NetBoot
Start up multiple Mac systems from a server-based image.
Features
Standardized desktop configurations
• Configure multiple clients with the same
operating system and applications
• Define customized configurations for
multiple workgroups, hosting up to 25 disk
images per server
• Replicate server configurations for deployment in compute farms and data centers
• Boot client systems “disklessly,” with no
reliance on the local hard drive
Simplified client administration
• Deploy new systems in minutes with
automatic discovery of NetBoot images
• Update an entire workgroup by updating
a single disk image
• Modify startup disk images from the Finder
• Restore compromised systems instantly
• Deploy network-based diagnostic and
repair utilities
Integration with enterprise infrastructure
• Host startup disk images on Mac OS X Server
or other enterprise NFS or HTTP servers
• Deploy disk images across multiple subnets
• Deploy redundant NetBoot images on
multiple servers for maximum availability
and performance
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The NetBoot service in Mac OS X Server makes managing a group of computers as
easy as managing a single Mac. By enabling client systems to boot from a single
server-based disk image, instead of from their internal hard drive, you can create a
standard configuration and use it on all of the desktop systems in a department or
classroom—or host multiple images customized for different workgroups. You can
even create server configurations and run all of your servers from one image. Updating
the disk image on the NetBoot server updates all of these systems automatically the
next time they are restarted.
Every time you restart a NetBoot-enabled computer, it is automatically restored to its
original state. The system reads the startup disk image from the server, and all software
and system settings return to the configuration in the NetBoot image. This enables
you to deploy new systems or repurpose existing ones with unprecedented efficiency.
It also means you can quickly recover from user alteration, tampering, and networkborne viruses, providing added protection for your network. At the same time, NetBoot
improves usability by giving users a consistent computing experience across Mac
systems anywhere on the network.
NetBoot at a Glance
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Technology Brief
Mac OS X Server: NetBoot
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The administrator creates a startup disk image, which resides on the network server.
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The images can also be stored on a remote NFS file server.
The image can be served via NFS or HTTP.
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The local hard drive is not required to update the system image.
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Multiple Mac OS X systems on your network can boot from the server-based image.
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Why NetBoot?
Technology Brief
Mac OS X Server: NetBoot
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Client management with Network Install
Network Install is a complementary service
that’s especially useful for standardizing
system configurations for laptop deployments. It uses the same core technology as
NetBoot, but instead of booting the client
system from a server-based disk image, it
installs the contents of the image on the
client computer’s hard drive—so the system
no longer needs to be connected to the
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network.
The NetBoot service in Mac OS X Server is a proven technology that enables
businesses and institutions to streamline the support of Mac clients and reduce
system administration costs. The ability to deploy a standard desktop configuration
across multiple systems and to protect them from alteration makes NetBoot ideal
for computing environments such as classrooms, computer labs, kiosks, and
computational clusters.
• Classrooms and computer labs. NetBoot makes it easy to configure multiple,
identical desktop systems and repurpose them quickly. With NetBoot enabled on
all desktop systems, students can log in on any computer and access their home
directories from the network. NetBoot also allows you to reconfigure systems for
a different class simply by rebooting from a different image.
• Kiosks and libraries. NetBoot enables you to set up protected computing environments for customers or visitors. For example, you can configure an information
station with an Internet browser that connects only to your company website or a
visitor kiosk that only runs a database for collecting feedback. If a system is altered,
a simple restart restores it to its original condition.
• Computational clusters. NetBoot is a powerful solution for data centers and
computational clusters with identically configured web or application servers.
Similarly purposed systems can boot from a single NetBoot image maintained on
a network-based storage device. NetBoot is also useful for servers hosting scalable
services, such as web and application servers or computational clusters, which can
be “scaled out” by adding systems running identical copies of the service.
Customized software suites
Since Mac OS X Server can host up to 25 NetBoot disk images, you can support
multiple workgroups, each with its own custom software suite. You can also perform
“rolling upgrades,” testing a new software update on select systems while maintaining
current software on the rest of the network. Or use NetBoot to instantly repurpose a
server—for example, from a web server to an application server—by restarting from a
different image.
Diskless NetBoot
Mac computers can now boot “disklessly”—entirely from a network-based disk image—
without needing to read from or write to the computer’s hard drive. In combination
with Workgroup Manager, Apple’s built-in client management tool, diskless NetBoot
simplifies administration of controlled computing environments such as libraries, kiosks,
and testing centers. You can use Workgroup Manager to manage system settings and
even prevent users from viewing or modifying a computer’s hard drive, ensuring a
tightly managed computing experience on NetBoot-enabled systems. This is useful, for
example, in schools deploying “digital bluebook” solutions for student testing. It’s also
an ideal solution for environments, such as some government agencies, where security
is a paramount concern. You can prevent data from being stored, even temporarily,
on the computer’s local drive, so sensitive information cannot be compromised by
subsequent users once a person logs off or the system is shut down.
System troubleshooting and repairs
NetBoot can also be used to host hard drive diagnostic and repair utilities. When using
diskless NetBoot, the client system runs independently of its hard drive, making it
possible to diagnose and fix problems on client hard drives without needing to cart
around a collection of CDs. This is also useful for supporting iBook and PowerBook
systems—just plug them into the network and boot them from the server-based
diagnostic tools. Once repairs are complete, portable systems can be disconnected
from the network.