Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!gatech!udel!princeton!phoenix!oberst
From: oberst@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Daniel J. Oberst)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: What's the best NETWORK?
Message-ID: <2964@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Date: 19 May 88 13:54:39 GMT
References: <1814@uhccux.UUCP> <1815@uhccux.UUCP> <781@sleazy.UUCP> <2722@umd5.umd.edu> <591@drexel.UUCP>
Reply-To: oberst@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Daniel J. Oberst)
Organization: Princeton University, NJ
Lines: 39


 
>  As far as diskless booting under the Finder (Mac OS) goes, I think that
>has even less chance of ever happening.  The diskless boot protocol under
>NFS (ND) is standardized, so in theory it should be relatively trivial to
>implement.  But if a diskless Mac wanted to remotely boot under the Finder,
>what type of server would it look for (3Com, Tops, MacServer, AppleShare,
etc.)?>
If Apple did it, then AppleShare!!  Even other vendors/purveyors are
writing to the AFS protocols (e.g. CAP/AUFS, Novell, Cayman)>
 
>I think the best you could hope for would be to create a floppy disk that when
>booted, would automatically mount the network disks (ie. Tops), make that
>virtual disk the startup disk, and then eject the floppy and remove it from
>the desktop.  This would at least have the same final result as a diskless
>boot, if not as clean.
>                                                Jeff White
How would it automatically mount the network disk?  A user could "switch
launch" the Finder from a mounted volume to change to it system, but
I am not sure what you would gain.  In any case wouldn't you need a
separate "volume" for each station?  And the user would need to "log in"
to the correct volume for his/her station.  One might be able to provide
a larger/fuller system than a user could carry on a floppy, but it
wouldn't obviate the need for somehow getting a floppy into the machine
to start it.
 
We've been looking at the problem of getting hard-diskless Macs on to
servers and the logistics of providing the "boot up" they need to get
on a server here at Princeton.  For the present, it seems that somehow
we need to get a floppy disk into those machines.  Any ideas on how?
   1) mass produce and distribute start-up disks?
   2) strap/lock boot disks into the machines?
   3) put them in vending machines on campus?
   4) keep boxes of them available in the labs?
 
The issues are less technical than operational.  Anyone have ideas,
suggestions, war stories?  I'd be happy to summarize to the net.
                                               Dan Oberst
                                               Computing & Info Technolog
                                               Princeton University