If you already have a client computer set up to suit your users, you can use Disk Copy to create a NetBoot image that is based on that client's configuration. You need an external FireWire hard disk or a second partition on the client's hard disk on which to create the image. You cannot create the image on a volume over the network.
Follow these steps to create a NetBoot image based on an existing system:
1. Make sure there is a second volume available on the client where you can create the image. You can use an external disk (such as a FireWire hard drive) or any partition available on the client other than the startup volume.
2. Make sure that permissions are enabled on the target volume. See Section I of technical document 107524 for more information on enabling permissions for a volume.
3. Open Disk Copy at the client computer.
4. Choose New from the File menu, then New Image From Folder Or Volume from the submenu.
5. Select the client startup volume as the source of the image.
6. Click Image.
7. In the Image Volume panel, type an image name.
8. Choose the external disk or second partition as the destination.
9. Choose read/write from the Image Format pop-up menu.
10. Click Save.
11. Open the Terminal (/Applications/Utilities/).
12. Type this command, pressing Return afterwards:
kextcache -l -n -m /Volumes/target_volume/mach.macosx.mkext /System/Library/Extensions
Note: Replace "target_volume" with the actual name of the volume which was imaged.
13. On the server, create a new folder named "image_name.nbi" at /Library/NetBoot/NetBootSPx, replacing "image_name" with the actual name of your new image.
14. Copy the image.dmg and mach.macosx.mkext files that you created on the client into the new folder /Library/NetBoot/NetBootSPx/image.nbi.
15. You may now unmount the target volume (the volume which was imaged), if appropriate.
16. At the server, double-click the .dmg file to mount the image.
17. At the server, open the Terminal.
18. In these steps, you will type a series of commands in the Terminal. Each command is preceded by the pound (#) sign, which represents the prompt you see on screen. After typing each command, press Return.
# cd /Library/NetBoot/NetBootSPx/image.nbi
# cp /Volumes/image/usr/standalone/ppc/bootx.bootinfo booter
# cp /Volumes/image/mach_kernel mach.macosx
19. To set up the image property list file, open the Property List Editor.
20. Choose New from the File menu.
21. Click the New Root button.
22. Click the disclosure triangle next to the Root entry.
23. Click the New Child button to add the first property. To modify a property, double-click in a column or click the triangles to select a value from a pop-up list. After you create the first property, click the New Sibling button to add another.
24. Add all of these properties, classes, and values:
- BootFile, String, booter
- Index, Number, (a unique image index of your choice)
- IsDefault, Boolean, Yes or No
- IsEnabled, Boolean, No
- IsInstall, Boolean, No
- Name, String, (image name, same as name of .nbi folder and .dmg file)
- RootPath, String, (name of image file, including ".dmg" extension)
- Type, String, NFS
25. Save the file with the name "NBImageInfo.plist" in the image folder /Library/NetBoot/NetBootSPx/image.nbi. Instead of creating the file yourself, you can copy an existing NBImageInfo.plist file from another image (.nbi) folder and modify it using the Property List Editor.
26. Enable the image using Server Settings.
Important software license information
In accordance with the Network Install and Mac OS X Server software license agreements, you may use the software in this manner as long as you ensure that each end user of the image files is aware of and complies with the terms of the software license(s) that governs the use of the software contained within the image files. The Network Install and Mac OS X Server software may be used to install and reproduce materials so long as your use is limited to reproduction of non-copyrighted materials, materials in which you own the copyright, or materials you are authorized or legally permitted to reproduce.