Set the default boot image
Set a default boot image for clients.
Select NetInstall in the Server app sidebar, then click Settings.
In the list of images, select an image.
Click the Action pop-up menu
, then choose Use as Default Boot Image.
NetInstall lets you manage the operating system and app software that your Mac clients (or even other servers) require to start and do their work. Instead of going from computer to computer to install operating system and app software, you can prepare an installation image that installs on each computer when it starts up.
You can also choose to not install software and have client computers start up (or boot) from an image stored on the server. In some cases, clients don’t even need their own hard disk. Using NetInstall, your client computers can start from a standardized OS X configuration image suited to specific tasks. Because the client computers start from the same image, you can quickly update the operating system for users by updating a single boot image.
You can set up multiple images to suit the needs of groups of clients or you can provide copies of the same image on multiple NetInstall servers to distribute the client startup load. You can also use NetRestore images to quickly restore a Mac client. For information about creating images, see System Image Utility Help. You can find System Image Utility in the Tools menu of the Server app.
Use the NetInstall pane of the Server app to enable the network interface, restrict access to images, edit images and storage settings, set the default boot image, and view connected clients.
NetInstall requires an Ethernet connection, and you must select a network interface for NetInstall.
Select NetInstall in the Server app sidebar, then click Settings.
Click Edit next to “Enable NetInstall on.”
In the network interface list, select the interface you want to use for NetInstall.
Click OK.
You must choose a storage location for your images and your client data. You can store your images and client data on the same volume, or separate volumes.
WARNING: Don’t rename a NetBoot share point or the volume it resides on.
Select NetInstall in the Server app sidebar, then click Settings.
Click Edit Storage Settings.
In the list of volumes, select a volume.
Click the Stored Data column of the selected volume, then choose one of the following:
Images & Client Data: Stores images and client data on the same volume.
Images Only: Stores only images on the selected volume.
Client Data Only: Stores only client data on the selected volume.
None: No data is stored on the selected volume.
Click OK.
Any images on the volume you selected are listed in the images list in the Settings pane. You can filter your images list using the Filter Images search field below the images list.
Set a default boot image for clients.
Select NetInstall in the Server app sidebar, then click Settings.
In the list of images, select an image.
Click the Action pop-up menu , then choose Use as Default Boot Image.
Make your images available over HTTP or NFS. By default, images are available over HTTP.
Select NetInstall in the Server app sidebar, then click Settings.
In the list of images, select an image.
Double-click the image or click the Action pop-up menu , then choose Edit Image Settings.
Select “Make available over,” then choose NFS from the pop-up menu.
By default, all images are available over HTTP.
Choose NFS from the “Make available over” pop-up menu.
Click OK.
Use filtering to restrict access to NetInstall based on a client’s Ethernet hardware (MAC) address. You can then further restrict access to specific images.
Select NetInstall in the Server app sidebar, then click Settings.
Select “Restrict access to images,” then click Add 
.
Enter one of more hardware MAC addresses.
Click OK.
To restrict client computers, you can set up filters that allow access to an image depending on the computer’s MAC address.
Select NetInstall in the Server app sidebar, then click Settings.
In the list of images, select the image for which you want to set restrictions.
Double-click the image or click the Action pop-up menu , then choose Edit Image Settings.
Select “Restrict access to this image,” then click Edit.
If “Restrict access to this image” is already selected, click Edit to make changes to the MAC address list.
Click Add , then enter a MAC address.
You can enter multiple canonical or noncanonical Mac addresses in the filter list. The canonical form of a MAC address contains leading zeros and lowercase hex digits separated by a colon (:). For example, 01:a1:0c:32:00:b0 is the canonical form of a MAC address and 1:a1:c:32:0:b0 is the noncanonical form of the same MAC address.
Click OK.
You can restrict which images are visible to a client computer by setting up a model filter. The model filter allows images to be visible depending on the model of the Mac.
Select NetInstall in the Server app sidebar, then click Settings.
In the list of images, select the image for which you want to set visible restrictions.
Double-click the image or click the Action pop-up menu , then choose Edit Image Settings.
Choose “only some Macs models” from the “Image is visible to” pop-up menu.
If “only some Macs models” is already selected, click Edit to make changes to the model filter.
From the model filter list, select the checkboxes of the Mac models that will be allowed to see the image.
Click OK, then click OK.
You can view clients that are connected to your NetInstall server. In the list of connected clients you can view their computer name, IP address, status, and progress of installation.
Select NetInstall in the Server app sidebar, then click Connections.