Thread: [Etherboot-users] Diskless setup booting up to Windows
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From: Belmin (Pub) <be...@gm...> - 2005-07-25 23:59:33
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Hello all. I am looking to implement a diskless setup that "boots up Windows" and stores all it's data on a Linux sever. I've been doing some web research on the subject and have pretty much figured out there is two ways I could go about this (Please, correct me if I'm wrong): 1) Basically: Storing all the data under a directory in the nix Server and somehow having the net boot load that directory as if it was a disk (maybe an image?, not sure). This seems the most possible of the ways of implementations that I've come to. Any guidance on how I could accomplish this? Upside? Downside? Etc. For one thing, I don't like the fact that I'll be using the workstation's resources but I might not have any alternative... 2) Maybe I could somehow load a Windows environment use a VNC client (etherboot to somehow have a VNC client automatically load) to connect the workstation to the Windows environment. This seems less possible than the first method unless I use a Windows server os and use rdesktop correct? (I've done such an implementation with Windows server before) But I do not want to use a Windows server at all in this setup. Anyone else knows of a different approach? I prefer to have the Windows environment use the server's resources as oppose to it using the workstation's resources. This however, might not be an option. If anyone has any input or some sort of documentation I should look at PLEASE post. Thanks for any help you may offer! -- Belmin Fernandez Visit: http://www.belminfernandez.com/homepage Email: belminf at gmail period com |
From: Belmin (Pub) <be...@gm...> - 2005-07-26 04:53:03
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Reply to "Sune Marcher" (7/25/05 8:35p): >Which version of windows do you plan on booting? > Windows 9x. Have you (or anyone) seen it done? Any documentation on attempts? >Your best bet is probably to set up a Terminal Server (expensive >hardware, expensive client licenses), and etherboot a linux image >with a RDP client. > > I'm thinking of just giving up and actually just using LTSP if this can't be done without the expense of a Windows TS server. I've heard of companies successfully doing this from other administrators but nobody seems to have the details :-/. Maybe the speed issue you mentioned though with the hd running in compatibility mode might not even make it worth the effort. -- Belmin Fernandez Visit: http://www.belminfernandez.com/homepage Email: belminf at gmail period com |
From: Anselm M. H. <an...@ho...> - 2005-07-26 07:00:38
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Am Dienstag, den 26.07.2005, 00:52 -0400 schrieb Belmin (Pub): > Reply to "Sune Marcher" (7/25/05 8:35p): > > >Which version of windows do you plan on booting? > > > Windows 9x. Have you (or anyone) seen it done? Any documentation on > attempts? I've done it myself. Yes it's absolutely possible. The basic boot procedure includes loading a hard disk image over the network, mount it as ramdrive and boot windows from it. You need a workstation with 256MB RAM for reasonable working. The downside of the method is that on any bootup, a rather large disk image (which you probably will not get below 80 MB) has to be loaded - that draws a lot of network bandwidth, and experience shows that etherboot and tftp can not do better than something like 5 MB/sec (on a Gigabit link). So you should investigate multicast techniques (well they are already in etherboot, but you should try them for performance). The nice thing is that every boot, you get the exactly same environment back. You could probably have programs installed on a (lateron) readonly samba share, and user data on a r/w samba share, but the basic operating system is always the same. > >Your best bet is probably to set up a Terminal Server (expensive > >hardware, expensive client licenses), and etherboot a linux image > >with a RDP client. That would be easy, yes. > I'm thinking of just giving up and actually just using LTSP if this > can't be done without the expense of a Windows TS server. I've heard of > companies successfully doing this from other administrators but nobody > seems to have the details :-/. Maybe the speed issue you mentioned > though with the hd running in compatibility mode might not even make it > worth the effort. Once the image is loaded, the time between the "Starting Winblows 98..." message in text mode and the ready-booted graphic screen averages 5 seconds in my test setup. Hard drive speed is no issue on a ram drive, wether compatibility mode or not. What exactly do you think you need that Windows for? For administrative reasons, "good style points" etc ;-) LTSP is probably way advanced. If there's no good reason for Windows, go LTSP. btw. if you have specific questions about setting up Win Diskless, feel free to ask. Anselm |
From: <di...@ma...> - 2005-07-26 06:21:34
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On Mon, Jul 25, 2005 at 07:59:19PM -0400, Belmin (Pub) wrote: > Hello all. > > I am looking to implement a diskless setup that "boots up Windows" > and stores all it's data on a Linux sever. I've been doing some web > research on the subject and have pretty much figured out there is two > ways I could go about this (Please, correct me if I'm wrong): I never done this myself, although I did search a bit for such things in the past. The most promising is a BartPE image booted from RIS. Google for BartPE, read the page carefully, then look at the link there talking about RIS. I did burn and boot a PartPE CD, and it's nice. Not sure it's what you need - it's not intended as a workstation but as a rescue CD. You might try playing with stuff like iSCSI, "ata over ethernet", or HyperSCSI. I never did. -- Didi |
From: <di...@ta...> - 2005-07-26 06:01:29
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On Mon, Jul 25, 2005 at 07:59:19PM -0400, Belmin (Pub) wrote: > Hello all. > > I am looking to implement a diskless setup that "boots up Windows" > and stores all it's data on a Linux sever. I've been doing some web > research on the subject and have pretty much figured out there is two > ways I could go about this (Please, correct me if I'm wrong): I never done this myself, although I did search a bit for such things in the past. The most promising is a BartPE image booted from RIS. Google for BartPE, read the page carefully, then look at the link there talking about RIS. I did burn and boot a PartPE CD, and it's nice. Not sure it's what you need - it's not intended as a workstation but as a rescue CD. You might try playing with stuff like iSCSI, "ata over ethernet", or HyperSCSI. I never did. -- Didi |