I’d thought that if you wanted to boot Intel Macs you needed to use the recently available GUID partition table, mainly because that’s what it says in Disk Utility when you format the drive. In fact, as it turns out (at least as of Mac OS X 10.5.5), using the Apple Partition Map (APM) boots [...]
So far this NetBoot/NetInstall thing is working out a thousand times better than I ever thought it would. I wish I’d done this years ago. Not only does it save time, it also reduces errors. This is often one of the most overlooked features of automating a process: the less human interaction in the process, [...]
So this is going great. I have a really solid Base OS Install, and a whole buttload of packages now. Packages that set everything from network settings to custom and specialized users. I can build a typical system in about 45 minutes, and I can do most of the building from my office (or any [...]
I’ve become quite the package whiz, if I do say so myself. Actually, I’m probably doing something ass-backwards, but still, I wanted to share some of my working methods as they seem to be, well… Um… Working… One of the things I’m doing is using packages to run shell scripts that make computer settings (like [...]
So here’s the plan, as it stands right now. (Yes, I have a plan already! Yes, that was quick.) First, build an image that’s good for all workstations (laptops, staff machines, standard workstations, etc.) throughout the lab with: Base OS (Mac OS X Leopard 10.5) A DHCP network connection Apple applications Adobe applications Drag-and-drop applications [...]
My big, fat, self-assigned new project — or, as I like to call it, the bug up my butt — is system roll-outs. That is, I realized at some point two things. One, I am managing way more computers than ever before, and way more than I realized; and two, the scope and variety of [...]