Weird JSS problem with NetBoot server setting

[#1]

This one is driving me nuts: I cannot save NetBoot server info for a particular group of machines in my JSS. To be more specific, if I set the NetBoot server by editing the properties of an individual computer in the JSS, the change isn't saved at all. If I set the NetBoot server by setting the NetBoot server for the whole group (a mass edit, in other words) then look at the computer record it appears that the NetBoot server has been saved successfully. However, if I then tell the computer to NetBoot (using Casper Remote) it fails, and the computer record again shows no NetBoot server; the entry is just wiped out. Incidentally, this is Casper 7.1 running on OS X 10.4.11 Server.

The net effect is that I can't NetBoot these particular computers remotely because every time I reboot them the JSS "forgets" which NetBoot server to use. But I can NetBoot other machines in the JSS without a problem.

Just to clarify, there's no issue with the NetBoot process itself: I can set the startup disk manually in SysPrefs or hold down the N key at start up and it works fine. This also isn't a problem across the board – other machines that need to be NetBooted remotely do so.

I've tried recreating this group, and obviously I've done all the standard tests on the JSS to check that the tables are ok. Everything comes up fine. The one thing I haven't tried is removing these particular machines from the JSS and then adding them again. There are only 11 machines affected, so this would be possible, but I'd really like to avoid that if I can.

Any thoughts?

~~~~~~~~~
Dr. James Partridge
Systems Development & Support (Apple)
NSMS
Oxford University Computing Service
13 Banbury Road
Oxford OX2 6NN

Tel.: (01865) 273207
iChat: james.partridge at me.com

[tlarkin]

What do your jamf log files say? Anything at all? Imaging logs?

Do we know for sure that these netboot servers work? Can you netboot to
them manually via the bless command?

Netboot services look good, IP and FQDN and all that stuff kosher?

Last, does your account in the JSS have full permission to edit auto run
data?

Thanks

Tom

---

Thomas Larkin
TIS Department
KCKPS USD500
tlarki at kckps.org
blackberry: 913-449-7589
office: 913-627-0351

[#3]

What do your jamf log files say? Anything at all? Imaging logs?
On 29 Sep 2009, at 15:57, Thomas Larkin wrote:

jamf.log on an affected machine says:

jamf[1275]: Blessing NetBoot server (x86)...
jamf[1339]: Enforcing Management Framework...
jamf[1407]: Reboot. 10.4+. Background.
jamf[1407]: Adding launchd task to reboot...
jamf[1432]: Reboot. Immediately.
jamf[1432]: Rebooting computer immediately...

Which is what I'd expect. The imaging logs show that the reimaging policy has run correctly, but of course the reimaging itself isn't logged because the machines are not finding NetBoot server info when they query the JSS so they just reboot back to the installed OS as normal.

Do we know for sure that these netboot servers work? Can you netboot to them manually via the bless command?

To quote my previous message:

Just to clarify, there's no issue with the NetBoot process itself: I
can set the startup disk manually in SysPrefs or hold down the N key
at start up and it works fine. This also isn't a problem across the
board – other machines that need to be NetBooted remotely do so.

When I say "the startup disk" in SysPrefs I mean, of course, that I can see the NetBoot server here and by manually selecting it the machine will NetBoot successfully.

Netboot services look good, IP and FQDN and all that stuff kosher?

All fine.

Last, does your account in the JSS have full permission to edit auto run data?

Yes, it can do everything.

To my mind, the main thing that points to the JSS as the source of this problem is that I can see when I edit the NetBoot server field for a machine in the JSS that the changes aren't saved. Even if the NetBoot process itself failed because of, say, a networking problem, I'd expect that field in the JSS to save correctly.

James

~~~~~~~~~
Dr. James Partridge
Systems Development & Support (Apple)
NSMS
Oxford University Computing Service
13 Banbury Road
Oxford OX2 6NN

Tel.: (01865) 273207

[tlarkin]

How many machines are you trying to edit the data for? Perhaps your
database is very large and it can't write to that many entries at once?

[#5]

How many machines are you trying to edit the data for? Perhaps your database is very large and it can't write to that many entries at once?
On 29 Sep 2009, at 16:31, Thomas Larkin wrote:

No, it's not that big, and in any event I'm only editing for 10 machines at one time.

James

~~~~~~~~~
Dr. James Partridge
Systems Development & Support (Apple)
NSMS
Oxford University Computing Service
13 Banbury Road
Oxford OX2 6NN

Tel.: (01865) 273207