This has been a standard technique in Unix [BSD, AIX, Solaris and
HP-UX] for diskless servers since the early days (pre-Linus).
In linux PXE booting from servers is best supported via LTSP project:
http://www.ltsp.org/
http://www.kegel.com/linux/pxe.html
http://www.novell.com/coolsolutions/feature/1639.html
It is very fun, especially with older hardware and nice fast networking.
Additional fiber channel RAID for shared disk I/O on a switched
backplane makes these systems nice and swift.
On 2/12/10, Dazed_75 <
lthielster@gmail.com> wrote:
> Turns out the two PXE servers I built do totally different things and really
> should be called PXE based Install Servers AND I can imagine a third which
> might more properly be described as a PXE Boot Server. BTW, for those who
> do not know, PXE stands for Pre-eXecution Environment and really does let
> you boot a machine from the network. Anyway, here are the three types I
> mentioned:
>
> 1. from https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PXEInstallMultiDistro I built a
> server that does PXE boots from files stored entirely on the PXE server.
> Those files came from .iso files that had been previously mounted and the
> necessary material extracted when the server is set up. The .iso files
> need
> not be kept since they are not used during a PXE boot. The booting is
> generally into a Live environment with the option of installing.
> 2. from
>
> http://www.howtoforge.com/install-multiple-linux-distributions-via-pxe-the-easy-wayI
> built a PXE server that does PXE boots using only a few files resident
> on
> the PXE server and retrieves most of the material from the internet EVERY
> TIME a client uses the PXE based boot. These all seem to boot directly
> to
> an installer (no live environment).
> 3. I have not seen any article for this but I can imagine PXE booting
> being used simply to boot a system where the OS and Application files
> only
> live on the PXE server. Configuration and user files could live locally
> or
> on the server. I suspect PXE is never used this way but do not know.
>
> BTW, the server I built for #2 only works for some of the distributions it
> purports to. Both the Fedora and CentOS installs fail because the install
> procedures ask for information that the client doing the booting cannot
> provide. Ubuntu Karmic and Mandriva seem to work fine. The single entry
> for Karmic appears able to install all the core distributions (i.e. Ubuntu,
> Kubuntu, etc). The Mandriva install lets you choose KDE, GNOME, or CUSTOM
> (whatever that means).
>
> It seems to me that method 1 is superior for speed and bandwidth
> considerations. Method 2 seems better for the ability to install variations
> of configuration or distro builds. I suspect it would be possible to do
> both in a single PXE server though it would be more work.
>
> What I would like to see for method #1 is that the .iso files were retained
> for use in burning discs either on the PXE server or a client on the net
> (not a PXE function) AND might be mounted by the PXE server function rather
> than having to extract files when building the server. Since all three uses
> only require reading the .iso's I would think they could be shared.
>
> Opinions? And is anyone interested in this?
>
> --
> Dazed_75 a.k.a. Larry
>
> The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions,
> that I wish it always to be kept alive.
> - Thomas Jefferson
>
--
Skype: (623)239-3392
AT&T: (503)754-4452
http://obnosis.110mb.com/nuke/index.php
http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Arizona
---------------------------------------------------
PLUG-discuss mailing list -
PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings:
http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss
(text/plain)