Greetings, On Fri, Apr 24, 2009 at 3:47 AM, Peter Van Biesen <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi, > > I'm preparing a live image for a thin client installation. The thin client > has 1Gb of local storage and we have about 20 running in 'the field' at the > moment. I'd like to have a way to automatically update them. I currently use > a netboot and the standard nfs mount. However, when the nfs server goes down, > all thin clients go down.
Well without knowing the layout I would say make a redundant nfs setup. I run a setup with several hundred units and I have a proximity nfs server and a failsafe nfs server in case the proximity fails. The user selects the boot server via pxe boot menu. You could also have the proximity nfs also double as a dhcp. fwiw: I like to call netboot clients Not So Thin (NST) clients. > If the dhcp/tftp server goes down, the clients continue running but starting > new ones failes ( this is not a problem as this affects only few clients ). > > What I'd like to do is > - pxe boot > - get kernel and initrd from tftp server > - get the id of the latest filesystem.squashfs from a webserver > If the id is newer than the one on local storage ( /dev/hda1 ), download it > from the webserver > If not, keep the one on local storage > - mount and use the filesystem from local storage As I recall seems like http://www.ulteo.com/home/en/home?autolang=en used to do something similar to what you describe. On systems I want to upgrade that use local storage I keep them in groups in my dhcp.conf file and I move them to the new location when I am ready. I like keeping all the images on the server and not the clients. Also I like a plain fs type so I can just chroot in for fleet modifications. ymmv: The only reason I ever looked at a local storage was for offline clients or low bandwidth (and I always come back to usb stick for that). So with this model I expect users who want to upgrade to plug in to the network with pxe boot set at a higher boot priority and then I give them a pxe boot menu with a test for update option that boots a basic netboot with a custom rc.local designed to check versions then upgrade if need be and then reboot. > > Is this possible with the current installation or should I write my own > scipts ? Well even in the above example you would need to craft your own rc.local for testing what you want. So there will most likely be some custom scripting needed. > > Thanks in advance, > Hope this reply helps. > Peter. > -- > Peter Van Biesen > Sysadmin VAPH > > tel: +32 (0) 2 225 85 70 > fax: +32 (0) 2 225 85 88 > e-mail: [email protected] > PGP: http://www.vaph.be/pgpkeys > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > DISCLAIMER : > De personeelsleden van het agentschap doen hun best om in e-mails > betrouwbare informatie te geven. Toch kan niemand rechten doen gelden op > basis van deze inhoud. Als in de e-mail een stellingname voorkomt, is > dat niet noodzakelijk het standpunt van het agentschap. Rechtsgeldige > beslissingen of officiele standpunten worden alleen per brief toegestuurd. > > > -- > To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [email protected] > with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [email protected] > > -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [email protected] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [email protected]
