ULTRIX-32 Guide to Diskless Management Services

This document, the "ULTRIX-32 Guide to Diskless Management Services," is a technical manual for system administrators responsible for installing and maintaining diskless ULTRIX-32 (Version 3.0) client systems from a central server.

It primarily details the use of the dms (Diskless Management Services) utility. The guide covers:

1. Overview of the Diskless Environment: Explains the concept of a diskless server area, its components (including dlenv for common software and dlclient for client-specific files), and how clients view the shared server resources.
2. Setup Preparation: Details prerequisites such as setting up ULTRIX network services (LAN, NFS, MOP) on the server, planning disk allocation (with space requirements for dlenv and dlclient file systems), and gathering necessary information for client registration.
3. Diskless Server Setup: Provides step-by-step instructions for partitioning disks (using dms or manually), installing ULTRIX-32 and additional software subsets into the diskless server area, setting up default configurations for clients, and rebuilding diskless default kernels.
4. Management and Maintenance: Guides administrators through ongoing tasks, including adding, modifying, and removing diskless clients; managing client booting; configuring mail access for clients; customizing client setups (such as kernels and remote home directories); and maintaining the diskless server environment.
5. Troubleshooting: Offers suggestions for diagnosing and resolving common issues, particularly those related to client booting problems and understanding client crash descriptions.

The manual aims to provide comprehensive instructions for efficiently setting up, managing, and maintaining a diskless computing environment, centralizing software and system administration on the server while allowing clients to operate without local storage.