Diskless-HOWTO, Diskless-nfs-root-HOWTO, and LTSP's documentation

[Brieuc Jeunhomme <bbp@via.ecp.fr>]

Hi. I have recently configured a small network with diskless workstations. What
I have done slightly differs from what available documentation explains, because
my stations are equipped with BOOTP-capable network adapters (no need for eproms
or floppies), and they have recent CPUs and a large amount of memory, so they
run applications themselves instead of running everything remotely using xdm.

When I read the existing documentation about network boot, I found many
things that appeared both in the Diskless-HOWTO and the Diskless-nfs-root-HOWTO.
On the other hand, some other information I needed was only on the ltsp's site.

For instance, these two documents both explain how to setup bootpd and nfs, what
to put in the kernel for clients and/or servers, they also both propose scripts
to setup things properly using the ltsp's packages.

I considered writing a mini-howto to explain what I did, but I guess it would be
better to merge the two existing howtos and add a bootp-capable specific
section. This new document could have the following parts :

  1) diskless boot advocacy + copyright notice +
  not-responsible-for-the-end-of-the-world-warning ;=P
  
  2) base principle (simple bootp explanation, nfs-root capabilities of new
  kernels, existing solutions to boot off network like floppies, cdroms, eproms,
  and bootp-nics)

  3) server setup (what to put in the kernel, bootpd, nfsd and tftpd setup)

  4) client setup (what to put in the kernel, mknbi-linux usage, filesystem
  requirements, ...)

  5) floppies based solutions specific part

  6) EPROMS based solutions specific part

  7) cdrom based solutions specific part

  8) bootp-capable nics specific part

  9) sample working setup(s) with the scripts provided by the two existing
  howtos

I would like to have your opinion about that. I can do part of the merge if a
volunteer is needed (of course the french translation would come for free :-)

-- 
BBP


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