IGEL OSCW Enhanced - Under the Hood

October 15, 2024 ,
by Dan Goss
IGEL

IGEL OSCW Enhanced - Under the Hood - Written by Dan Goss

Recently we published this blog about the ability to convert Windows Devices to become IGEL devices with minimal input from a user and without the need for a UMS server to trigger the conversion.

The blog generated a huge amount of interest within IGEL, their Resellers, Customers and Prospects. To that end, we decided to detail the steps which occur in order for this to work so others can benefit.

I am detailing the unattended version of the package so no user interaction will be required once this is deployed by your application deployment tool. This means there will be no Start Menu icons created.

Components Needed?

First up we need the latest version of OSCW, you can download that from the IGEL website here: Software Downloads | IGEL

At the time of writing the blog the version available is: 2.1.1

OSCW2.1.1

Next we need the ISO for OS 12, you can download from IGEL using the same link as above. At the time of writing the blog the version available is: 12.5.0

OS12.5.0

Once downloaded we just need to extract the ISO from the Zip file:

OSC-12.5.0

To enable the unattended install of IGEL OS we actually need an unattended version of the ISO, to create one, you can follow the steps here:
Make_OSC_Unattended_ISO_Boot at master · IGEL-Community (github.com)

The final piece needed if you wish to replicate directly what we have done is the PowerShell App Deployment toolkit which can be downloaded here:
PSAppDeployToolkit/PSAppDeployToolkit (github.com)

Now What?

So we now have everything we need but what do we need to do in order to make it do something? After the hard work was done the solution is actually quite simple, the steps are as follows:

  • Install OSCW
  • Rename the osc-12.5.0.iso to osc.iso (Make sure this is the unattended version of the ISO you created earlier)
  • Copy the osc.iso into the C:\OSC folder
  • Rename grub.cfg to grub.cfg.old
  • Rename osc.cfg to grub.cfg
  • Restart the device

And that's it, the device will boot using the GRUB boot loader which will trigger the IGEL installation from the ISO we placed earlier.

What about PSADT?

We at Workspace IT use PSADT as an application packaging tool due to its flexibility and completeness. For more info on PSADT read about it on another of our blog posts here: PSAppDeployToolkit - Workspace IT

Long story short, here's how PSADT enables us to deliver the unattended package utilising most application deployment tools.

Installation Phase
##*===============================================
##* INSTALLATION
##*===============================================
[String]$installPhase = 'Installation'
## Handle Zero-Config MSI Installations
Execute-MSI -Action Install -Path "$DirFiles\setup-igel-osc-for-windows_2.1.0.msi" -Parameters "/qn" -IgnoreExitCodes "1603"

Here we are simply installing OSCW using the /qn parameter which means install with no UI aka Silent.

Post Installation Phase
##*===============================================
##* POST-INSTALLATION
##*===============================================
[String]$installPhase = 'Post-Installation'
Copy-File "$DirFiles\osc.iso" -Destination "C:\OSC"
Rename-Item C:\grub2\grub.cfg -NewName C:\grub2\grub.cfg.old -Force
Rename-Item C:\grub2\osc.cfg -NewName C:\grub2\grub.cfg -Force
Show-InstallationRestartPrompt -CountdownSeconds 900 -CountdownNoHideSeconds 300

Now as detailed above already we are copying the ISO and renaming the files required. The last step provides a restart notification which last for 15 minutes, once the timer is elapsed the reboot happens.

The timer will look similar to this without the customisation:

IGEL OS Converter Restart Prompt

You should now have everything you need to recreate your own solution to enable simpler IGEL OS12 roll outs.

For further assistance or to find out more about our services and solutions, please contact Workspace IT. Or reach out to me direct at Dan.Goss@Workspace-IT.com.

Disclaimer - Not officially supported by IGEL, its purpose built to provide a workaround to the problem detailed above.


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