Creating and testing 10.9 Netboot image from New Macbook Pros

[Lhsachs]

Installed 10.9 13A3017 on an external drive from one of the new MacBook Pros, then set it up based on "Creating Minimal Base OS Images for Restore or NetBoot/Netinstall Imaging." Installed Casper Imaging 8.72. Tested as a bootable hard drive on the new MacBook Pro, older MacBook Pro (late 2011), Mac Mini... The hard drive booted what I threw at it and opened up Casper Imaging - pointed at our server.

Did the clean up process and used the hard drive to create a netboot image using "System Image Utility" on a early 2013 Retina MacBook Pro running 10.9. (13A603) Placed the NetBoot image on a server and first attempted to netboot the older systems. It failed on them. Same image that booted them when on a hard drive... Netbooted the new hardware, and it worked!

So, the NBImageInfo.plist is what stopped the ability to netboot the older systems. Any reason to NOT edit the NBImageInfo.plist and add the older hardware?

[bentoms]

Arguments against are pretty much covered here: https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/discussion.html?id=9057

[stevewood]

Try creating the NBI from the new MacBook Pro, the same one you used to build the bootable drive. I've had close to 100% success in building NBIs when I do everything from the same machine. I just went through and created a new 10.9 NBI on a 2013 MacBook Air, and I've had no problems booting older hardware, and newer hardware. But I did everything from that one machine:

- created a bootable Thunderbolt drive (could have been USB)
- boot to the Thunderbolt drive and configure per the Minimal OS KB article (http://goo.gl/d5bC9)
- boot back to the internal drive on the Air
- clean out all Applications and Utilities that I do not need (like iTunes, Dashboard, and others)
- clean out /var/db/vm and Cache directories
- fire up SIU on the internal drive of Air and create NBI of Thunderbolt drive

Again, all of that was done on the same machine, and I've used that process every time I create an NBI, or back in the day when I needed a bootable image. As long as I did it all on the same machine, I've had zero problems with the NBI.

The only problem I've had has been with the NetBoot server and making sure the NBI is being hosted over NFS and not HTTP. Once I make that switch, it works like a charm.

[stevewood]

I should clarify, that the 2013 MBA is the latest hardware I have on site, right now. I am waiting on a new 15" Retina to arrive, and I will test the new NBI on that hardware when it arrives.

The MBA was just received last week, and it arrived with 10.8 on it. Again, for full disclosure.