investigation on this issue (this should be done on a target computer)?

* When the client side of Acronis Snap Deploy is starting up, wait for boot menu to appear and press F11. As you get the "Linux kernel settings" prompt, remove the "quiet" parameter and press OK.
* Select Acronis Snap Deploy Agent.
* After you get the command prompt enter:

product /mode:demon /log-level:verbose /log:../tmp/problem.log

and press enter.

* Reproduce the problem.
* After you get the command prompt again insert a diskette into the floppy drive and enter:

mkdir /mnt/t
mount -t vfat /devfs/floppy/0 /mnt/t
cp /tmp/problem.log /mnt/t
umount /mnt/t

* Collect the problem.log file from the diskette.

Then, please, continue with the following in order to create Acronis OS Deploy Server logs:

* Launch Acronis Snap Deploy Management Console;
* Select the "Manage Deployment" option;
* Specify the credentials for connecting to the machine with Acronis OS Deploy Server and click "OK";
* Click on the "Show operations log" button on the icon bar;
* Select the date you need the log from (this should be the last one, which was created when creating Acronis Snap Deploy Agent logs) and click on the "Save log entry to file" (diskette) button;
* Specify the path and the filename for the log file and click "Save".
* Collect this log file.

Please submit a request for technical support. Attach all the collected files to your request along with the link to this thread. We will investigate the problem and try to provide you with the solution.

Thank you.
--
Kirill Omelchenko

 

Hello,
I am running into the same problem as I am evaluating the SnapDeploy product. To make matters worse, the Workstations I am trying to deploy the Management Agent to via PXE do not have floppy disk drives. Will SnapDeploy support an alternate means of storing the log files in order to send them to you
Thanks!
BTW, FWIW, these are new Workstations with OEM installed Windows XP and Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet cards.
Do I need to delete the preinstalled Windows or manufacturer utility partitions before trying to PXE the Management Agent to my target Workstations? If so, why
What about the Gigabit card...has anyone had issues using Snap Deploy with GBE?
I even tried deploying the Management Agent by connecting the NIC to the (10/100) switch in my IP phone (as opposed to the GBE wall drop) and that seemed to make no difference at all.
The Workstations appear to be communicating with the Server to some extent because the deployment begins and I can see the Workstation join the session in the Management Console, but after that it just hangs. In fact the only way I can reboot the target Workstation is by disconnecting the power supply in the back.
Another odd thing today....on a different Workstation the machine boots from PXE, and right before the Acronis splash screen appears you can briefly see the IP address, subnet mask, gateway, and DNS. I caught enough of the data to feel relatively certain it obtained valid IP configuration for our Network. The fact the Acronis Snap Deploy Management Agent splash screen appeared more or less is evidence the Workstation is communicating with the Server. As Snap Deploy initializes it's processes, the IP configuration information is displayed as IP address 169.254.x.x with subnet mask 255.255.0.0 etc., typical of the Windows assigned IP when the local computer can't find a DHCP Server. Naturally, deployment of the Management Agent fails and the machine just hangs.

 

Hello doxenberg,

Thank you for your interest in Acronis Complete System Deployment Software.

Please take a look at the previous post of mine describing how to save these log files onto a flash disk.

Please create all the log files that I have mentioned above and submit a request for technical support. Attach all the collected files to your request along with the step-by-step description of the actions taken before the problem appears and the link to this thread. We will investigate the problem and try to provide you with the solution.

Please be aware that you do not need to remove the operating system or format the drives on the target computer in order to boot it via PXE for a deployment.

Thank you.
--
Kirill Omelchenko

 

Hello Kirill,
Thank you for your prompt reply.
Actually I just got done reading the very post you point to in your response, thank you. I did not even think of using a flash drive, that is a clever approach. Also, I wanted to mention I kept digging in the Forum and I finally found a post from a user (THANK YOU "terryconners" !!!!) who after finding a genuine resolution was kind enough to share it with others here in the Forum.
I am going to give it a go at work in the morning and will post my results in this thread.
Cheers,
D

 

Still grateful to terryconyers for the post, but it did not resolve my problem.
Quite honestly, and I feel a little foolish saying this, but the first problem was that I did not realize you need to initiate the image transfer from the MC . Ok, once I got a grip on that, I was still having issues where I would invoke the image transfer from the MC, and it would appear as though the transfer was about to go but then the target client computer would just shut down.
After working with support and having the opportunity to view the log file that is collected in the Linux shell (you can view the log file by using the command "cat" and then provide the path to the log file) I determined the client is not able to acquire a license from the Server. The support engineer even sent me a new build but that did not resolve the issue.
Ultimately I do not believe this is so much a "flaw" in the Snap Deploy product because I am close to proving conclusively it is an issue with the configuration of our backbone switch ports.
I mentioned in a previous post we are running VoIP on our Network and as such we cabled specific ports on the wall drops to support the IP phones. The switch ports those Network connections map to can be set to powered on non-powered, with the requirement for the IP phone to be powered.
I feel at the moment the "problem" is with the "powered" wall drops and not really with the Snap Deploy software. I was able to successfully image a couple machines by connecting the target clients to a 10/100 switch, and then uplinking to the switch port on my IP phone.
So far I have worked with two Acronis products, True Image, and Snap Deploy, and admittedly there is a bit of a learning curve, but like anything else a little time and effort makes things worth while. Surely there are plenty of bumps in the road, but if you have the right attitude you can learn a great deal from your experiences. Considering the relatively low cost of the software I have to say it is a great value.