Network Boot For Mac

20-04-2021 admin

MACs do not use 'exactly' PXE; they use a similar environment called Boot Server Discovery Protocol (BSDP). The OS X Server includes a system tool called NetBoot. A NetBoot client uses BSDP to dynamically acquire resources that enable it to boot a suitable operating system. NetBoot was a technology from Apple which enabled Macs with capable firmware (i.e. New World ROM) to boot from a network, rather than a local hard disk or optical disc drive. NetBoot is a derived work from the Bootstrap Protocol (BOOTP), and is similar in concept to the Preboot Execution Environment. Here is how to set up a Mac, running OS X Client 10.5 or later, as a PXE boot server. We will configure OS X's built-in DHCP, TFTP, and NFS servers, start the servers, and put the client boot files in place.

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Contemporary desktop personal computers generally provide an option to boot from the network in their BIOS via the Preboot Execution Environment (PXE). Post-1998 PowerPC (G3 – G5) Mac systems can also boot from their firmware to a network disk via NetBoot. Start the PC into PXE network boot mode (not sure if that's what it is called) The PC will find the hosted files and allow you to install the OS (or anything of your liking) onto that computer.

This article provides guidance and answers to help you perform a network deployment to Surface devices including Surface Pro 3 and later.

Network deployment to Surface devices can pose some unique challenges for system administrators. Due to the lack of a native wired Ethernet adapter, administrators must provide connectivity through a removable Ethernet adapter.

Select an Ethernet adapter for Surface devices

Before you can address the concerns of how you will boot to your deployment environment or how devices will be recognized by your deployment solution, you have to use a wired network adapter.

The primary concern when selecting an Ethernet adapter is how that adapter will boot your Surface device from the network. If you are pre-staging clients with Windows Deployment Services (WDS) or if you are using Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, you may also want to consider whether the removable Ethernet adapters will be dedicated to a specific Surface device or shared among multiple devices. For more information on potential conflicts with shared adapters, see Manage MAC addresses with removable Ethernet adapters later in this article.

Booting from the network (PXE boot) is only supported when you use an Ethernet adapter or docking station from Microsoft. To boot from the network, the chipset in the Ethernet adapter or dock must be detected and configured as a boot device in the firmware of the Surface device. Microsoft Ethernet adapters, such as the Surface Ethernet Adapter and the Surface Dock use a chipset that is compatible with the Surface firmware.

The following Ethernet devices are supported for network boot with Surface devices:

Surface USB-C to Ethernet and USB 3.0 Adapter
Surface USB 3.0 to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter
Surface Dock
Surface 3 Docking Station
Surface Pro 3 Docking Station
Docking Station for Surface Pro and Surface Pro 2

Third-party Ethernet adapters are also supported for network deployment, although they do not support PXE boot. To use a third-party Ethernet adapter, you must load the drivers into the deployment boot image and you must launch that boot image from a separate storage device, such as a USB stick.

Boot Surface devices from the network

To boot from the network or a connected USB stick, you must instruct the Surface device to boot from an alternate boot device. You can alter the boot order in the system firmware to prioritize USB boot devices, or you can instruct it to boot from an alternate boot device during the boot up process.

To boot a Surface device from an alternative boot device, follow these steps:

Ensure the Surface device is powered off.
Press and hold the Volume Down button.
Press and release the Power button.
After the system begins to boot from the USB stick or Ethernet adapter, release the Volume Down button.

Note

In addition to an Ethernet adapter, a keyboard must also be connected to the Surface device to enter the preinstallation environment and navigate the deployment wizard.

For Windows 10, version 1511 and later – including the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK) for Windows 10, version 1511 – the drivers for Microsoft Surface Ethernet Adapters are present by default. If you are using a deployment solution that uses Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE), like the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, and booting from the network with PXE, ensure that your deployment solution is using the latest version of the Windows ADK.

Manage MAC addresses with removable Ethernet adapters

Another consideration for administrators performing Windows deployment over the network is how you will identify computers when you use the same Ethernet adapter to deploy to more than one computer. A common identifier used by deployment technologies is the Media Access Control (MAC) address that is associated with each Ethernet adapter. However, when you use the same Ethernet adapter to deploy to multiple computers, you cannot use a deployment technology that inspects MAC addresses because there is no way to differentiate the MAC address of the removable adapter when used on the different computers.

The simplest solution to avoid MAC address conflicts is to provide a dedicated removable Ethernet adapter for each Surface device. This can make sense in many scenarios where the Ethernet adapter or the additional functionality of the docking station will be used regularly. However, not all scenarios call for the additional connectivity of a docking station or support for wired networks.

Another potential solution to avoid conflict when adapters are shared is to use the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) to perform deployment to Surface devices. MDT does not use the MAC address to identify individual computers and thus is not subject to this limitation. However, MDT does use Windows Deployment Services to provide PXE boot functionality, and is subject to the limitations regarding pre-staged clients which is covered later in this section.

When you use a shared adapter for deployment, the solution for affected deployment technologies is to use another means to identify unique systems. For Configuration Manager and WDS, both of which can be affected by this issue, the solution is to use the System Universal Unique Identifier (System UUID) that is embedded in the computer firmware by the computer manufacturer. For Surface devices, you can see this entry in the computer firmware under Device Information.

To access the firmware of a Surface device, follow these steps:

Ensure the Surface device is powered off.
Press and hold the Volume Up button.
Press and release the Power button.
After the device begins to boot, release the Volume Up button.

When deploying with WDS, the MAC address is only used to identify a computer when the deployment server is configured to respond only to known, pre-staged clients. When pre-staging a client, an administrator creates a computer account in Active Directory and defines that computer by the MAC address or the System UUID. To avoid the identity conflicts caused by shared Ethernet adapters, you should use System UUID to define pre-staged clients. Alternatively, you can configure WDS to respond to unknown clients that do not require definition by either MAC address or System UUID by selecting the Respond to all client computers (known and unknown) option on the PXE Response tab in Windows Deployment Server Properties.

The potential for conflicts with shared Ethernet adapters is much higher with Configuration Manager. Where WDS only uses MAC addresses to define individual systems when configured to do so, Configuration Manager uses the MAC address to define individual systems whenever performing a deployment to new or unknown computers. This can result in improperly configured devices or even the inability to deploy more than one system with a shared Ethernet adapter. There are several potential solutions for this situation that are described in detail in How to Use The Same External Ethernet Adapter For Multiple SCCM OSD, a blog post on the Core Infrastructure and Security Blog.

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A network drive, also known as a NAS (network attached storage) drive, is a storage device that connects to a home or office network instead of your computer. Some of the advantages of this are obvious: for example, you can get access files from a smartphone, tablet, or computer without having to plug the drive in.

Other, perhaps less obvious, positives of NAS include things like automated backups and the ability to mirror data on two drives. In other words, NAS offers a flexible and protected way to manage Mac storage that’s far beyond that of standard external hard drives. Read along to learn how to map a network drive and avoid some common NAS mistakes.

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What is a network drive used for?

Whether it’s populated or diskless, has one bay or more than five, a network drive is typically used as an alternative to cloud storage. It may be easy to drag and drop files to something like Google Drive or Dropbox, but just a bit of drive mapping can make using a network drive a fantastic cloud alternative.

Some of network drive’s key advantages include:

Better control over your files
More security features than cloud services
Flexibility without compromising on privacy
Being used by multiple users across multiple devices

Map network drive on macOS (one-time)

Nowadays, most NAS devices are seriously easy to map. Let’s say that you’ve been working on a document in your home office but have just remembered a key fact that you want to include. Time to make a quick edit from your wife’s laptop before you forget about it!

Network drive access can be obtained in three simple steps, provided you don’t mind having to repeat those steps if the connection drops, you restart your Mac, or the device is disconnected:

In Finder, either hit Command+K to bring up “Connect to Server” or click Go > Connect to Server
Enter the path of the network drive you’re trying to map (e.g. smb://192.168.1.300/shared/Files) and click Connect
Enter your login details and password then click OK to mount the network drive

You can now access the relevant drive either via your desktop or the sidebar in Finder windows.

Map network drive on macOS (remount after reboot)

Maybe you have a server in your office with a connected network drive and want all your employees to be able to connect to it so they can collaborate on shared documents. If you want to keep a Mac connected to a network drive, even after restarting, the easiest way to do this is to follow the three steps above then add these:

Hit the Apple menu, then System Preferences > Users & Groups
From here, select Login Items and click + to add a new item
Find your network drive and click Add, then close the window

Now, your network drive will be mapped and automatically remounted when you reboot your Mac. Network drives won’t, however, connect automatically if you’re using a different WiFi network.

Make a network drive accessible from Mac desktop

Depending on your settings, mounted drives may not always appear on your desktop. That’s not necessarily a problem if you don’t mind only being able to see connected servers in Finder window sidebars and open/save dialogues.

If, however, you want your NAS device to always be just one double-click away (in the same way that most people have Macintosh HD as a visible item on their desktop) just follow these steps:

Open Finder > Preferences or click Command + to open Finder Preferences
Click the General tab, then tick the box next to Connected servers
Close Finder Preferences

Remount a mapped network drive with one click

Managing, or working across, multiple departments that each have their own network drive? In that case, it can be handy to create aliases of mapped network drive(s):

Right click on any mapped NAS device on your desktop.
Select Make Alias

This might not sound like anything all that significant but, as the subheading suggests, you can use this alias to reconnect to a network drive with one click. That can be very helpful if you need to keep jumping between different shared drives.

How to manage files with network-attached storage

In most cases, macOS’s default tools are sufficient for viewing, editing, and deleting files. That might change, however, if you’re using a NAS device. For example, it’s very easy to end up with a ton of duplicate files on your network drive where it’s likely you’ll be less concerned about making the most of your storage as you might be with a built in hard drive.

Gemini is a great tool for digging out any duplicate content on your drives, so you can ditch everything you no longer need while hanging onto backup documents, photos, etc.

Open up the app and hit the giant + or drag your folder of choice into the window
Choose from recommended locations or select a custom folder
Push the green Scan for Duplicates button to get started
Delete duplicate files manually or use Smart Cleanup to automate the process

For a more granular approach to file management, you might want to consider something like DCommander or Forklift. These apps both offer dual-pane file management, as well as features like batch renaming, copying, and deletion, in a more seamless way than your default Finder.

Although Forklift was designed with FTP management in mind, it’s become a favorite of network drive users because of how closely it resembles macOS. Billed as a Finder replacement app in parts of its marketing material, you won’t find an app much more native unless it comes out of Cupertino.

Plus, actually getting started with the app is incredibly simple:

Open up the Forklift app
Use the left-hand panel to find the file(s) you want to move across
Select the right-hand panel then, using the sidebar, click on your network drive
Start moving, renaming and archiving files

If Forklift isn’t for you then you might prefer to take a look at DCommander, an approved Mac alternative of Total Commander for Windows. In addition to two side-by-side file panels that look very similar to those of Forklift, DCommander puts a wider range of commands and features (including quick file viewing, selective file unpacking, navigation history, and a great looking Dark Mode) at your fingertips without the need to leave the dual-panel display.

Both apps let you do things like mark certain drives as favorites, create and browse archives, and get previews of items. In short, they’re much like macOS’s Finder … only better. It’s difficult to overstate how much easier it becomes to manage Mac storage with dual-pane browsing until you try to organize your network drive without it!

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Effectively manage Mac storage day-to-day

Thanks to macOS, network drive mapping is a pretty simple process even if you’re not particularly tech-savvy. You might be out of luck if you’re hoping to access a NAS device from another network using standard macOS tools but, at present, that’s pretty much the only thing keeping network drives from competing with the cloud at the mainstream level.

If remote access isn’t such a concern for you and you’re using NAS as an alternative to cloud, then it’s definitely worth taking a look at programs like Forklift or DCommander to make file management easier once you’re done drive mapping, as well as Gemini to ensure that your NAS device isn’t filling up with duplicate files you don’t need.

Best of all, the software mentioned above is available for a free trial through Setapp, a collection of over 150 high-quality macOS applications from the best developers around. Manage your Mac effectively today!