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Symantec Ghost Solution Suite

Symantec Ghost Solution Suite

Overview

What is Symantec Ghost Solution Suite?

Symantec's Ghost Solution Suite is an imaging and deployment solution.

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

Ghost Solution Suite has proven to be a highly valuable tool for a variety of use cases. Many users have found that this software …
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GSS 3.0, it's good!

8 out of 10
November 10, 2015
We currently use Symantec Ghost Solutions Suite 3.0 to capture and deploy PC images to specific hardware types.
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Pricing

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What is Symantec Ghost Solution Suite?

Symantec's Ghost Solution Suite is an imaging and deployment solution.

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  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Product Details

What is Symantec Ghost Solution Suite?

Symantec Ghost Solution Suite is a solution for imaging and deploying desktops, laptops, tablets, and servers. From a single management console, you can quickly and easily migrate to the latest operating systems, inventory machines, deploy software, and perform custom configurations across multiple hardware platforms and OS types including Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Symantec Ghost Solution Suite 3.1 includes the Altiris Deployment Solution 6.9 console and its core capabilities while adding key functionality from Ghost Solution Suite 2.5 including Ghost Cast Server, DeployAnywhere, Recovery Kit, and a streamlined no-cost database installation.

Symantec Ghost Solution Suite Features

  • Supported: Imaging and deploying laptops, desktops, tablets, and servers
  • Supported: Ghost Cast Server
  • Supported: DeployAnywhere
  • Supported: GSS Agent

Symantec Ghost Solution Suite Video

Symantec Ghost Solution Suite is an award-winning software solution for imaging and deploying desktops, laptops, tablets and servers. Quickly and easily migrate to the latest operating systems, perform custom configurations and deploy software across hardware platforms and ope...
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Symantec Ghost Solution Suite Competitors

  • SmartDeploy
  • Clonezilla
  • Microsoft Deployment Toolkit
  • Acronis Snap Deploy

Symantec Ghost Solution Suite Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise
Operating SystemsWindows, Linux, Mac
Mobile ApplicationNo
Supported CountriesAmericas, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia

Symantec Ghost Solution Suite Downloadables

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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(10)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

Ghost Solution Suite has proven to be a highly valuable tool for a variety of use cases. Many users have found that this software simplifies and expedites system restoration, even for less experienced users. The management console in Ghost Solution Suite has made the job of administrators effortless, allowing them to efficiently manage a mass of computers.

Additionally, Ghost Solution Suite has been praised for its effectiveness in disk imaging and restoration, making it ideal for both servers and desktops. It has successfully been utilized for tasks such as migrating machines to Windows 10, reducing the burden on users. Furthermore, the software's ability to troubleshoot computers in the early stages of one's career has been highly appreciated by some users.

The software is also well-suited for larger environments, where its quick and easy installation of operating systems allows IT support departments to efficiently handle multiple computers simultaneously. It has streamlined the deployment of new hardware and facilitated automated system rollouts, saving organizations both time and cost.

Moreover, Ghost Solution Suite offers convenience through its various tools, such as the Ghost Server, Ghost client boot media, and Ghost Explorer. These facilitate tasks like deploying scripts and tasks to computers without manual interaction. Customization possibilities have enabled detailed progress reporting and self-service deployments.

While some users have encountered frustrating errors in the software, others have found that it provides consolidated end-user security and easy administration for network administrators. It offers peace of mind by ensuring up-to-date data images in the event of system issues. However, it is important to note that some users may prefer alternative software solutions such as Macrium Reflect or Acronis Enterprise.

Ghost Solution Suite's reach extends beyond businesses and organizations into educational settings where it significantly reduces the time required to refresh classroom PCs. In educational institutions with computer labs, this product has been invaluable in automating the yearly re-imaging process.

Overall, Ghost Solution Suite remains a go-to solution for managing large networks of over 1000+ PCs, deploying applications, imaging computers efficiently, and providing a fresh start for new and existing machines. Its versatility and ease of use have made it an essential tool in various industries and environments.

Efficient Image Deployment: Users appreciate the ability of Ghost Solution Suite to create a library of images that can be deployed based on specific usage, saving them time by eliminating the need for manual configuration. Many reviewers have found this feature helpful in building computers from scratch.

Remote Management Capabilities: The capability to push out scripts and jobs to computers remotely is highly valued by users as it allows them to manage multiple machines simultaneously. This feature has received positive feedback from several reviewers who find it convenient and efficient.

User-Friendly Interface: The simple and user-friendly interface of Ghost Solution Suite is praised by users who find it easy to navigate and master. The software's wizards simplify complex tasks, making them more accessible for users. Several reviewers have mentioned their appreciation for the intuitive design of the graphical interface.

Compatibility Issues: Some users have experienced compatibility issues with the software, particularly with certain drives and data sizes.

Limited Mac OS Support: The software has limited support for Mac OS, with no current options for imaging Macs. While an agent can be installed for further tasks, there are other products available that offer better functionality for Mac OS.

Complex Configuration and Setup: Users have found that the software requires a good understanding of TCP/IP and networking fundamentals to use effectively. Additionally, there have been reported difficulties in setting up the Altris Express SQL DB and establishing communication between the client software and the server.

Based on user feedback, here are three common recommendations for the software:

  1. Adjust the Auto Refresh time setting to prevent freezing and improve performance.
  2. Seek advice and tips from the Symantec Connect website for guidance on using the software effectively.
  3. Before implementing the software, perform thorough testing and ensure a clear understanding of its functionality.

Users have found that adjusting the Auto Refresh time setting can help address any slowness or freezing issues. They highly recommend utilizing the resources available on the Symantec Connect website to gain insights and optimize the software's features. Furthermore, customers emphasize the importance of conducting comprehensive testing and familiarizing oneself with the software's capabilities to maximize its effectiveness. Following these recommendations can enhance user experience and enable smoother operations.

Reviews

(1-3 of 3)
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Dave King | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Ghost Solution Suite to image new and existing computers. We use it company wide. We use Ghost for new computers to image them with a company approved image when they arrive. We also find it helpful to re-image an existing computer when an employee leaves. Rather then give an existing computer to a new employee, we find it better to clean out the computer so the installation of Windows and the company applications are fresh. We find using Ghost makes this a quicker process and provides a new employee a clean computer, free of old files, settings and cache from the old users. This saves us time form having to install everything from scratch.
  • Ghost saves valuable time by imaging a new computer rather than having to setup new or existing computers from scratch.
  • You can build a library of images to be used for workstations and servers. Depending on the particular usage for the computer or server, you can deploy the image most appropriate for that computer or server.
  • Another big benefit is saving time on having to configure or remember all the custom setting you may need. Ghost Solution saved the setting configurations in the image, saving you hours of manual configurations.
  • Even though Ghost Solution Suite saves configurations, software settings and installation within the image, there is still some manual configuration that needs to be done once the image is complete.
  • Installing Drivers for specific models of computers. With Ghost Solution Suite, it can be difficult to get the drivers for all the hardware of all the different model computers, so you have to create different images for different model computers. It would be nice to have the ability to have a hardware independent image for all model computers
  • Image Size. Ghost does have compression to reduce the size of the image, but when you have to store all the drivers within the image it increases the total size of the image you need to manage.
Symantec Ghost Solution Suite is well suited to standard images of company approved software and standard configurations for all users. When every user has the same computer configuration, it is easily managed with a standard image across the board. It is less effective if you need to have multiple configurations for different groups. It becomes cumbersome to manage all the various images. When you add to the complexity by having to address the different drivers for the different hardware model computers, this only adds to the overall number of images you will have to manage, create and keep updated. I find Ghost most helpful with standard hardware model computers and one or two images company wide.
  • A positive impact of Ghost would be time. To deploy computers form scratch is very time consuming and labor intensive for the IT Department. Ghost clearly saves the time of the IT departments staff to quickly get a new computer out to user so they can spend their time on addressing other issues and being more productive.
  • Time is money. If the IT department is spending hours preparing computers and employees are out of a computer for an extended period of time waiting for one to be loaded, this is money lost to the company in paying employees to sit around and wait for a computer to be configured.
Based on our particular company needs, we selected Ghost primarily for the cost. There are better products out there to deploy new computers. KACE was one of the products tested. I used KACE at a previous company and I can say KACE is a more effective deployment method, but the cost prevented us form going with this product. Also, since we have one single standard image it was very easy to manage Ghost for all our employee computers. We also standardized to one single hardware model computer which also made the decision to use Ghost easier.
Andrew Breyen | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Ghost Solutions Suite to manage upwards of 1000+ PCs on our network. We create scripts to push out applications and other stuff to lots of computers. We also use Ghost Solutions Suite to image computers without having to touch hundreds of computers. We image all of our lab machines every summer.
  • Pushing out scripts and jobs to computers
  • Remote imaging and pushing out Windows OS Images
  • Helping to track who pushed out what jobs
  • It's incredibly slow at times. When multiple users are using the console, it gets even slower.
  • The dialog and popup boxes do not get bigger. Some lines can be very large and it can be hard to read the scripts.
  • The BIOS must be reconfigured sometimes if a legacy boot is not being used when network booting for reimaging.
It helps to manage the mass of computers we use. We use GSS to see where and who deployed software to what computers. This can particularly be helpful when dealing with license usage, and tracking how many licenses we have left, and where those licenses have been used. We are able to use it to manage clients.
  • Helps to manage remote computers
  • Helps to manage software licenses
  • Helps to track and manage usage
None
Brian Wheatley | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Our team implemented Symantec Ghost Solution Suite to help with yearly images of our school machines. We had seven computer labs that needed to re-imaged every year. This helped us speed up the process, since before, we had to individually image one machine at a time. This way we clicked a few buttons, and after a while, we had clean working machines.
  • Simple and easy to use interface
  • Easily image multiple computers at the same time
  • Deploys software
  • Initial install could be easier. Had to call support to assist.
  • Joining domains had a few kinks that had to be figured out.
Symantec Ghost Solution Suite is well suited for larger environments. I used it in a full K-12 school and it saved me from a lot of unnecessary work. I feel that this software would be less appropriate in smaller businesses with less that 20 users. It seems to be meant for larger organizations.
  • Initial setup took a long time to nail down. Once support figured out the issues, it was smooth.
  • After implementation, capturing and deploying images were smooth.
  • Being able to quickly deploy software, or move users to new AD groups, or manage power of the machines quickly made us enjoy the software even more.
Once the research had been done, it seemed that Symantec Ghost Solution Suite was the best suited for our environment. The initial cost was fair and the return on investment was well worth what we had to pay up front. I would recommend Ghost Solution Suite to any larger company.
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