Tip: Create an ISO store, no matter what
In one of our previous projects we suggested a LUN to use for ISO’s. The client said: ‘Well, we don’t need one, we have all our software on network shares and operating systems are deployed by the means of an unattended install with boot from network’.
It didn’t matter how much I talked and how much advantages I could name, they wouldn’t give in.
Last week I did a VirtualCenter upgrade there. What do you think they said? ‘It would be handy if we had an ISO datastore where we could place ISO images. Why didn’t you put that into the design?’
Arrgh.
A central repository for ISO files is very useful, no matter if it’s a seperate LUN on your SAN, Windows share or NFS share. You could embed this into your ITIL processes, making the ISO storage a Definitive Software Library (DSL).
DSL is a physical library or storage repository where master copies of software versions are placed. Only authorised software should be accepted into the DSL, strictly controlled by Change and Release Management.
And who knows, perhaps this is something that can/will be included with the next version of VirtualCenter 
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