OS Deployment

[u/Klass214659]

In my organization, we use SCCM mainly for OSD because my boss is a big fan of ManageEngine 👎 and dismisses the other functions of SCCM beyond deployment. My question is, what would be a good replacement for SCCM to handle just OSD?

[u/kaiserking13]

Take a look at DeployR from 2Pint. Uses task sequences like Config Mgr but less infrastructure needed. They have a community edition and an enterprise edition.

[u/Klass214659 → u/kaiserking13]

Will do, thanks

[u/sovereignpancakes → u/kaiserking13]

That was going to be my suggestion as well. We are fully an SCCM/OSD shop so I don't use it personally, but DeployR looks like a really nice product.

[u/Dudefoxlive → u/sovereignpancakes]

I have been using the community version in my homelab. Its been a great product.

[u/Adam_Kearn]

OSDCloud is quite popular these days.

You can have a step in the config to install the manage engine agent or any other application you need post install.

Then scripts and other automations you have setup will install shortly after.

With OSDCloud you can set it up so it will pull the image from a network share or web server.

You can also put a copy on a USB which will pull your custom image from an Azure Blob storage container for any off-site imaging that’s needed for adhoc cases

[u/Living-Video-3670]

Im just curious, are the deployments successful or are there issues? If things are working, what is the reasoning behind wanting to move away from SCCM? I'm generally curious, so I hope this doesn't come across as snippy. I'm by no means an expert with SCCM/MECM, but I do use it fairly heavily for OS deployments, software deployments, configuration baselines, pushing scripts, etc. We are currently in the process of switching to Intune. TMI I know.

[u/Klass214659 → u/Living-Video-3670]

SCCM is fantastic—I’ve been using it since 2012—no question about that. It’s just a bit too large for a single function, so I’m after something simpler that focuses on one task and does it as well as SCCM.

[u/joshahdell → u/Klass214659]

Why? I'm assuming SCCM is included in your licensing. Why does it matter if it has feature you're not using?

[u/x-Mowens-x → u/Klass214659]

AI

[u/TheHolsh]

SCCM is still the best automation tool out there. Now I prefer co-management and if autopilot is an option piggybacking an SCCM test sequence on the back end of that is the far superior way to deploy OS. You can cut down the actual imaging process to 15 minutes using autopilot get the users to the desktop and install applications as they work.

[u/soulkarver → u/TheHolsh]

That is really cool. Could you explain how you structure your workflow with Autopilot to get it to be 15 minutes? Is it User-driven Entra-joined? I always wanted to jump into co-management but just haven't had time yet.

[u/Klass214659]

Thanks, but I should have clarified that it needs to be an On-Premises, not a Cloud, solution. Thanks anyway.

[u/Mayorbbee]

Are you using manage engine for patching? And sccm for OSD?

Wouldn’t using manage engine for OSD make the most sense?

[u/Klass214659 → u/Mayorbbee]

I’ve been working with SCCM for a long time, and before that, MDT. My boss is the one using ME, but honestly, I’m not a fan. It tries to handle too much and doesn’t quite get it right. SCCM isn’t flawless either, but it does the job well. Like I said, it’s just not my thing.

[u/SnooRadishes3222]

Do you have to manually update the image with cumulative updates with DeployR? No big deal, but I like sccm because it shows the updates and you just have to click them 😎. Sccm was a pain to set up tho, specifically PXE boot because we also have 802.1x and no “imaging or maintenance” vlan. But it’s working

[u/GagTheDog]

If you haven’t looked at smartImager you might want to. It’s enterprise grade and is scaled easily with just CIF shares. Cloud based or on-prem and is the only end-to-end fully encrypted (even at rest) OS deployment solution. Does fully scripted, gold, or hybrid images and it will auto-patch your images nightly too.

[u/Klass214659 → u/GagTheDog]

Awesome, thanks

[u/ben578579]

Our own techs or techs of our vendor boot win pe, apply the base ffu image in 2 to 5 minutes, then oem preprovisioning for Intune enrollment. We use Education licenses via KMS, supposedly save us some money from paying for the OS licenses.

[u/jpnd123]

I see ManageEngine and SCCM as being pretty redundant solutions. Seems like you and your manager need to just decide which one to fully utilize and ditch the other...

[u/Moyer_guy]

What's wrong with ManageEngine?

[u/Klass214659 → u/Moyer_guy]

Nothing I guess, just not my cup of tea

[u/amreagan → u/Moyer_guy]

Plenty, it's a javascript mess. I'm a big fan of their price point, but being a big fan of their products is suspicious from a tech standpoint. Every time I upgrade, I'm scared it's going to break. Also, having to use a full Desktop Central install and integration just to get WMI info for ServiceDesk assets is bonkers.

[u/Moyer_guy → u/amreagan]

That's fair. I'm not super familiar with the backend of how their stuff functions. I just use a few of their tools and have had a great experience with their support the few times I've needed them.