Diskless remote boot in Linux

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DRBL ( Diskless Remote Boot in Linux ) is a NFS - / NIS - server that provides an installation environment for stand-alone computer.

scope of application

DRBL can be used for

  • duplicating (cloning) machines with the supplied Clonezilla ,
  • a network installation of Linux distributions like Fedora, Debian, etc.,
  • the provision of a small operating system via PXE (or similar), e.g. B. DSL, Puppy Linux, FreeDOS etc.

Use is either

  • as a server variant after installation on a supported system using the installation script provided,
  • or from a live CD without installation .

The installation is possible for machines with an already installed Debian , Ubuntu , Mandriva , Red Hat Linux , Fedora , CentOS or SuSE . In contrast to LTSP , it does not use a centralized approach, but allows the workstations to use local hardware resources. It also includes Clonezilla, a partitioning and cloning tool similar to Symantec Ghost.

DRBL is provided under the terms of the GPL license and thus allows the user to easily adapt it to his own needs.

properties

DRBL supports in 2 main areas: Disk Cloning and Hybrid Client.

Disk cloning

Clonezilla (included with DRBL) uses partimage to copy only the used disk space and gzip to compress the result. The stored image can then later be restored on several machines at the same time. For this purpose, multicast packets used and thus considerably to restore many computers reduces the necessary time. The DRBL Live CD allows these activities without installation by first operating the server from CD and the PXE boots the remaining workstations.

Hybrid client

Using old hardware as thin clients is a good solution, but it has some disadvantages that a hybrid client does not.

  • Streaming audio / video - the terminal server must first decode, then re-encode and finally send the video over the network to the workstation. A hybrid decodes the data locally and can thus use the possibilities of the graphics card for acceleration.
  • Software that requires real-time input - Since all input from a thin client must be sent over the network to the terminal server, there may be a delay here. This is a major problem for software that requires quick response to input (e.g. video games). Hybrid workstations process the programs locally, so the problem does not arise.

DRBL allows multiple hybrid clients to be set up quickly and easily.

How it works

A DRBL server is required for operation, which can be done without installation using the live CD provided. However, this variant allows only minor adjustments to your own needs and is therefore only recommended for an initial test run. The server edition (SE) should be operated permanently . This is provided as an installation script that is available for a precisely named list of distributions. First one of the listed distributions is installed and then the DRBL installation script is executed. It configures the system to operate as a DRBL server.

The workstation boots over the network using PXE. He obtains an IP address and uses TFTP to load the operating system and the initial RAM disk from the DRBL. The workstation gets its root partition ("/") from the DRBL server using NFS . The workstation then boots either the local Linux distribution, Clonezilla or the installation procedure of the various Linux distributions, depending on the setting on the DRBL server.

All system resources are available on the workstation, with the exception of the disk space that comes from the DRBL server.

Key points for a successful hybrid workplace with DRBL

The crucial point in a DRBL installation is the cooperation between the DRBL server and the workstation. A fast and secure disk space (RAID) and a fast network connection (Gigabit) are ideal for this operating mode.

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