Apple Mac OS X Server (Administrator’s Guide) - Manual (Page 493)

NetBoot 493
NetBoot creates share points on all available server volumes to store client shadow images as
a way of providing load balancing for NetBoot clients. See “Load Balancing” on page 504.
NetBoot Files and Directory Structure
NetBoot learns about a client it supports the first time the client attempts to start up from
the NetBoot server. When a clients attempts to start up from a disk image on the NetBoot
server, it provides information to NetBoot, which NetBoot saves and uses to identify the
client during future startup attempts. The file that holds this information is called
bsdpd_client and is kept in the /var/db/ directory.
Security
You can secure access to NetBoot service on a case-by-case basis using the hardware address
of specific computers to which you specifically allow or deny access. A client computer’s
hardware address is automatically added to the NetBoot Filtering list when the client starts
up using NetBoot and is, by default, enabled to use NetBoot. See “Filtering NetBoot Client
Connections” on page 503.
Note: The hardware address for a computer using Mac OS X can be found by opening the
Network system preference and examining the Ethernet address under TCP/IP. The hardware
address for a computer using Mac OS 9 can be found by opening the TCP/IP control panel,
choosing Get Info from the File menu, and examining the hardware address.
NetBoot and AirPort
The use of AirPort wireless technology with NetBoot clients is not supported by Apple and
is discouraged.
Setup Overview
Here is an overview of the basic steps for setting up NetBoot:
Step 1: Evaluate and update your network, servers, and client
computers as necessary
The number of client computers you can support using NetBoot is determined by the
number of servers you have, how they are configured, hard disk storage capacity, and other
factors. See “Capacity Planning” on page 488.