The IT Specialist

What is DistriBrute?
DistriBrute is a lightweight and secure P2P data distribution tool for professional (business) usage.

What is the reason for the DistriBrute name?
The product name DistriBrute is a compound word, joining distribute and brute.  We couldn’t find a better way to say what the system does. While the “distribute” part is clear, “brute” refers to use of the computer’s own power. DistriBrute really is the most brutal – powerful – distribution system available.  The fact that DistriBrute used P2P technology plays a big role. Seeing the P2P protocol in action, in a controlled and secure way, gives a whole different impression about its capabilities in a business environment.

Did you say P2P? But P2P is used for illegal downloading software. Isn’t this dangerous in an enterprise or organizational environment?
Not exactly. For example the Ferrari is a fantastic sports car – few people can dispute that – but when it comes to following the laws it is the driver that generates the speeding tickets. It’s similar with the use of P2P. DistriBrute is designed to operate in enterprise environments only. The clients cannot be abused for illegal downloading because the IT department controls the software deployment.

Is DistriBrute a desktop management solution?
No. DistriBrute is a desktop deployment solution that is more focused on the fast and secure delivery of data (disk images, applications, drivers, patches and service packs).

We already have a desktop management solution in place. Why do we need an extra add-on for data distribution purposes?
One of the biggest problems with current desktop management solutions is the lack of a fast and secure delivery of data. DistriBrute solves this problem via P2P communication. Most desktop management solutions rely on decentralized servers for the distribution of a new application. DistriBrute doesn’t need decentralized servers. With DistriBrute all company desktops are acting as a client and server at the same time.

But Microsoft supports the multicast protocol now. Why do we need DistriBrute?
True, multicast can also be used for spreading data but it presents administrators with a few problems:

• A multicast session can fail if one network component is malfunctioning;
• It’s necessary to prepare  changes in the network architecture to implement multicast in your environment;
• A multicast server on every network segment is needed to prevent changes in the network architecture;
• Multicast is less reliable than P2P protocols;
• Multicast always adapts to the slowest link in your environment thereby reducing efficiency;

In what environments does DistriBrute offer real advantages?
DistriBrute makes decentralized servers superfluous. DistriBrute is very useful when an organization has multiple sites, or a shortage of bandwidth, or when you want to centralize your deployment tooling. Removing all those extra servers save a lot of money. The cost price of a server makes up only 7 percent of The Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of a server over a period of three years.
DistriBrute is also highly effective when there is only one site and/or huge capacity of bandwidth available.

What are DistriBrute’s features and benefits?
DistriBrute offers the following benefits:

• Instant download can be guaranteed on all desktops, therefore there are no more unpredictable installations, nor wasted time!  By comparison SCCM2007 or SMS2003 may function efficiently within a working day, but be prepared with good coffee for the wait!
• The reinstallations of desktops remain a local process since the WIM image is stored on a separate cache partition. The reinstallation of desktops is therefore much quicker and much more reliable. Each desktop is responsible for the re- installation. A re-installation via multicast demands a new session and generates more traffic and a bigger chance of an installation failure.
• All applications and the OS-Image remain in place during a re-installation. This prevents unnecessary network traffic while the installation of applications starts immediately after the OS has been installed.
• OS-Deployment and OS installation are separate processes. This means that a newly deployed image can be installed at a chosen time.
• Completed downloads can be resumed after a desktop reconnects to the network.
• OS-Image data will be reconstructed in case of hashing errors. Hashing errors are caused by changes in data (because of a bad sector on the hard disk for example). DistriBrute reconstructs the data by copying good fragments of data from the neighbor desktops.
• Provisioning of a desktop re-installation. DistriBrute provides a COM+ component that can be used to offer a provisioned re-installation of the desktop. A selected group of users (Teachers for instance) can do re-installations without being dependent on the IT department.
• DistriBrute is a simple but very powerful tool. There aren’t any difficult installation procedures, and there is no need to spend time or effort with a study course on it.
• Migrations are very simple. Spreading a new WIM image to all desktops is the only thing needed to migrate from Windows XP to Windows 7. Thousands of desktops can be reinstalled with the new image at the same time (because all installations are autonomous per desktop).

Are there different versions of DistriBrute?
Yes. DistriBrute comes in a full version and a DB-Apps version.

What is DB-Apps?
DB-Apps is used for the distribution of data, applications or drivers. It cannot be used for deployment and/or installation of Windows operating systems. DB-Apps can be installed on running desktops or laptops providing an instant distribution of data.

Is DistriBrute secure?
Yes. DistriBrute provides security in the following ways:

• DistriBrute is a centrally managed deployment solution. The clients depend on information that is stored in a central database. In other words, the clients cannot connect to the Internet.
• The metadata files are only compatible between DistriBrute clients. Other P2P clients cannot be used to read the metadata files.
• Distribution of data / software can only be done if you have proper access rights on the DistriBrute management console.
• Only members of the local administrator account or the local system account can fully access the locally stored data. Users can access the data only for installation purposes. This is necessary for installations that need to be installed under the user’s credentials. Special file system rights prevent local data to be copied by the end user.

How does DistriBrute enforce only local traffic?
The DistriBrute clients are executing a local peer discovery to find local peers that can offer the same data. The central DistriBrute server offers only data if there aren’t any local DistriBrute clients (also known as peers).

How many servers does the DistriBrute infrastructure need?
DistriBrute needs a WDS server, a SQLEXPRESS server and a DistriBrute server service. All roles can be installed on the same server. The load on the server depends on the following factors:

• The number of applications deployed,
• The number of clients,
• The frequency of new distributions,
• The client update frequency.

One (virtual) server should be able to handle 5000 desktops easily. It’s important to determine the load on the server on a regular basis, just like measuring the oil level in your car. The roles can be placed on different servers afterwards.

What about the network load on the WDS server during PXE boots?
DistriBrute only needs one PXE boot to prepare the desktops. A local boot is used when reinstalling desktops after the preparation is done. This means that there is no network traffic created after the first PXE boot.

How much time does it take to (re)install a desktop?
This depends on the speed of the hardware. A new ‘bare metal’ desktop (Windows 7 with Office 2007) can be installed within 10 minutes. A re-installation takes only 7 minutes. It can take 10 to 15 minutes if the hardware is slightly older than indicated above.

How fast can DistriBrute deploy data?
DistriBrute can handle Gbit network connections. 20 – 30 Mbytes/s are no exception. The speed also depends on the number available nodes on the same segment. DistriBrute can reach the maximum 11 Mbyte /s on 100 Mbit networks.

Does the end user notice anything when downloads are in progress?
No. DistriBrute is designed to operate as a background process. This means that the process is switching back in priority when other processes request more system resources. The client can also operate on a lower speed (centrally managed) to limit the bandwidth use while still reaching very high speeds.

What ports does the DistriBrute client use?
DistriBrute uses two ports. The used port number can be chosen when configuring DistriBrute after the installation. The second port is always the chosen port + 1. If you choose port 50000 then the port on which DistriBrute accepts commands is port 50001.
As a warning the ports should not be blocked by local firewalls.

Can we use our older Ghost images with DistriBrute?
No you have to create a new sysprepped image. Just install a desktop with that particular image, sysprep the system and shut it down. Now boot via PXE and capture this system to create a WIM image.

Read the danish FAQ or more about DistriBrute