netBoot/i

IT departments can now leverage iSCSI disaster recovery capabilities for local operating systems and their data. Shared boot volumes permit operating system deployments at a fraction of current IT costs and reduce total storage requirements.

netBoot/i enables:

Rapid bare metal deployment: Deploying machines can be done in minutes.
Increases utilization of storage resources: Shared boot volumes reduce total storage. Unused storage can be reallocated.
Virtualizes operating system data storage: All data stored on a local hard drive is moved to an IP SAN. A single server can have multiple OS’s running in virtual machines with no local hard drives to manage.
No local hard drives to manage: IT departments can manage all data including operating systems from centralized storage.

Previously this required expensive iSCSI HBA hardware; netBoot/i is a software solution for a fraction of the cost of an HBA.

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How will netBoot/i increase Workstation Security?

netBoot/i centralizes all data storage by eliminating the need for local hard drives. If a workstation is stolen no data will be lost.

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How easy is netBoot/i to install and configure?

netBoot/i installs on your Windows or Linux system, a system snapshot tool (Windows) copies the local boot volume from a client to an iSCSI target. This entire process can be done in as little as 10-15 minutes. At next boot of the client it will boot directly from iSCSI storage.

There is no need to open the client system unless you want to physically remove the hard drive. netBoot/i does not access the local hard drive, it can be left as is, formatted or removed for security reasons or recycling.

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What is a shared boot volume?

A shared boot volume enables multiple netBoot/i clients to optionally boot from a single HD image residing on an iSCSI target. Shared boot volumes are read-only. Write requests are cached to RAM on the local netBoot/i client, and the cache is flushed on shutdown / reboot. This serves as a way to maintain a pristine configuration that can withstand user changes, downloads or viruses. Shared boot volumes are ideal when using identically-configured machines such as classroom and corporate desktops.

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Can I PXE boot to an iSCSI target from within a virtual machine?

Yes, you can use netBoot/i to network boot VMware and Microsoft virtual machines from an iSCSI target. HBA-equipped systems hosting virtual machines generally do not allow sharing (or virtualization) of the HBA-capability within the vm environment. We recommend using our Managed Boot Agent on Disk (MBAoD) for VMs to PXE-enable the virtual NIC within the virtual machine.

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Where do the OS and applications run in the netBoot/i client environment?

The operating system and all end user applications are run on the client machine providing a true "thick" client – without the requirement for a hard drive.

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How does netBoot/i work?

Any machine that requires network boot operation requests a small bootstrap from a netBoot/i Server
The netBoot/i server assigns a pre-defined iSCSI target to the requesting machine
Depending on the configuration, the requesting machine can either boot from iSCSI or copy a boot volume, located on iSCSI storage, to the local hard disk.

For a detailed overview please read the following technical brief: How Does netBoot/i Work?

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Do I need additional management software?

You can continue to use the system administration tools you are already using for backups, managing user accounts and other admin tasks.

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Will netBoot/i work over a Wide Area Network (WAN)?

netBoot/i can be used in a WAN such that the iSCSI storage can be located over a WAN, but the server where netBoot/i is installed must be on your LAN. This is a limitation of the PXE specification which is used to network boot the OS. Keep in mind that performance over a WAN may not provide acceptable results.

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Which iSCSI targets does netBoot/i support?

Click here for a list of iSCSI targets that have been verified with netBoot/i.

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Does netBoot/i support MPIO?

It is possible to use MPIO via the Microsoft iSCSI initiator when connecting to files located on a separate target than the boot volume. See, "Can the Miscrosoft iSCSI initator be used with netBoot/i?" below for more information.

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Can the Microsoft iSCSI initator be used with netBoot/i?

The netBoot/i initiator must be used to boot the operating system and maintain connectivity to the OS files. The Microsoft iSCSI initiator can be used at the same time as netBoot/i to access other iSCSI storage such as application data.

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How can I try netBoot/i?

Click Here to Request an Evaluation.

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What are the requirements?

netBoot/i Service: