DRBL vs SmartDeploy
DRBL
drbl.orgSmartDeploy
smartdeploy.comSide by side
| Figure | DRBL | SmartDeploy |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $91.67/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 3 |
| Spec score · OS Deployment Software | 7.8 (#11) | 7.7 (#13) |
| Purpose | DRBL manages deployment of the GNU/Linux operating system across many clients from one server. | SmartDeploy helps IT teams deploy Windows operating systems, drivers, apps, and updates to on-premises and remote devices, including without a VPN. |
| Support | The installation guide directs users to report bugs by generating a drbl-bug-report report and emailing the DRBL user mailing list or posting in the DRBL forum. | The pricing page includes technical support in all three tiers, and Starter specifically lists expert email and phone support. |
Plans
In their own words
DRBL
DRBL deploys GNU/Linux from one server to many client machines. Clients can boot through PXE or etherboot in a diskless or systemless environment, so GNU/Linux need not be installed on each client drive. DRBL says clients can use distributed hardware resources while retaining full local-hardware access, and that other installed systems such as Windows remain untouched. Clonezilla is included for partitioning and disk cloning. Commands can change boot modes, copy files, manage user accounts and issue instructions across clients. DRBL uses PXE/etherboot, NFS and NIS for network services and supports network and multicast deployment. The free, open-source software is intended for Linux and self-hosted setups. Its installation guide supports Debian Bullseye and Buster, Ubuntu Jammy and Focal, CentOS 7, Scientific Linux 7.x and RHEL 7.x; other distributions or versions will not work. DRBL Live is available for CD/DVD or USB and hard drives in amd64, i686-pae and i686 formats.
SmartDeploy
SmartDeploy has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.