Netboot a 10.7.3 image on a 10.5.8 server

[mintzd01]

Hi All,

I am doing a jumpstart for a client. They have 8.52 running on a linux box. All is fine on the jss front.

I am now at the netboot stage and not having much luck.

They have a 10.5.8 intel xserve to run the netboot off but I cant get it to work.

I used a 10.7.3 base image to make the nbi and used the casper automator workflow.

I then copied to the netboot folder.

It appears and when I try to netboot i get mixed results. Some times it loads to the netboot and sometimes it does not.

When it does load imaging runs but when it erases the hdd and prepares to block copy it skips the image and gives a message of "An exception of class NilObject Exception was not handled. The application must shut down."

To tr and remedy this I tried running the netboot of a temporary (loaned to the client) lion server and this runs ok. This is not a fix just a workaround and the end goal must be to run the netboot off a 10.5.8 server.

Am I missing something to do with the afp share? any help will be most appreciated.

[gregp]

I've got a 10.4.11 (yes, Tiger) Xserve hosting our NetBooting. Has done 10.5.x and now serving 10.6.8 & 10.7.4 without issue.

I don't use Casper to make the NBI, but use Apple's System Imaging Utility. And use the same version of OS that the NBI image is (and the corresponding SIU version).

In the following thread, I gave more detail on our process of creating these images (scroll down near the end): https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/discussion.html?id=3315

Have set up a couple of secondary NetBoot servers on 10.5.8 & 10.6.8. When I set those up, didn't do anything special with them other than start AFP & NetBoot. I think it turned on NFS as well. It all worked without any fuss, including NetBooting across subnets.

We use Casper Imaging to image the workstations once they're NetBoot and that works fine as well.

After the app shuts down, is there anything logged in the log files?

[mintzd01]

Thanks for the response

when you say "Build the NBI (we use System Image Utility)." im assuming you use the casper automator action?

Thanks
Dan

[gregp]

I use a saved automator action, but its for SIU, not for any of the Casper applications.