How-To Diskless AoE – 03 Instaling and configuring TFTP Server on Server

Choose your TFTP Server from the suggestions.

Im using a TFTP Server from SolarWinds, its completly freeware and works fine.  To explain configuration im using this package. But as you know, you can done with other.

Installing

Task 1  - <INSTALL>

Task 2  -  <NEXT>

Task 3  - <NEXT>

Task 4  - waiting…

Task 5  - <FINISH>

Task 6  - Click on Start Windows button and find SolarWinds TFTP menu program group. Open the program.

Task 7  - Menu “File” -> “Configure”

Task 8  - Configure like image, and choose your own tftp-root folder.

Proceed on How-To to next Step 4 - Putting the necessary files ( grub4dos )

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How-To Diskless AoE – 02 Instaling and configuring DHCP Server on Server

* – watch video in HD, click on Youtube

Im using a DHCP from Uwe.Ruttkamp. The explain configuration im using this package. But as you know, you can done with other. Just put the option bootfilename string as ‘glrdr‘. ( alternative download link: glrdr )

Its very simple and have with a nice Wizard. To start click on ‘dhcpwiz.exe‘

Task  1:  Just click in <Next>;

Task  2: Select your internal network interface;

Task  3: If you want to use the TFTP from this package, mark TFTP option and choose a folder. Note: on the root path folder put the file ‘grldr‘ and ‘menu.lst‘. If NOT just Click in <NEXT>;

Task 4: Write the string ‘grldr’ on bootfile option and your internal domain. Click in <NEXT>;

Task 5: Mark overwrite and click on “Write INI file” and <NEXT>;
 
Task 6: Start the Service. and <FINISH>;

Done…

If you want to use other package for TFTP continue to the step 3, if NOT skip to Step 4.

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How-To Diskless AoE – 01 Overview of the Solution

This How-To enable a Windows based solution that uses AoE technology to bring an entirely new range of solutions, flexibility and cost reductions to businesses. The feature of AoE is a server based network where software applications and programs are held on the server, and runs on Client PCs (Diskless Node). Therefore, Client PCs do not require a hard disk anymore. Centralizing operating system data by deploying AoE enables storage virtualization at the level of the local hard drive, and allows extremely fast server and desktop deployment. This makes AoE Diskless an ideal network management software which is suitable for all kinds of networked environment industries such as Education Institutions, Training Centers, Offices, Cybercafé, Karaoke, and can also be used in cluster computing.

Until today, administrators or technical support staffs are still having frustrations when it comes to troubleshooting and maintaining a group of networked PCs. The majority of problems faced by administrator or technical support staff in a networking environment are:-

• Programs/Applications/Games/Windows Updates to all PCs
• Maintain different PC specification
• Efficiency and Troubleshooting of PCs
• Identifying faulty hardware and replacements
• Hard disk limitation and upgrades
• Virus attacks and Virus removal
• Operating System Backup / Restoration
• Windows / Files Protection
• Freeze/Unfreeze PCs when doing updates (Recovery system)

Listed below are some quick facts if you use this How-To:

COST SAVING IN:

• Investment for hard disk and future hard disk upgrade
• Monthly electricity bill, go Green
• Recovery software / hardware
• Backup / cloning software and other update software
• Antivirus / Anti Trojan software
• Faulty hard disks replacements

TIME SAVING IN:

• Programs/Applications/Games/Windows Update to all PCs
• PC maintenance enabling easy manage on multiple branches remotely
• Virus attacks and Virus removal
• Windows / Files Protection
• Maintaining different specification PCs
• Operating System Backup / Restoration
• Freeze/Unfreeze (Recovery system)

SUPPORT:

• Different Client PC specification with different drivers (Motherboard / Display / Sound / etc)
• Multi Restore Points
• Multi Sync between Servers
• Multiple Images – Multiple Window. (Example: 10PC using English Windows + 10PC Malay Windows + 10PC Chinese Windows)

What is AoE ?

ATA over Ethernet (AoE) is an open standards based protocol that allows direct network access to disk drives by client hosts. Using disk storage arrays that support AoE shared storage networks (SAN) can be built that leverage the power of “Raw” Layer 2 Ethernet.

• AoE has been native in the Linux kernel since 2005
• AoE delivers a simple, high performance, low cost alternative to iSCSI and FibreChannel for networked block storage by eliminating the processing overhead of TCP/IP.
• Layer 2 Protocol which encapsulates ATA (the command set used by most commodity disk) in Ethernet Frames – An Ethernet request which has in it, give me block ‘00’ from disk ‘01’ on shelf ‘1’.

Protocol

AoE is a stateless protocol which consists of request messages sent to the AoE server and reply messages returned to the client host.

Messages have two formats:

• ATA Message
• Config/Query Messages

AoE utilizes the standard Ethernet MAC header for IEEE 802.3 Ethernet frames and has a registered Ethernet type of 0x88A2.

Legacy Fibre Channel and iSCSI protocols consist of several complex software layers see the diagram below. These layers force users through mandatory SAN point-to-point connection configuration procedures for each network path for all storage LUNs. Ethernet SAN is a connectionless protocol that connects servers and storage directly across layer 2 Ethernet. It does not require TCP/IP or user configured multi-path IO (MPIO) software. The use of layer 2 Ethernet represents a simpler approach for SAN.

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grub4dos

GRUB4DOS is an universal boot loader based on GNU GRUB. It can boot off DOS/LINUX, or via Windows boot manager/syslinux/lilo, or from MBR/CD. It also has builtin BIOS disk emulation, ATAPI CDROM driver, etc.

Grub4DOS is a boot manager that can be easily installed to a flashdrive or hard drive (internal or external). It allows booting multiple operating systems directly as well as booting into bootable partitions.

grub4dos is a boot loader system. We will use this software to make a boot menu for PXE Boot.

Website of grub4dos: http://sourceforge.net/projects/grub4dos/

Download required file: grub4dos-0.4.4.zip

Alternative Download Blog Link: grub4dos-0.4.4.zip

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How-To Boot Windows Diskless with AoE instead iSCSI

1.] Preparing Windows to Boot Diskless with VirtualBox/Vmare Workstation/ESX

• Install Windows 7/8/2003/2008 on a Virtual Machine ( create a disk type .vhd with fixed size )
• open a cmd as administrator and type two commands:

C:>bcdedit  -set  TESTSIGNING ON
C:>bcdedit -set loadoptions DDISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS

• reboot the /virtual machine
• Download and Install WinAoE Driver as Storage Controller
• Download and Install CCBoot Client without options
• Shutdown Virtual Machine

2.] On Server

• Install a DHCP Server with option bootfilename grldr
• Install a TFTP Server and set tftp-root folder
• Download grub4dos and extract 'grldr' and 'menu.lst' files to the tftp-root folder
• Edit menu.lst file only with this content:

title === MENU BOOTS ===
()
title
()
title Windows 7 Diskless
map --mem (pd)/ipxe.iso (0xff)
map --hook
chainloader (0xff)

• Create a text file 'conf.ipxe' with this content:

#!ipxe
dhcp net0
set keep-san 1
sanboot aoe:e0.0

• Download ipxe.iso and with UltraISO, open the ipxe.iso with UltraISO and edit ISOLINUX.CFG with this content:

SAY iPXE ISO boot image
TIMEOUT 30
DEFAULT ipxe.lkrn
LABEL ipxe.lkrn
KERNEL ipxe.krn
INITRD conf.ipxe

• Update the ISOLINUX.CFG on UltraISO with new content
• Drag the file 'conf.ipxe' to inside UltraISO and save the file.
• Put ipxe.iso on the tftp-root folder
• Start DHCP Server
• Start TFTP Server
• Download and install WinPCAP and vBlade Target System ( AoE ) and export the target of .vhd.
• Open vblade from Icon on Program Group
• First find the Device Name of your Network Card with bogus caracters (xxx).

vblade -b 65 0 0 xxx “d:path_to_you_vhdwindows.vhd”

• after copy and paste the Device{value}

vblade -b 65 0 0 “Device{value}” “d:path_to_you_vhdwindows.vhd”  enter 

• Ready ! Boot one machine by LAN Boot, or create a VirtualBox/Vmware Virtual Machine without Disks !
• You can boot a lot of Machines creating a specific ipxe.iso for each one, dont forget to edit 'conf.ipxe' with diferent targets ( e0.0, e0.1, e0.01), create respective ipxe-e0.0.iso for each workstation, add the menu.lst entry too for each ipxe-e0.x.iso, export each .vhd with vblade changing slots ( 0 1 , 0 2 etc..)

via http://windowsdisklessaoe.wordpress.com

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