[bstone]

We just picked up a new OS X Server 2.0 at work and being that we are about 50-50 Mac to PC we are wanting to make troubleshooting easier- at least on the Mac side (PCs suck in the first place).

Does anyone have any experience with NetBoot? Installing and implementing it? We have a rather large network. Most the macs are using OS 9 and most of them are G3s and G4s. We are using Static IP addresses. DHCP isn't an option, nor is BootP.

Your feedback would be helpful,

Thanks!

[DaveGee]

Boy wouldn't it be great if MacNN had a forum for people who were using OSX Server....



D

[larkost]

DaveGee is right, but here is the general idea that you need to be working towards: The MacOS X Server box should sit between the NetBooted boxes and the outside world (more about why in a moment), and should be given a range of IP numbers that it can hand out to its client computers. Each of these computes are set to netboot, and receive all of their information from the host server. Trying to server computers at large in the general network community is a Really Bad Idea(tm), look to Macintosh Manager if you are thinking of that.

Now the reason you want to have the NetBoot server acting as a gateway for those computers is that NetBoot requires a lot of network bandwidth, and the rest of your network (or at least that router) has no need to see all of that traffic, and NetBoot is going to need to be a BootP server in order to function, and you don't really want that to get out onto a network and possibly compete with other DHCP/BootP servers.

Once you get everything setup, it is a nice place for administration. If someone trashes the setup on a computer, all you do is restart it, worse case scenario is that you have to flash PRam and re-set the computer to NetBoot. But NetBoot does require a 'Colored' Computer. That means any computer after Apple stopped making beige boxes (iMacs, G3 Blue & White, etc..). Anything prior, and I recommend you look into Macintosh Manager. You can even mix and match the two with the same hard drive images on the server so even old G3's can be nicely managed (not as sexy as NetBoot, but still nice).

[Norm1985]

This thread belongs in the OS X - Server topic area. I wish I was moderator, so I could move it.

[gorgonzola]

It's ok, Norm, I got it. ;-)

Moving to OS X Server. Click through to find your thread.

thx

[geekstud]

One strange current limitation of netbooting is that it only supports pre-Mac OS X client images. Has Apple released any information about whether we can expect to be able to boot Mac OS X clients in the future?

-Nathan

[jarends]

Don't use netboot unless you want every computer to be an exact duplicate. Users won't be able to make any changes to their machines because every time they reboot a new system will be downloaded.

Also, you'll need some decent network gear. This will put a large load on your network as all the computers are turned on.

[dtriska]

Originally posted by jarends:
<STRONG>Also, you'll need some decent network gear. This will put a large load on your network as all the computers are turned on.</STRONG>

Mmmmm...gigabit backbone....boy, am I glad I got my way with this.

[SpeedRacer]

Not an easy setup, but if you've used X before and familiar with basic networking principles not too bad. Went 0 - finish in one weekend here.

Note: Minimum 100BT network in all phases on a segregated network and comfortable with dedicating 1 OS X Server box per 50 clients/lab.

NetBoot is great, just wish Apple had some better turn-key solutions for managing Macs that (a) do not meet NB's min requirements (b) operating in more realistic/standard networking environments.

Speed