[GTALUG] simple straightforward tool for mainaining small networked of imaged linux boxes

[self_same_self at yahoo.com]

This is a pretty good hint. 
‎Thanks, Bob

Sent from my mobile
  Original Message  
From: Bob Jonkman
Sent: Saturday, October 11, 2014 1:54 PM
To: GTALUG Talk
Reply To: GTALUG Talk
Subject: Re: [GTALUG] simple straightforward tool for mainaining small networked of imaged linux boxes

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Similarly, I've used Clonezilla to create a reference image, and then
distribute that image to 32 computers in two separate classrooms. It
involved starting each computer from a bootable Clonezilla USB, then
pulling the image from a network-connected computer.

http://clonezilla.org/

When a DRBL server was added, it made things even easier. Normally the
PCs were set to PXE boot, but it would fail and they'd boot from the
hard drive. When the DRBL server was turned on it would respond to the
PXE boot, and re-image the PCs. No bootable USBs required.

http://clonezilla.org/clonezilla-SE/

- --Bob.


On 07/10/14 01:27 PM, Giles Orr wrote:
> I haven't used it, but I'm told it's good and it's meant to
> address exactly the problem you've explained:
> 
> http://sourceforge.net/projects/g4l/ (Ghost for Linux)
> 
> That said, using PXE booting may be a better solution.
> 
> On 7 October 2014 13:18, Lennart Sorensen
> <lsorense at csclub.uwaterloo.ca> wrote:
>> On Tue, Oct 07, 2014 at 07:01:42AM -0400, Matt Price wrote:
>>> Lennart, can you explain that process in more detail? I mean,
>>> what tool would one PXE boot from?
>>> 
>>> Walter, that is helpful but still sounds pretty time-consuming
>>> -- I would like to find a way to have an unattended re-imaging
>>> that can run more-or-less simultaneously on all the machines.
>> 
>> If the BIOS has an option for network boot, then you could enable
>> that. Then the server would have to have 'pxe' (pxe boot daemon)
>> running to send the boot files to the client when it powers on.
>> This would then provide the boot menu and such for the client,
>> which could normally be to load the kernel and ramdisk from the
>> local disk, or to network boot a kernel and ramdisk that reflash
>> the local disk, perhaps using partimage to transfer the image
>> from the server to the client.
>> 
>> You might even set up wake on lan if supported so you could
>> remotely turn the machines on when you want them to do the
>> reimaging of the disk. In fact a lot of machines can have a
>> different boot order for normal boot versus wake on lan boot
>> making some parts even simpler.
>> 
>> -- Len Sorensen
>> 
>> 
>> --- GTALUG Talk Mailing List - talk at gtalug.org 
>> http://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
> 
> 
> 
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