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🧭 End-to-End Workstation Deployment Process

Introduction

Workstation Lifecycle: The Image Playbook is DTC’s end‑to‑end recipe for turning any workstation—laptop, tower, or NUC—into a fully recoverable, ready‑for‑retirement asset with as little human intervention as possible. Our approach rests on four pillars:

  1. Capture – Take a point‑in‑time image of the device well before swap‑out day.

  2. Protect – Back that image up every night (cloud, local, or both) until the old box is powered down for good.

  3. Restore – Re‑deploy the image quickly, either on‑site or on the Ridgebrook bench.

  4. Generalize (Optional) – Strip device‑specific identifiers so the image can become a true “gold master.”

All of this is automated through MSP360 Backup, a purpose‑built “Workstation Lifecycle: Step 1 Capture” script in NinjaRMM, and a DTCBeSure recovery environment that boots from USB, ISO, or network (netboot.xyz).

Capture & Protect

Running the Step 1 Capture script does the heavy lifting:

  • Installs MSP360 if missing.

  • Logs the agent into our staging account ([email protected]).

  • Creates one of two backup jobs:

    • Staging Job ☁️ – Cloud‑first, restored on the Ridgebrook bench.

    • Staging Job Local 📂 – Writes to an on‑site SMB share for same‑day rebuilds.

Need both paths? Re‑run the script with the other mode—jobs coexist and back up nightly until lifecycle day.

Restore (Guides Coming Soon)

The actual act of restoration is straightforward—boot the recovery image, select the repository, click Restore—but the click‑by‑click walkthroughs are still in progress:

Missing Guide Purpose
On‑Site Restoration Imaging Bring a system back to life directly at the client location using the Local SMB image.
Ridgebrook Bench Imaging Re‑image hardware on our bench using the cloud copy.

While those chapters are being drafted, remember: same image in, same image out—the backup job you chose at capture time dictates where you pull from.

Generalization: Nice‑to‑Have, Not Must‑Have

Modern EFI firmware and our management stack (Intune, NinjaRMM tags, device‑based licensing) already handle cloned drives gracefully. The Generalize step—Sysprep in Audit Mode with a cleanup script—remains valuable when you’re building a reusable gold image, but it’s optional for everyday lifecycle swaps. Skip it when time is tight; there’s no SID‑collision drama in our ecosystem.

What’s New in This Edition

  • Network Boot Support. A freshly built MSP360 recovery ISO is being added to netboot.xyz, letting techs PXE‑boot a failing machine when USB media isn’t handy.

  • Annual Driver Pack Refresh. Our Dell Family Driver Pack gets rolled into the ISO every year—no more NIC surprises during cloud restores.

  • Monitoring Hygiene. We track 30 nights of backup success before calling an image “ready.” Failed jobs trigger an alert and retry.

Roadmap & To‑Dos

Immediate Tasks

  1. Deploy MSP360 recovery ISO to netboot.xyz

    • Build latest ISO → Upload → Add “DTC MSP360 Recovery” menu item → PXE‑test on Ridgebrook VLAN.

  2. Draft missing Restore chapters

    • On‑Site Restoration Imaging

    • Ridgebrook Bench Imaging

  3. Verify nightly backup success for 30 consecutive days on both cloud & local jobs.

Recurring Maintenance

  • Rebuild recovery ISO annually with freshest driver packs.

  • Review Generalize workflow each quarter; update docs if our management stack changes.

Where We’re Headed

By the time you finish this book, you’ll have a repeatable, audited process for imaging, backing up, and resurrecting any workstation in the fleet—whether you’re at HQ with a stack of USB sticks or remote with nothing but the network and a good PXE menu. Ready? Let’s jump into Chapter 1: Capture and start protecting those endpoints.

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