NetBoot Across Subnets For Mac

The name of this application says it all -- if it gave you a spark of hope, then read on, this app is for you.

Due to the way that most routers are configured, NetBooting is typically constrained within a subnet. This means that if you wanted to NetBoot all the machines in your organization (and I don't mean simultaneously) you would have two choices:

1. Have your network administrator configure your routers to add your NetBoot server's IP address to the list of IP Helper addresses or 2. Maintain a NetBoot server on every subnet of your network.

While the first option is the "Right Way" to do NetBooting across subnets, it is poorly documented and often includes political battles that many people would rather not fight (which is too bad, its really quite easy and harmless to do). Option 2 is costly and probably not the most efficient use of resources, especially if you only NetBoot your machines once every few months for the purpose of reimaging them.

So what is left for those of us that simply want to occasionally NetBoot a bunch of machines scattered across a rather robust but fragmented network? In short, you can edit theOpen Firmware startup parameters to enable your clients to boot directly to your NetBoot server.