server/desktop Feedback if using a Desktop or Server for SD

[Aaron@Shared]

Opinion/Feedback:

What do you guys recommend for SmartDeploy:

1. Running it from a PC from 2016 running Win 10 Pro with a USB 3 drive for storage
2. Running it from a server

Also what advantages do you have over using a Server versus a Desktop.

[SmartDeploySupport]

Hi Aaron,

There's really not much of a difference from a SmartDeploy standpoint. If you're running a large number of clients (we're talking 500+ at least), then a server might be a better fit for network capacity reasons, or you might wish to run the Windows Deployment Services (WDS) server role on the same host as SmartDeploy. A PC may be more accessible for creating USB media, but there's no specific reason why this has to be the case (you can just as easily plug a USB stick into a server as a PC).

With respect to the software itself, either environment is supported, and there is no specific advantage or disadvantage for either one.

Using an external USB 3 drive for your SmartDeploy directory may cause problems, however. SmartDeploy doesn't really have a problem with it, and neither do any of the components under the hood, but we have seen media creation issues if the source files are on an external drive. This has been sporadic, and has only affected a handful of users (and may be related to security policy within those environments rather than the specific hardware involved), but I figured I'd mention it. So if storage capacity is the limiting factor here, the server may be the safer option.

The nice thing about SmartDeploy licensing is that you don't have to pick one or the other. You can install the SmartDeploy console onto both environments and use each one for the purposes they are best suited for. At present, a SmartDeploy Client can only talk to one server or the other (not both), but there are several exciting new features in this area coming in v3, so stay tuned for that (and we do have a webcast recording from January that we can send you if you're curious).

If you have any other questions, feel free to reach out to support@smartdeploy.com.

And of course, anyone reading this can feel free to chime in below or vote in the poll if they have an opinion on this - we're definitely interested!

Glenn
SmartDeploy Support