Setup netboot server

This page describe how to configure a server running Ubuntu 20.04 Server for UEFI netbooting Ubuntu 20.04 Desktop and preseed it for automatic installation using Debian preseed.

Quick way

  1. Install Ubuntu 20.04 Server with a static ip address:

    network:
  version: 2
  ethernets:
    enp0s3:
      addresses:
      - "10.0.2.2/24"
      nameservers:
        addresses:
        - 10.0.2.1
      dhcp4: false
      routes:
      - to: "default"
        via: "10.0.2.1"

  2. Define server’s host it the Ansible inventory:

    [servers]
tp-server

  3. Adjust the content of the playbook server-netboot.yml to your need:

    - name: Setup netboot server
  hosts: tp-server
  gather_facts: yes

  roles:

  - role: ufrmath.computer_labs.server_netboot
    ntp_server: ntp1.jussieu.fr
    allowed_ips: [10.0.2.0/24, 10.0.3.0/24]

  vars:
    ansible_ssh_pass: test
    ansible_become_pass: test

  4. Run the playbook:

    ansible-playbook -i hosts server-netboot.yml

To assign fixed ips based on the MAC addresses, the following file can be edited:

00:01:02:03:04:10,10.0.2.10,tp-10
00:01:02:03:04:e1,10.0.2.11,tp-11

Documentation

See the role ufrmath.computer_labs.server_netboot for more details.

More detailed explanations on UEFI netboot are located in the official Ubuntu documentation.

Details

The role first uses dnsmasq to serve required files for netboot over embedded TFTP server, in particular the grub bootloader. Then and an nginx server is used to serve the kernel, initrd, ISO image and preseed file. Finally, a Debian preseed is configured for automatic installation.

The main steps done automatically by the Ansible role are detailed in a “manual” way:

Last updated on 1 May 2023