Installation utility system and method

1. A system, comprising:

one or more processors;

memory; and

operating system installation files stored on a computer readable medium, the operating system installation files including files for installing an operating system on a device;

application installation files for applications stored on the computer readable medium, the application installation files including files for installing applications onto the device;

an installation manifest defining installation types, each installation type defining a unique association of one or more application installation files with the operating system installation files; and

an installation manager configured to access the operating system installation files, the application installation files, and the installation manifest, determine an installation type for an installation on the device based on installation indicia, and provide installation options related to the determined installation type to facilitate a software installation on a device.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the installation manifest and installation manager are stored on the computer readable medium.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the installation manager is configured to determine an installation type based on machine identifier installation indicia.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the installation manager is configured to determine an installation type based on a user identifier installation indicia.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the installation manager is configured to determine an installation type based on a user class installation indicia.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the installation manifest is stored on a remote data store; and

the installation manager is stored on the computer readable medium and is further configured to access the installation manifest on the remote data store over a network in communication with the device.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein:

the installation manager is further configured to preclude the installation on the device if the installation manifest cannot be accessed.

8. The system of claim 6 , wherein:

the installation manager is further configured to preclude the installation on the device if the installation type determined by the installation manager is not an installation type defined by the installation manifest.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

installation options related to the determined installation type comprise user-selectable options to include or exclude applications associated with the determined installation type.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein:

the installation manager is further configured to install onto the device applications and operating system files for the determined installation type.

11. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a configuration manager configured to define the unique association of one or more application installation files with the operating system installation files and store the unique associations in the installation manifest.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the installation manifest further defines associations of the installation types with the installation indicia.

13. A method, comprising:

defining unique associations of one or more application installation files for applications with operating system installation files, the operating system installation files including files for installing an operating system on a device, and the application installation files including files for installing applications onto the device;

storing each unique association as a corresponding installation type;

determining an installation type for an installation on the device; and

providing to a user installation options related to the installation type determined.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

storing operating system installation files on a medium; and

storing software application installation files on the medium.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

storing the corresponding installation types on the medium.

16. The method of claim 13 , wherein:

determining an installation type comprises determining an installation type based on a machine identifier of the device.

17. The method of claim 13 , wherein:

determining an installation type comprises determining an installation type based on a user class.

18. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

storing the corresponding installation types on a remote data store;

accessing the corresponding installation types over a network during the installation on the device; and

precluding the installation on the device if the corresponding installation type cannot be accessed.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein:

providing to a user installation options comprises providing user-selectable options to include or exclude applications associated with the determined installation type.

20. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

installing included applications and operating system files for the determined installation type on the device.

21. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

defining associations of the installation types with installation indicia; and

determining an installation type for an installation on a device based on the associations of the installation types with the installation indicia.

22. A system, comprising:

an installation manifest stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium and defining installation types, each installation type defining an association of one or more application installation files with operating system installation files, the operating system installation files including files for installing an operating system on a device, and the application installation files including files for installing applications onto the device;

an installation manager stored on the non-transitory computer readable medium and configured to access the operating system installation files, the application installation files, and the installation manifest, determine an installation type for an installation on a device based on installation indicia, and provide installation options related to the determined installation type;

and a configuration manager configured to define the association of one or more application installation files with the operating system installation files and store the associations in the installation manifest.

23. The system of claim 22 , wherein:

each installation type defines a unique association of one or more application installation files with the operating system installation files.

24. The system of claim 22 , wherein:

the installation manager is configured to determine the installation type based on a user class.

25. A system, comprising:

one or more processors;

memory; and

means for storing operating system installation files and application installation files, the operating system installation files including files for installing an operating system on a device, the application installation files including files for installing applications on the device;

means for associating the operating system installation files to the application installation files for one or more installation types; and

means for providing one or more user installation options based on at least one of the installation types.