User Guide
Table Of Contents
- System Imaging and Software Update Administration
- Contents
- About This Guide
- PartI: System Imaging Administration
- Understanding System Imaging
- Creating NetBoot and NetInstall Images
- Using System Image Utility
- Creating Images
- Understanding Workflows
- Workflow Components
- Configuring the Customize Package Selection Action
- Configuring the Define Image Source Action
- Configuring the Add Packages and Post-Install Scripts Action
- Configuring the Add User Account Action
- Configuring the Apply System Configuration Settings Action
- Configuring the Create Image Action
- Configuring the Enable Automated Installation Action
- Configuring the Filter Clients by MAC Address Action
- Configuring the Filter Computer Models Action
- Configuring the Partition Disk Action
- Assembling Workflows
- Adding Software to NetBoot and NetInstall Images
- Setting Up NetBoot Service
- Setting Up Clients to Use NetBoot and NetInstall Images
- Managing NetBoot Service
- Solving System Imaging Problems
- PartII: Software Update Administration
- Understanding Software Update Administration
- Setting Up the Software Update Service
- Managing the Software Update Service
- Manually Refreshing the Updates Catalog from the Apple Server
- Checking the Status of the Software Update Service
- Stopping the Software Update Service
- Limiting User Bandwidth for the Software Update Service
- Automatically Copying and Enabling Updates from Apple
- Copying and Enabling Selected Updates from Apple
- Removing Obsolete Software Updates
- Removing Updates from a Software Update Server
- Identifying Individual Software Update Files
- Solving Software Update Service Problems
- Glossary
- Index
20 Chapter 1 Understanding System Imaging
Allocation of Shadow Files for Mac OS X NetBoot Clients
When a client computer starts from a Mac OS X NetBoot image, it creates shadow files
on a server NetBootClientsn share point or, if no share point is available, on a drive local
to the client. For information about changing this behavior, see “Choosing Where
Shadow Files Are Stored” on page 52.
NetBoot Image Folder
When you create a Mac OS X NetBoot image with System Image Utility, the utility
creates a NetBoot image folder whose name ends with “.nbi” and stores in it the
NetBoot image with other files (see the following table) required to start a client
computer over the network.
System Image Utility stores the folder whose name ends with .nbi on the NetBoot
server in /Library/NetBoot/NetBootSPn/image.nbi (where n is the volume number and
image is the name of the image). You can save directly to this folder or you can create
the image elsewhere (even on another computer) and copy it to the
/Library/NetBoot/NetBootSPn folder at a later time.
Files for PowerPC-based Macintosh computers are stored under the ppc folder for
Leopard images, while previous images may have the PowerPC files stored in the root
of the .nbi folder. Files for Intel-based Macintosh computers are stored in the i386
folder.
You use System Image Utility to set up NetBoot image folders. The utility lets you:
 Name the image
 Choose the image type (NetBoot or NetInstall)
 Provide an image ID
 Choose the default language
 Choose the computer models the image will support
 Create unique sharing names
 Specify a default user name and password
 Enable automatic installation for installation images
 Add package or preinstalled applications
For more information, see “Creating NetBoot Images” on page 27.
File Description
booter Startup file that the firmware uses to begin the startup process
mach.macosx UNIX kernel
mach.macosx.mkext Drivers
System.dmg Startup image file (can include application software)
NBImageInfo.plist Property list file