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User profile for user: COWegner
COWegner Author
User level: Level 1
0 points

Anyone with a functioning NetInstall workflow?

After spending some time in the IT business and swapping the private life to Apple products, I finally have got frustrated by these.


No, the user experience is still better than Windows (IMHO) and the Macs (3 iMacs, one Mac Mini server) and iPads (ok, only 1) and iPhones (3, but my wife is already set on track....soon there will be 4) are far better to support in family environment. I still remember my 10- or 11-year old daughter trying ICQ for the first time using Windows XP: hey daddy, I've got this file from a friend (saying it's a "picture") and even after clicking it three times I can't the the photo! Guess what: best thing was to reinstall the whole computer to get rid of the virus. Then we replaced this evil piece of IT with an iMac and everything went smoth from now on (cough..cough, well - almost).


With the advent of more fruity machines it was time to set up a server to better organize things. Being used to the Windows backend - responsible for AD, Windows Server and Group Policies - my frustration level should be very high. But then (I entered this world with Snow Leopard, moved on to Lion and ML) comes Apple, *selling* a "server product" and EASILY jumps across my hurdle!!!


I've never expected it to be that worse: where MS had faulty documentation for new products, Apple has none, where Apple has documentation/articles, they are faulty or missing most aspects; a lot of the documents are outdated, even 6 month after releasing a new product (e.g. ML ist a new product, replacing Lion).

The community (yes everyone reading this) seem to be left alone in the rain. Where are those Apple engineers contributing? While MS has learned - a lot of professional staff is contributing to the community and engineering staff doing blogs - what about Apple's world???


Thinking of my blood pressure, I'd rather calm down ;-)


While there are some good sites out there about the inner workings of OS X (among those I'd like to mention Greg Neagles managingosx-site, krypted.com and afp548.com) they could not shed light on every aspect or get every piece done as I would like it to be done.


Well...now that I feel a little better (no, Apple, it hasn't been nothing you did!!!), back to the subject:


I would like to build a NetInstall workflow using System Imaging Utility (no other product). I'd like to stay with what Apple offers me right out of the box.

The workflow should comprise the downloaded ML installer as the source, erasing and partitioning the hard disk (rescue and system partition with a name of "Macintosh HD"), doing a clean installation of ML with a German (you might have guessed it from my writing) locale without user interaction, creating a local admin account with the name "admin" and any choosen password (let's say "Secret"), and finally installing configuration profiles from profile manger: a trust profile, an enrollment profile and a profile for some config settings (binding to OD and mobile account creation). Without user interaction means: the installation should not ask me for my country, location services, a local account or any other stuff. After booting from network it should run up to a login screen where an OD account can logon - without stopping, without user interaction.


Is this possible? What has to be done for this? Are there some proven examples on the internet (where please!)?


I'd like to do a NetInstall, not a NetBoot or NetRestore. Nothing in the documentation says it can't be done? Are ther some parts (like 90%) of the documentation missing? Have I overlooked them? My NetInstall always stop to ask me about the country - like a preinstalled OS X on your Mac will do dduring first boot.


I am curious about the upcoming answers. Pleas do not hesitate to give a short reply if I overlooked information. I really have tried to find it, but maybe asked the wrong questions.


Also I encourage everyone to state in this thread, that she or he does not know the answer and wher to find information related to this question, for I hope it will make Apple take a closer look about what's going on. It's just a minute...and may contribute to world peace :-))


Kind regards

Carsten

OS X Server

Posted on Feb 19, 2013 4:02 PM

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8 replies
User profile for user: Mire3212
Mire3212
User level: Level 1
0 points

Feb 19, 2013 5:46 PM in response to COWegner

Have you taken a look at the NetInstall Documentation for OS X Server on Mountain Lion?


http://help.apple.com/advancedserveradmin/mac/10.8/#apdCACEA65C-46BE-4DD2-AE2D-7 CB14478C394


You can also look at the documentation for Snow Leopard Server as a lot of the information there is still pertitent to the process used by Mountain Lion; the user interface has changed slightly, but it's still good information.


http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/SystemImage_v10.6.pdf


The basics for what you want are all done with System Image Utility (found on all Mountain Lion Macs in /System/Library/CoreServices/System Image Utility.app or by using the Tools Menu in OS X Server).


I have not experimented with the particular workflow you are trying to achieve as my deployment strategies have all involved using a NetRestore with a PostInstall Package for things like AD/OD binding.

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User profile for user: COWegner
COWegner Author
User level: Level 1
0 points

Feb 20, 2013 2:43 AM in response to Mire3212

Better look twice. That's what I did.


Before it seems I am just an ignorant dummy, I went through the documentation again. Maybe, now I am just a reader with deficiencies ;-))


Mire3212, I think I followed the documentation and considered all restrictions for a NetInstall image. I've even gone further and considered what's not written in the documents: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4087 😉


Can you explain, which actions you put in your NetRestore workflow and in which order?


But back to NetInstall. First, what's working? Selecting the standard point-and-click NetInstall image without further configuration in SIU works. I can netboot my client, it will install and I'll get a plain vanilla ML installation, showing me the country selection screen. I can later create a user and have a running system. But every input (country, location services, local user,...) has to be done manually.


What's not working?

As soon as I put a workflow action between the "Define Image Source" action and the "Create Image" action, these in-between action will do nothing or the whole client installation stucks around 23%.


I see (saw?) some light, for an inserted "Partition Disk" action showed up during installation. But later this workflow (ehm, I mean the installation on the client) stuck at 23%. BTW: do you know where I can find some information about why it stuck? Log entries on the server are....should I say "pretty useless"?!


Oh wait, there is some useful information you can get from server logs: after buldings a new image with SIU, activating it and setting it as the "Standard" image in server app, you'll get from the system log, that a client still uses the former standard image. What a fun! You'll have to disable the former image to change the Standard 😠


I'm glad, that your NetRestore image is working, for I am not the only one with problems: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4740855


I hope, there is someone out there, who has been through this and shed some light on how to do it right. Or even say, it is impossible to be done this way, because of too many bugs in the software. But I fear, Apple's engineers won't come to my rescue, for I assume they are driven by businees manager, setting a pace, which doesen't let time for documentation....or wonderfull and workings products.

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User profile for user: Brian Nesse
Brian Nesse
User level: Level 4
3,049 points

Feb 20, 2013 8:22 AM in response to COWegner

A NetInstall image is nothing more than a Network based OS Installer. You can combine it with a few of the other actions... Add Packages, Customize Packages, Enable Automated Install, Filter (both), and Partition Disk. These actions all effect either the image itself (i.e. the Filter actions), or the installation process.


The remainder of the actions cause things to happen after the installation process completes. Their use is limited to the case where System Image Utility runs the install via the command line (i.e NetBoot and NetRestore), and is then able to execute the necessary functionality "post install".


The order of the actions in the workflow is irrelevant... except for the Define Image Source action (which must be first) and the Create Image action (which must be last.) System Image Utility collects the process described by the workflow actions and executes the appropriate parts at the appropriate time.


If your installation fails, you need to look to the Installer log on the client. Cmd-L opens the log, Cmd-3 switches the log level to "all" for viewing purposes.

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User profile for user: COWegner
COWegner Author
User level: Level 1
0 points

Feb 21, 2013 2:54 AM in response to COWegner

I'll give up. I really can't make it work. Has anyone of you a customized (your own actions in between) NetInstall running in the real world? Please give me the details.


My environment (maybe it helps someone with this issue):


-Server-

ML 10.8.2 (12C60) (all the latest updates included)

Server 2.2.1 (169) (all the latest updates included)

System set up for German

Image Source is ML 10.8.2 downloaded from AppStore by last week


-Client-

VM on VMware Fusion 5.0.2, configured for 2GB RAM and 40 GB HDD; configured for Network Boot during power on


What happens:

If I build a "Next-Next-Next-Done" image using SIU, the VM will boot it and I can install ML (giving the usual answers during installation, like on a Mac you just bought)


If I customize and insert any action in the SUI workflow (e.g Automated Installation with deletion of partition), the installation will start and run up to some point. There it will stop an the OS in the VM will be unresponsive - no more mouse movement, no rotating beach ball, no more reactions to keyboard strokes.


To ease my paranoia, the latest installation test stalled at 29% (instead of 23;-). I opened the log before, using Cmd-L and Cmd-3 (thanx again, Brian), and the last line I see reads: PackageKit: Extracting file ://localhost/System/Installation/Packages/Essentials.pkg (destination=/Volume/Mac....


This latest SIU image has been built on the following workflow:

1) Image Source: OS X Mountain Lion Installation

2) Automated installation: on volume "Macintosh HD", delete before installation, language German

3) Add Account: name and shortname "admin", password filled in, checked administrator

4) Add Profiles: added trust and registration Profiles (both already used on other Macs); regsitration needs a template in Profile Manager, which I've added for the VM

5) Build Image


It is the only image activated and I get from the server's log, that the VM is using it.


Before the installation hangs, I can see on the Client (Cmd-L....;-), that the disk is erased, the partition is created and two packages are already copied onto this partition by the very same PackageKit, which is logging the last line before death.


Depressive Regards

Carsten

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Anyone with a functioning NetInstall workflow?

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