Symantec ALTIRIS DEPLOYMENT SOLUTION 6.9 SP4 - V1.0, Руководство пользователя

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Deployment Solution 53
Chapter 10
Setting Up the Altiris PXE Server
What is PXE?
Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) is an open industry standard which enables
computers to boot remotely using a network card.
PXE uses standard network protocols to establish a communication channel between a
computer and an Altiris PXE server during the boot process. Using this channel, an Altiris
PXE server sends an execution environment to the computer so that work can be
performed in a pre-boot state.
In Deployment Solution, this pre-boot state is called the automation environment, and
DOS, Linux, and WinPE are currently supported as pre-boot operating systems. An
overview of the automation boot methods and environments is contained in a separate
document, Deployment Solution: Automation Preboot Environments.
An advanced, tightly integrated PXE environment is provided with Deployment Solution.
Deployment Solution leverages PXE to provide the following advantages:
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When a managed device needs to boot into automation, Deployment Solution
restarts the computer and notifies the Altiris PXE Server. Altiris PXE Server now
boots the computer into the automation environment indicated in the Deployment
Solution job automatically.
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PXE can perform an initial deployment of a new system by checking to see if a
computer exists in Deployment Solution.
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All PXE configuration is done using the PXE Configuration Utility from the
Deployment Solution console, enabling you to remotely configure all PXE servers in
your network.
Why Use PXE?
PXE is used in Deployment Solution to perform two tasks:
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Boot managed computers into the automation environment
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Perform initial deployment of new managed computers
How you implement PXE is partially dependent on what you plan to do with it. Many
organizations use PXE only on a subnet in a receiving department to deploy corporate
images and initial configuration of new computers. After this computer is assigned to a
user, PXE is not used in the normal production environment.
This limits the extent of the PXE environment, but prevents you from accessing the
automation environment to capture images and perform other automation-only tasks.
Other companies which often use automation select PXE because it leaves no footprint
on the managed computer, and has several other advantages such as image
multicasting and tight Deployment Solution integration.