FOG Project vs USB Image Tool
FOG Project
fogproject.orgUSB Image Tool
alexpage.deSide by side
| Figure | FOG Project | USB Image Tool |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Disk Imaging Software | 8.8 (#5) | 7.2 (#26) |
| Purpose | FOG Project is a free, open-source network computer cloning and management solution. | USB Image Tool creates exact byte copies of USB storage devices and restores images to devices. |
| Security | The FOG Client documentation says client-server communications use public-key infrastructure and AES-256 encryption after an RSA-4096 key exchange. | Version 1.85 updated zlib to version 1.2.12 for a security fix. |
| Support | Support is provided through a public forum, documentation, Discord and community resources. | The maker provides a USB Image Tool support forum. |
| System requirements | Documented server operating systems include Ubuntu 16+, Debian 8+, CentOS 7+, RHEL 6+, Fedora 22+ and Arch Linux. | The current download requires .NET Framework 4.7 and Windows 7 or higher; the command line utility does not require .NET Framework or usbit32.dll. |
Plans
In their own words
FOG Project
FOG Project is a free, open-source system for cloning and managing networked computers. It captures and deploys Windows, Mac OSX and Linux distributions, including hardware-independent images that can be used across different computer models. The project also lists multi-site installations and remote management, provided the FOG server is publicly reachable. That server must run on Linux; recommended options include server-oriented LTS distributions such as Ubuntu, Debian, Rocky Linux or AlmaLinux. FOG recommends configuring client machines to PXE boot first so imaging tasks can be sent without visiting each computer. The FOG Client supports host registration, hostname changes, scheduled power management, snapin installation and user tracking, with client installation described for Windows, Linux and OSX. Client-server communications use public-key infrastructure and AES-256 encryption after an RSA-4096 key exchange. The security guide recommends firewall rules and protecting the MySQL database and captured image directory. Community support is available through forums, a wiki and IRC. The Linux client lacks the FOG Tray, Active Directory joining and PrinterManager. FOG Project is free for commercial use; community support is free.
USB Image Tool
USB Image Tool has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.