Having prepared the FreeBSD 5.2 Netboot server,
we can begin to configure our diskless workstations. Let’s prepare the kernel and add it to the two-part filesystem (accessible for reading only and accessible for reading and writing) and finally create rc-scripts.
Building Diskless Clients with FreeBSD 5.2
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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Great way to put all those old PC back to work.
Side note:
I cant wait til 5.3 stable hits.
One thing that can also be done reasonably easily with FreeBSD diskless configuration is (re)installing PXE-enabled hosts over network. (Set hard drive as primary boot device, PXE secondary and that’s it, no local interaction needed as long as you can admin it remotely and it doesn’t end up in state where boot doesn’t bring it to such a state.)
It’s perhaps a bit strange there’s no support scripts whatsoever to provide this functionality. I maintain several dozen PCs this way, and it’s probably the least painful way to reinstall systems, as long as one manages to make good filesystem dumps/images. OTOH, every environment tends to have its quirks and one support script can’t satisfy everyone, such a script could probably satisfy 80-90% of folks that want to install reasonably small amount of machines easily (and even those that want to do the same with, say, >50 machines, with some software not found in the FreeBSD base installation).
These onlamp tutorials are extremely useful.
After my first approach to FreeBSD I had the luck to stumble into the one describing portupgrade: it’s a great tool for keeping the applications updated.
Here are all the BSD articles previously posted on Onlamp:
http://www.onlamp.com/pub/q/all_bsd_articles
… and about the prankster above, showing a**: they really did well to splat you against the wall.