Mac OS X Server 1.x: NetBoot Installation and Setup

Note: This article pertains to Mac OS X Server versions 1.x, which were released prior to May 2001.

Planning Your Setup

Decide which HFS Plus volumes the NetBoot server should use:

• Determine network port configuration.
• Gather network information.
• Decide how server's Ethernet ports will be used.
• Determine configuration for each port.
• Choose an AppleTalk machine name.

Mac OS Extended (HFS Plus) Volumes Configuration Tips

• You must select at least one HFS Plus volume.
• The NetBoot Server software can load balance hard disk usage across several physical disks. Selecting multiple logical volumes that all reside on the same physical disk does not improve performance. If you have several physical disks, select one volume from each disk to improve performance.

1. Gather Network Information
• Identify all existing IP routers in your network. For each router you need to collect the following information:
  • IP address
  • Routing table
• Identify all existing AppleTalk routers in your network. For each AppleTalk router, collect the following information:
  • Network number range(s)
  • AppleTalk zone names
2. Draw a diagram of the network topology.
3. Determine where the NetBoot Server is to be connected to the network.
4. Decide How Server's Ethernet Ports Will Be Used
• One port is used to connect to the existing network, we'll call it the Internet Port. The Internet Port is optional, but without it, the NetBoot clients will have no conduit to the Internet. Usually Ethernet port 0 (built-in). Usually 10BaseT is sufficient.
• One or more of the remaining ports are used to connect the NetBoot clients. We'll call these the Client Ports. Usually Ethernet port 1 and up. 100BaseT is required.
5. Determine if server will also function as a Macintosh Manager Server.

Setup Assistant

The following items appear at the root level of the CD-ROM install disc:

Figure 1, Root level of the CD-ROM install CD

The NetBoot Server Setup Assistant prompts the user to gather information needed to complete the setup process:

Figure 2, NetBoot Server Setup Assistant Introduction

The following prompt asks whether or not Macintosh Management features are desired. Running the Setup Assistant also represents the simplest way to remove Macintosh Manager functionality:

Figure 3, Macintosh Management Server prompt

On servers with multiple Ethernet ports (such as our Mac Server G3) more listings will appear. One of them must be selected for use with NetBoot.

Figure 4, Ethernet Port Planning

The following dialog configures the NetBoot Server device to function as a gateway if necessary:

Figure 5, IP Routing for NetBoot Clients options

The following configures both Bootptab and NetInfo providing the range of IP addresses that from which NetBoot clients can start up:

Figure 6, IP address range configuration

Files Installed

Mac OS Volume (HFS) Pieces

Mac OS ROM - This image is copied to the RAM of the NetBoot client.
NetBoot HD.img - This image is mounted on a NetBoot client computer when it starts up. It contains the system software used by the client.
Application image - This image is mounted when a NetBoot client computer starts up. It contains the applications that came with your NetBoot Server Software for use by your NetBoot clients.
Administration folder - This contains Macintosh Manager software and Macintosh Manager Help. You use these applications from a client computer connected to the server when you need to administer your Macintosh Manager configuration (Macintosh Manager auto connects to the server).

UFS (Mac OS X Server) Volume Pieces

• Admin framework
• Network preference panel with BootP support
• Startup server (BootP)
• AppleFileServices program (this program can only share items on HFS and Mac OS Extended Partitions, and is located in /usr/sbin directory)
• Macintosh Manager Server (located in the /usr/sbin directory)
• NetBoot Server Setup Assistant (located in the /System/Library/Assistants directory)
• HDNamer (Accesible via the Apple Menu)

HDNamer - A Mac OS X Server application that allows you to name your HFS volumes.
DiskFirstAid.app - This is a Mac OS X Server application that repairs your HFS volumes. Equivalent to Disk First Aid version 8.1 (from Mac OS 8.1). For additional repair options, run DFA 8.5 in the Mac OS environment or third-party disk repair utilities.
NetBoot Desktop Admin - The Applications and Macintosh HD volumes that you see when you log in to a NetBoot client computer are read-only volumes. You must use the NetBoot Desktop Admin software to make any changes to these volumes, such as installing applications for your users or changing the system configuration.
NetBoot Drive Unmounter - The "NetBoot Drive Unmounter" extension removes the internal hard disk from the desktop on a Macintosh booted from a NetBoot server during the startup process. This would be useful if the administrator of a Netboot server decided that access to the internal hard drives for a group of Macintosh computers should be prohibited. This may be desired to force users to store all data on the server, or to keep users from copying applications or files onto the internal drives of NetBooted computers. With this extension installed, the internal hard disk does not appear on the desktop, nor is it available in Open/Save dialog boxes.
Apple Secure Compression - Application which compresses and encrypts Mac OS files. Runs under Mac OS.