NetBoot
Developer	Apple
Initial release	January 5, 1999 (1999-01-05)
Operating system	macOS Mac OS 9 Mac OS 8
License	proprietary
Website	apple.com

NetBoot was a technology fromApple which enabledMacs with capablefirmware (i.e.New World ROM) toboot from a network, rather than a localhard disk oroptical disc drive. NetBoot is a derived work from theBootstrap Protocol (BOOTP), and is similar in concept to thePreboot Execution Environment. The technology was announced as a part of theoriginal version ofMac OS X Server atMacworld Expo on 5 January 1999.^[1] NetBoot has continued to be a coresystems management technology for Apple,^[2] and has been adapted to support modernMac Intel machines. NetBoot, USB, and FireWire are some of the external volume options for operating system re-install. NetBoot is not supported on newer Macs with theT2 security chip^[3] orApple silicon.

Adisk image with a copy ofmacOS,macOS Server,Mac OS 9, orMac OS 8 is created usingSystem Image Utility and is stored on a server, typically macOS Server. Clients receive this image across a network using many popular protocols including:HTTPS,AFP,TFTP,NFS, andmulticastApple Software Restore (ASR). Server-side NetBoot image can boot entire machines, although NetBoot is more commonly used for operating system andsoftware deployment, somewhat similar toNorton Ghost.

Client machines first request network configuration information throughDHCP, then a list of boot images and servers withBSDP and then proceed to download images with protocols mentioned above.

Both Intel andPowerPC-based servers can serve images for Intel and PowerPC-based clients.

NetInstall is a similar feature of macOS Server which utilizes NetBoot and ASR to deliver installation images to network clients (typically on first boot). Like NetBoot, NetInstall images can be created using theSystem Image Utility. NetInstall performs a function for macOS similar toWindows Deployment Services forMicrosoft clients, which depend on the Preboot Execution Environment.

Mac OS 8.5 and Mac OS 9 use only BOOTP/DHCP to get IP information, followed by a TFTP transfer of theMac OS ROMfile. Next, two volumes are mounted viaAppleTalk overTCP on which the client disk images reside. All in all, the Classic Mac OS uses three images; a System image which contains the operating system and may contain applications. Next a private image (or scratch disk) is mounted in an overlay over the read-only System image. Finally, an applications image is mounted. This image, however, may be empty.

• Remote Install Mac OS X

• Analysis of the Use of the Boot Server Discovery Protocol in NetBoot
• Apple detailed Boot Server Discovery Protocol Documentation
• NetBoot technical brief at theWayback Machine (archived 2008-12-30)
• NetBoot Network Deployment Guide at theWayback Machine (archived 2009-12-08)

• Network booting
• MacOS

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