Mac OS X Lion Server For Dummies®

Hosting User Start-Up Disks on the Server

In Chapter 17, I describe putting users' home folders on the server — a great convenience for users on multiple Macs — but what about Macs with multiple users? For example, in a school library or lab, you want the same system configuration on multiple machines and an easy way to reinstall systems that get out of whack by an anonymous user.

The answer is to host not just the home folder but also the entire start-up drive on the server, using the NetBoot service in Lion Server. The Mac clients actually boot from the same disk image of a start-up drive on the server. Every time a Mac starts up, it boots from the pristine image, which includes applications.

To host the entire start-up drive on the server, you first must enable NetBoot in Server Admin:

1. Select your server, click the Settings icon in the toolbar, and then click the Services tab.
2. Select a disk to store the images and client data by clicking NetBoot in the left column, clicking the Settings icon in the toolbar, and then clicking the General tab.
3. While you're in this screen, select one or more of the server's Ethernet ports to use and click Save.

   NetBoot creates the required folders on the server.

4. Create a NetBoot image with System Image Utility.

   If you're not sure how, see the section “Creating Installation Images with System Image Utility,” later in this chapter. A folder with a name ending in .nbi appears.

5. Upload this folder to the server's NetBootSP0 folder, a share point that ...