The NetBoot service explained in detail


The NetBoot service is most commonly used to provide a temporary operating system. In this article you will learn how to further accelerate the system deployment process by providing a network-based operating system for your client computers using the NetBoot service. Since its inception, Mac OS X Server has included the ability to provide full network-based operating systems to Mac clients using NetBoot. The obvious advantage of NetBoot is that you can provide a unified operating system to all your deployed Macs without having to use a physical delivery mechanism such as optical media or external drives.

However, although you could choose to always use an entirely network-based operating system, this can be an inefficient use of your resources and doesn’t provide optimal performance. After all, every Mac ships with a relatively large and fast internal hard drive, which will nearly always provide greater performance than even the most robust, and expensive, network and NetBoot infrastructure.

The NetBoot service is most commonly used to provide a temporary operating system that can facilitate your deployment workflow. Because the Apple installation and system restore tools cannot replace a running system, the first step in most system deployment scenarios is to start the destination Mac from another system volume so you can installor restore the computer’s local system.

The NetBoot system fills this role spectacularly by allowing you to configure a custom system, available from your network, that can perform your entire deployment workflow entirely automated or with very little user interaction. In this article you first will learn how the NetBoot technology works so that you can properly configure this service in your environment. You will then learn how to set up the NetBoot service from a Mac OS X Server and create a simple NetBoot system image. Finally, you will learn how to create a workflow-generated NetBoot system image. This new NetBoot feature, introduced with Mac OS X v10.5, allows you to create customized and automated deployment systems.

About the NetBoot Service

The NetBoot service essentially allows you to boot a Mac computer via the network using a system image hosted on another computer running Mac OS X Server. Multiple network clients can use the system image simultaneously, allowing you to deliver an identical operating system to all the computers you choose on your network, thus providing an ideal platform for system deployment tasks.

NetBoot vs. NetInstall

To use the NetBoot service, you must create NetBoot system images that contain Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server system software. A server running the NetBoot service can host two primary types of system images:

Although these two types of images differ in the way they are used and in the manner in which they start up a client Mac, they are both still essentially a “NetBoot image.” The fundamental architecture of a NetInstall image is no different from that of a standard NetBoot image; a NetInstall image is simply a NetBoot image that has been specifically created for deployment use. In fact, you can create a custom NetBoot image that performs any type of administration or deployment task that you desire.

The NetBoot administration tools all recognize a distinction between NetBoot and NetInstall images to make it easier for the user to identify each image’s primary purpose. From a technical perspective, however, the only substantive difference between the two ishow they handle shadow files.

Legal Disclaimer

Our website is not responsible for the information contained by this article. Webworldarticles.com is a free articles resource thus practically any visitor can submit an article. However if you notice any copyrighted material, please contact us and we will remove the article(s) in discussion right away.


This article was sent to us by: George Zenitti at 06292010

Related Articles

1. How to Transfer Files from iPod to Mac
1. How to Transfer Files from iPod to Mac?What you Need... Mac OS X v10.4 or above;An iPod;iMacsoft iPod to Mac Transfer. Why Choose iMacs...

2. What is the best selling Apple iPad Tablet
Many would think the 64gb 3G iPad tablet would be the best selling iPad tablet, but surprisingly it's not! According to our consumer statistics for the month of May 2010, t...

3. Short Apple Computers History
An alternative to the bus-oriented Altair design was the single-board microcomputer like the IMP-16C. Miniaturization made it possible to put a small computer comprised o...

4. Optimizing NetBoot Performance
The NetBoot service, and network-based system deployment in general, is among the most demanding services you can subject your network and servers to. Therefore, before s...

5. Mac OS X users manage their authorization rights
Even if you don’t want to enforce strict usage policies, you will still create accounts on Mac OS X for your users. The choices you make regarding user account types...

6. How to create simple NetBoot images
Many clients can read from the same NetBoot image, but when a client needs to write anything (such as print spools, browser caches, and other temporary files) back to its ...

7. Enabling ARD Remote Management
Apple Remote Desktop (ARD) 3 is the remote control, management, reporting, and deployment tool for Mac OS X systems. Every Mac OS X v10.5 system includes the client-side ...

8. Mac OS X file attributes and permissions
Mac OS X uses a unique file system, the Mac OS Extended format, that provides both perceived simplicity and enhanced metadata attributes. These file system features are r...

9. Printers in Snow Leopard and Gutenprint
Printers come in varying shapes, sizes, and configurations. As the primary output device on your computer, the printer becomes an important tool for converting the digital...

10. How to create ZIP archives in Mac OS X
Pros: Mac OS X file elements are retained if encoded and decoded using the correct Mac OS X tools. Multiple items contained in a single file tha...