We replaced staff computers at three sites this summer, upgrading 5+ year old iMacs with Fusion drive-based Mac minis and Dell P2217H IPS monitors. Shipping was delayed so we got a late start on account transfers, which required a creative approach to those transfers.
Meet the quad Mac mini towers:
We started by putting a base image on the computer, and then would move it to our back room and add it to the stack. Connected via a 48-port switch, the newly imaged computer would check in with our distribution system and install all the software and settings appropriate for the building to which it was assigned. This worked great because it allowed us to image computers in batches without waiting for the software distribution process to complete while they were on the bench.
After all the Mac minis were imaged, I’d fire up 8-12 old iMacs in another part of our office and transfer the teacher accounts from those machines to the corresponding Mac mini. Depending on the amount of teacher data to be transferred and how often I was interrupted, I could average 20-25 machines a day, with peak levels hitting 35. Fast and efficient…and pretty cool looking.