Table of Contents
The Linbox Rescue Server (LRS) is a server providing for each PC on a network the following functions :
Save: PC workstation hard-disk images on a network server.
Restore: Images on the hard-disk in case of problems (virus, file corruption...).
Install: Through the network, new Operating Systems on new PCs within a few minutes.
Deploy: The same hard-disk image and thus the same configuration on several PCs.
Inventory: Manage, audit and control the hardware and software configuration of your network's workstations.
WITHOUT ANY CLIENT SOFTWARE INSTALLATION ON THE WORKSTATIONS...
The LRS system allows you to save and restore whole workstations' hard-disk partitions on a network server, independently of the operating system.
To make this possible, the LRS uses a network boot system that takes advantage of the PXE technology. LRS can also use other types of network interface cards, through the use of "etherboot" boot disks. So the LRS does not require any software installation on the workstation to be saved or restored.
The LRS is thus very well suited for any organization that requires a backup system, without the need of deploying a backup software on each computer of a wide network.
In the case of a training center or classrooms, the LRS system allows a full re-installation of a working configuration on-demand within a few minutes (even automatically by using Wake-on-LAN technology of some NIC). This way, one can always boot on a fresh, stable and identical system, session after session.
The PXE compatible NIC takes control of the workstation at boot time, and fetches the Linbox Boot Loader (LBL) a server-stored boot loader that offers the user the choice between several possible actions such as: boot on the local disk, restore pre-stored images, re-install a base/shared image or save hard-disk content.
Hard-disk images are stored in a compressed form (typically 2:1) on the network server. Menu options presented to the workstation's user are chosen by LRS' administrator in the configuration interface (Web interface, webmin module). The user's choice can be restricted to only a few actions, and the administrator can even force choices and automate actions using Wake-on-LAN capability.
Saved images are currently optimized for the following operating systems (see Section 14.1, “Supported File Systems and Partition Types” for more details):
FAT16: DOS, Win3.1x, Win95...
FAT32: Win95,Win98,WinMe,Win2000
NTFS: WinNT, Win2000 and WinXP
EXT2/EXT3: Linux
ReiserFS: Linux
XFS: Linux
JFS: Linux
Partitions and volume managers like Windows LDM, Linux LVM v1 and v2 are supported.
The optimization consists in not saving empty sectors, only sectors with data are saved.
Images for Win9x/Me/NT and Linux can be re-installed on hard-disks that have different geometries than the hard-disk on which was created their image, providing that they have a greater or equal capacity (deployment/re-installation function).