NetBoot OS 9 from a Modern Linux Server

[saybur]

Guide updated for Debian trixie and associated package version changes (including Netatalk 4 being much easier to install now its available in official packages, yay!). This also updates the hooks library to address a breaking change made starting in Kea 2.6.3 and includes some more concrete instructions for preparing the images. As before, feedback is welcome!

 

[superpete]

I got kind of excited that the legacy netBOOT stuff @bbraun was looking at was resurrected.

Mac68k Forums: netBOOT ROM driver ...

Sorry to see mac68k.info disappeared.

 

[saybur]

That's neat! Never knew there was any netbooting support for the earlier systems at all. Good read.

Another approach these days might be one of the network-attached modern SCSI devices presenting a network file as though it was local storage. Not sure how practical that would be with all the local storage available on the device but might still be a fun hack for someone to add!

 

[Mk.558]

Does the build of Netatalk 4.0 in your repository enable AppleTalk or is it only using AFP over TCP?

 

[saybur]

The writeup assumes you're using the official Debian packages for all the services, though this should work on any distro or BSD assuming similar service versions. The only custom code is the hooks library for Kea (and if you need it, the C program used one time to help prep the images).

Configuration-wise you can have regular AppleTalk on or off per your needs. I personally run with it on to support my older systems but my iMac boots fine either way.