Home > Articles > Apple > Operating Systems
␡- Understanding System Image Utility (SIU)
The system image file that Mac computers start up from when using the NetBoot service is inside the network disk.nbi folder. Inside a NetBoot image folder you will find “NetBoot.dmg,” while inside NetInstall and NetRestore images you will find “NetInstall.dmg.”.
< BackPage 7 of 14Next >
- My question is, when creating the Netboot image with System Image Utility it asks for a default username and password (I don't remember that with MAC OS 9 imaging). But I want to be able to lockdown the netboot image with Workgroup Manager.
- NetInstall image, then enables service NetBoot Server Admin image. Link in a new macbook network and start from N and clone the image with ASR. When I want to update this image as I do? If I go in / Library / NetBoot / NetBootSP and open the image and the macbook with Automator create a new image that has the same weight does not work, I.
- In our last episode we created two images: A NetBoot image to start an entire operating system over a network and a NetRestore image to restore a block-for-block image of an existing Mac.
- Mac OS X Server comes with the Network Image Utility, which can easily build a NetBoot image of a generic Mac OS X installation. This utility also creates all of the needed support files in the.
Apple Training Series: Mac OS X Deployment v10.6: A Guide to Deploying and Maintaining Mac OS X and Mac OS X Software
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Apple Training Series: Mac OS X Deployment v10.6: A Guide to Deploying and Maintaining Mac OS X and Mac OS X Software
Understanding System Image Utility (SIU)
System Image Utility (SIU) is an application that you can use to create Mac OS X v10.6 network disk images. SIU is located in the /Applications/Server folder on your Mac OS X Server v10.6 computer, or it can be installed as part of the Server Admin Tools v10.6 on any Mac OS X v10.6 computer. Network disk images are modified system images that have been created for use with the NetBoot service. As you can probably tell from the name, NetBoot allows you to start multiple Mac computers via a network connection to network disk images hosted on a Mac OS X server. NetBoot is Apple’s primary network-based system deployment mechanism, and as such, is one of the primary topics of Chapter 5, “Deploying System Images.”
Though SIU is primarily designed to facilitate the NetBoot service, it’s introduced in this chapter because it’s the only Apple tool that provides an easy-to-use automated method for creating deployable system images. Specifically, SIU in Mac OS X v10.6 introduces a new network disk image type, NetRestore, which can be used to create and deploy system images. Further, even if you don’t intend to use the Mac OS X NetBoot service, you can still use SIU as an automated tool for creating full system images to be deployed using another mechanism.
Selecting a Network Disk Image Source
Although Mac OS X Server v10.6 supports hosting images with previous versions of Mac OS, the 10.6 version of SIU can only create network disk images of Mac OS X v10.6.x or Mac OS X Server v10.6.x. Therefore, if you wish to create network disk images of previous versions of Mac OS X you must also use previous versions of the Mac OS X Server administration tools.
As when creating a standard system image, you must have a source from which to create your network disk images. SIU can create network disk images of Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server from two primary sources; Mac OS X installation media or any system volume that is not currently booted. Additionally, SIU treats the contents of a mounted disk image identically to that of a standard volume. Thus, if a disk image volume’s contents constitute a copy of the Mac OS X installation media, SIU will recognize the mounted volume as installation media. Conversely, if a disk image volume’s contents are that of an installed and configured system, SIU will recognize the mounted volume as a nonbooted system volume.
Network Disk Image Types
System Image Utility creates three types of network disk images:
- A standard NetBoot image provides a typical computing experience, albeit one that is hosted from a NetBoot server. When started from a NetBoot image the Mac operates nearly identically to a locally booted Mac OS X client or server. Although this is an ideal configuration for systems that will remain running from the NetBoot image, it is not generally used for system deployment purposes. This is because most Mac computers come with ample local hard drive space, and more often than not, are portable computers. Thus, relying on a permanent network connection for the system volume generally isn’t the best use of resources.
- A NetInstall image starts up to the Mac OS X Installer, much like when you start up from the Mac OS X installation media. In essence, you’re simply taking the original Mac OS X installation media and making it available on the network. Thus, NetInstall allows you to perform an installation of the operating system to a local Mac. This is an alternative to pure system imaging techniques that restore a premade system image to the local Mac. The advantage to NetInstall is that you can pick and choose the individual packages that get installed, as opposed to performing a system restore, which always includes the entire contents of the system image.
- New to Mac OS X v10.6, a NetRestore image starts up to an interface that appears to be identical to the Mac OS X Installer. However, instead of performing an install of Mac OS X, it will restore a system image to the local Mac. The restored system image is based on either a clone of your model system or a modular system built by SIU. This is the deployment mechanism of choice for many because it provides the fastest method for deploying a fully configured system.
SIU Network Disk Image Results
SIU features a two-mode interface that allows you to create either basic network disk images with just a few clicks or more complicated images based on a customized workflow. This chapter focuses on the “basic” mode while Chapter 5, “Deploying System Images,” focuses on building customized network disk images with SIU.
When using the “basic” SIU mode, there are two main choices you make; selecting the Mac OS X system source and choosing the network disk image type. The resulting image created by SIU will vary based on the selected source and type of image you are creating.
If your system source is Mac OS X installation media, and you choose to create a...
- NetBoot image—A Mac booting from this image will start up to a fully functional, though completely generic, version of Mac OS X based on the installation media. This is not a very useful build combination when using SIU in “basic” mode.
- NetInstall image—A Mac booting from this image will start up to an installer interface identical to that based on the installation media. This allows you to provide access to the installation media from the network.
- NetRestore image—A Mac booting from this image will start up to an interface allowing you to restore a generic system image based on the installation media. In other words, SIU will build a restorable system image by installing Mac OS X to a disk image based on the default installation settings. Again, when using SIU in “basic” mode this is not a very useful build combination. However, this combination provides the basis for building a modular system image, as covered later in this chapter.
If your system source is a nonbooted system volume, and you choose to create a...
- NetBoot image—A Mac booting from this image will start up to a system identical to that of the source system volume. This allows you to provide access to a fully configured system from the network. This combination is used most often for “diskless” deployments wherein the local Mac does not have a system installed; it instead relies solely on a NetBoot system. This combination is also used to create an administration, maintenance, and recovery system that can be accessed from the network.
- NetInstall image—SIU will not let you select this combination because the source is not valid Mac OS X installation media.
- NetRestore image—A Mac booting from this image will start up to an interface allowing you to restore a system image based on the source system volume. In other words, SIU will build a restorable system image by cloning the source system. While you could certainly do this yourself using the manual methods outlined previously in this chapter, SIU takes this to the next step by “wrapping” the restore system image in a NetRestore system. The image built by this combination, when hosted from a NetBoot server, is the easiest method to deploy a cloned system image via the network.
Related Resources
- Book $55.99
![How to share netboot image for macbook air How to share netboot image for macbook air](/uploads/1/1/8/6/118659127/950088401.png)
![Full Full](https://media.moddb.com/images/downloads/1/62/61098/moddb_download_image.jpg)
- eBook (Watermarked) $55.99
- Web Edition $55.99
Home > Articles > Apple > Operating Systems
␡- Understanding System Image Creation
Page 1 of 14Next >
This chapter will show you how to select a system imaging technique that meets your deployment needs, integrate advanced Mac OS X managed preferences with your system image, create a cloned system image using Disk Utility, create basic network disk images using System Image Utility, and build a modular NetRestore image using System Image Utility.
This chapter is from the book Apple Training Series: Mac OS X Deployment v10.6: A Guide to Deploying and Maintaining Mac OS X and Mac OS X Software
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Apple Training Series: Mac OS X Deployment v10.6: A Guide to Deploying and Maintaining Mac OS X and Mac OS X Software
Chapter Files | Deployment Planning Template.pdf, available at www.peachpit.com/acsa.deployment Mac OS X v10.6 installation media |
Time | This chapter usually takes approximately 4 hours to complete, but it could take much longer depending on the complexity of your deployment. |
Goals |
|
For many deployments, the best solution is a unified system disk image, which involves creating an ideal system, saving it to a disk image, and then deploying that system to all your computers. A unified system image requires a significant time investment up front, but it saves a great deal of time in the long run. Computers with identical configurations are much easier to manage; the fewer the differences between your deployed systems, the more uniform their performance and the less time spent diagnosing problems, updating software, and reconfiguring hardware.
A unified system image also greatly accelerates the deployment process for any deployment larger than a dozen computers. Once you have fully configured, tested, and created a custom system image on one computer, it can take as little as five minutes to copy it to another machine. Compare this with the time needed to deploy the system individually on every computer, and it’s easy to see the benefit of a deployable system disk image. In this chapter you will learn two general methods for creating deployable system disk images: cloning from a model system and building a modular system.
Understanding System Image Creation
Before starting the process of creating a system image, you must consider your deployment requirements: what software and configuration settings will be part of your system image? Consider your users, your systems, and the limitations of identical-system deployment on multiple computers. You also need to consider which of the two image creation methodologies will best suit your needs and abilities. The choices you make while planning your system image will affect every computer on which this system is deployed.
Defining System Image Requirements
When identifying all the specific items and configuration settings that you want to include in your system image, you must take into consideration the requirements of your users, the technical requirements of your systems, and the limitations of deploying an identical system on multiple computers.
User Requirements
Your primary focus when developing system image requirements should be on maximizing system usability, for both users and administrators. In some cases your target audience or usage policies may require tighter system control. This is often the case when users are inexperienced or cannot be trusted to manage any part of their systems. In this scenario you would limit application access and lock down as many system configuration settings as possible. You would also want to make things easy for the user by preconfiguring any system setting you can. In scenarios where you will be performing a significant amount of client management, you should incorporate directory services–based managed preferences.
In professional or creative environments, you may not need to be as restrictive in the application or settings, but you should still make sure to prepare the system based on the users’ needs; for instance, install third-party applications and peripheral drivers for inclusion with your system image.
No matter the level of your users, your system image should be as fully configured as possible, with both Apple and third-party software installed and updated, any necessary support files such as third-party drivers and fonts installed, and any systemwide configuration settings implemented. Note, though, that many settings are not well suited to deployment via a unified system image—more on this topic later in this section.
Computer-Specific System Requirements
Before you create your system image, you must determine which version of Mac OS X you intend to use. A major administrative advantage of using Mac OS X v10.6 and Mac OS X Server v10.6 is that they include all the hardware drivers necessary to work with any Mac that meets the minimum system requirements, allowing you to build a single system image that can work on any Mac.
Although creating a unified system image for computers that support Mac OS X v10.6 is simple, creating a system image for brand-new Macs can present a significant problem. In many cases, because the release of new Mac computers is not in sync with the release of the retail version of Mac OS X, a custom intermediate version of Mac OS X is created just to support the new hardware. However, new Macs cannot run versions of Mac OS X released prior to their introduction—that is, the oldest version of Mac OS X supported by a new Mac computer is the version that it ships with from the factory.
Thus, a previously created system image will not work on new Mac computers, and you will have to create a new system image based on the version of Mac OS X that shipped with the new Macs. Further, these custom intermediate versions of Mac OS X may technically work with older Mac computers, but they are not officially supported by Apple to do so, presenting a problem when you are trying to build a single unified system image.
Fortunately, every general Mac OS X version update includes support for all Mac computers introduced prior to the update. For example, if you were to acquire new Macs that were introduced this week, the next general update of Mac OS X will include support for those new Macs and will support older hardware as well. Therefore, if you can wait to build your system image until you can base it on the next general update for Mac OS X, you can create a single system image for all your Macs. If you can’t wait that long, you will need to create a separate system image just for your new Macs.
It’s important to note that custom intermediate versions of Mac OS X for new computers do not use different version numbers from the general releases. They do, however, have different build numbers, which can be identified by clicking once on the version number from the About This Mac window.
Software Update Requirements
You should strive to build your system image using the latest versions of your selected software. To do this, you’ll need to collect and keep track of all the necessary software update installers that you’ll apply when building your system image.
First you need to determine and acquire the latest version updates for Apple software. Apple’s downloads website, www.apple.com/downloads/, lists all the latest updates and can be searched and browsed so you can locate and then download specific Apple software updates. However, it may not seem obvious which Apple updates are needed; for this reason you can open Software Update from the Apple menu.
Apple Software Update will compare your Mac’s current installed software with the latest versions available from Apple. Obviously, you should run this on one of your test deployment systems to verify exactly which updates are necessary. The Mac OS X v10.6 version of Software Update no longer allows you to download updates without installing them. Thus, if you want to acquire the updates for later installation or deployment, you will have to do so from Apple’s downloads website.
You should also verify that you are using the latest versions of third-party applications and drivers. Many third-party products feature a built-in automatic update system that will check online for updates. However, few of these third-party update systems will allow you to download the individual update installer so that you can later use it to build your system image. Again, in this case, visit the software developer’s website to download the individual update installers.
Limitations of a Unified System Image
You should include as many configured settings as possible with your system image so you don’t have to spend time setting these items on each individual computer. However, there are many settings that you should not, or cannot, deploy with the same configuration to every computer.
For example, in most cases, user-specific settings should not be included with your system image. Computer-specific settings also should not be configured on the system image. For instance, a unique IP address and network name needs to be set for every Mac. Both user- and computer-specific settings are best handled using dedicated client management tools and techniques.
In deploying a Mac OS X Server system image, your primary goal will be to strike a balance between what you can safely configure as part of the generic server system image and what settings you must leave for after deployment.
Cached
Choosing a System Image Methodology
When using the tools built into Mac OS X to create a deployable system disk image, you have a choice between two different methodologies: cloned system images and modular system images.
With a cloned system image, you first set up a model computer that is configured with all the software and settings you intend to deploy. Then you create a duplicate copy of the system volume saved to a disk image that has been specially prepared for deployment.
The modular system image methodology, a newer method, requires a bit more work up front, but it has several advantages over the older method and is the Apple-recommended best practice. With this method you build a fresh system by installing a series of installation packages to a sparse disk image. The installations include the full Mac OS X system, any software updates, any additional Apple software, any third-party software, and any custom installation packages that you have created to set up your system image. This sparse image is then converted to a disk image that has been prepared for deployment.
Cloned System Image Pros and Cons
- Pro—Easier workflow for novice administrators
- Pro—Less time spent creating initial system images
- Con—Requires that the model computer be purged of any unnecessary or troublesome files
- Con—Prone to issues if model not properly “cleaned”
- Con—Prone to more issues when deploying to different models
- Con—Increased workload when creating multiple system images
- Con—Increased workload when it’s time to update system images
- Con—New system images are never consistent with prior images
- Con—Difficult to document and audit system image configurations
- Con—Increased workload to test system image modifications
Modular System Image Pros and Cons
- Pro—System images are clean because they have never been booted.
- Pro—System images have no model-specific settings.
- Pro—Apple updates won’t interfere with your customizations because they are always applied before your customizations.
- Pro—Your workload is lighter when creating multiple system images that require unique software and configurations.
- Pro—Your workload is decreased when it’s time to update system images.
- Pro—Multiple and updated system images are perfectly consistent for similar items every single time.
- Pro—All configurations are easily documented and easily audited.
- Pro—Testing of updates and image modifications are simpler.
- Pro—System image creation process is automated.
- Pro—It’s easy to integrate modular system images with system maintenance workflows and third-party deployment tools.
- Con—Workflow is more difficult for novice administrators.
- Con—You must create custom installation packages for some third-party items and any configuration settings.
- Con—You will spend more time creating an initial system image.
See Full List On Lowendmac.com
The cloned system image methodology requires less effort up front, and you can get your first image set up quickly. However, in the long run you’ll have to spend much more time fixing bugs, updating software, and adding modifications than with a modular system image. The modular system image methodology requires more initial effort to properly configure your first system image, but maintaining your systems will be much easier because you’ll be able to build new modular images with additional items and updated software.
Related Resources
- Book $55.99
- eBook (Watermarked) $55.99
How To Share Netboot Image For Mac Os
- Web Edition $55.99