Snow Leopard™ Server

Chapter 35. Managing Client Systems with NetInstall and NetRestore

In This Chapter

• Introduction to NetInstall

• Introduction to NetRestore

• Planning NetInstall and NetRestore deployment

• NetInstall and NetRestore setup and configuration

• Managing and monitoring NetInstall and NetRestore

NetInstall and NetRestore are features provided with Mac OS X Server that enable administrators to create and manage disk images that client machines on the network can boot from to update or re-image their local disk, simplifying the process of rolling out security patches, system updates, and application upgrades.

Instead of managing software on each machine individually, NetInstall and NetRestore allow disk images to be managed in one place — on the NetBoot server — and subsequently used to boot and update or image a variety of machines on the network.

NetInstall and NetRestore are closely related to NetBoot and even use the same delivery system and network configuration service. The difference is that whereas NetBoot is designed to replace the local boot hard drive with a network substitute image, NetInstall and NetRestore are designed to act like a network substitute for a local DVD drive for installing or updating software.

NetRestore is a new feature in Snow Leopard Server and is based on Apple Software Restore, a tool used to completely re-image a client computer's disk.

Multiple NetInstall and NetRestore disk images can be defined for different tasks or types of systems by using Automator Actions, allowing ...