I built a self-service kiosk where a tech selects a PC model from a dropdown, and a PowerShell script dynamically builds a Ghost task, injects the correct drivers, and starts a multicast session. That level of automation is rare in this price bracket. Broadcom (which acquired Symantec, which acquired Norton) now sells GSS. Licensing is per technician, not per endpoint. A single “Console User” license costs around $650/year (estimate). That’s not cheap for a small shop. However, for a school district or IT services company with 5 techs imaging thousands of machines, it’s a bargain compared to SCCM ($1,200+ per server).
If you’re still on 2.x or an earlier 3.x, upgrade for the UEFI and WinPE 11 fixes. But don’t expect a renaissance. This is a mature, terminal product – and for its niche, it’s still the king of the morgue. ghost solution suite 3.3 ru11
Rating: 4.2/5 Best for: Legacy hardware support, PXE-free environments, and sysadmins who need absolute control without cloud dependencies. Worst for: Anyone expecting a modern, sleek, UI-driven, UEFI-first deployment tool. I built a self-service kiosk where a tech
I’ve been using GSS since version 2.5, and RU11 feels like the final, polished farewell to a classic architecture before Broadcom inevitably sunsets it. Here’s the long, unfiltered truth. Installation is refreshingly traditional. No cloud accounts, no Microsoft Store app, no 4GB RAM-hungry web console. You get a proper MSI that installs the Console, the Deployment Server, and the AIO (All-in-One) boot disk creator. Licensing is per technician, not per endpoint
I built a self-service kiosk where a tech selects a PC model from a dropdown, and a PowerShell script dynamically builds a Ghost task, injects the correct drivers, and starts a multicast session. That level of automation is rare in this price bracket. Broadcom (which acquired Symantec, which acquired Norton) now sells GSS. Licensing is per technician, not per endpoint. A single “Console User” license costs around $650/year (estimate). That’s not cheap for a small shop. However, for a school district or IT services company with 5 techs imaging thousands of machines, it’s a bargain compared to SCCM ($1,200+ per server).
If you’re still on 2.x or an earlier 3.x, upgrade for the UEFI and WinPE 11 fixes. But don’t expect a renaissance. This is a mature, terminal product – and for its niche, it’s still the king of the morgue.
Rating: 4.2/5 Best for: Legacy hardware support, PXE-free environments, and sysadmins who need absolute control without cloud dependencies. Worst for: Anyone expecting a modern, sleek, UI-driven, UEFI-first deployment tool.
I’ve been using GSS since version 2.5, and RU11 feels like the final, polished farewell to a classic architecture before Broadcom inevitably sunsets it. Here’s the long, unfiltered truth. Installation is refreshingly traditional. No cloud accounts, no Microsoft Store app, no 4GB RAM-hungry web console. You get a proper MSI that installs the Console, the Deployment Server, and the AIO (All-in-One) boot disk creator.
