HP Image Manager 5.0User Guide

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HP Image Manager 5.0 User Guide

HP thin clients

First Edition (April 2009)

Document Part Number: 510477–001

Table of contents

1 IntroductionWhat is HP Image Manager? ............................................................................................................... 1About This Manual ............................................................................................................................... 1

Conventions ......................................................................................................................... 1

2 HP Image Manager OverviewSoftware Suite Components ................................................................................................................. 3How HP Image Manager Works ........................................................................................................... 3HP Image Manager Boot Process ........................................................................................................ 4Adding a New Desktop and Upgrading Hardware ................................................................................ 5Client Writing Modes ............................................................................................................................ 5

Normal Mode ....................................................................................................................... 5Volatile Mode ....................................................................................................................... 6Persistent Mode ................................................................................................................... 6Administrator Mode .............................................................................................................. 6

High Availability and Fast System Recovery ........................................................................................ 6Stateless NVD Protocol ....................................................................................................... 6Replacing Servers ............................................................................................................... 6Servers List .......................................................................................................................... 7Using a Cluster of Servers ................................................................................................... 7

Technical Notes .................................................................................................................................... 7HP Image Manager Licenses ............................................................................................................... 7

Evaluation License ............................................................................................................... 8

3 Installing Image Manager ComponentsSystem Requirements .......................................................................................................................... 9

Client Requirements ............................................................................................................ 9Server Requirements ......................................................................................................... 10Network Requirements ...................................................................................................... 10

Installation Summary .......................................................................................................................... 11Running the Installer Wizard .............................................................................................................. 11Installing License Server .................................................................................................................... 26

Automatic Installation on a System Running Windows ...................................................... 26Manual Installation on a System Running a Windows or Linux Operating System ........... 28

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Windows Installation ......................................................................................... 28Linux Installation ............................................................................................... 29

Image Manager Server Configuration ................................................................................................ 29Disk Storage Required on the Server ................................................................................ 29File Locations on the Server .............................................................................................. 30Configuring the License Server ......................................................................................... 31Set The License Search Path Using An Environment Variable ......................................... 31

Uninstalling HP Image Manager ......................................................................................................... 31Modify/Repair HP Image Manager Installation ................................................................................... 34Upgrading HP Image Manager ........................................................................................................... 35Undoing Client Builder Changes on an HDD-based Configuration .................................................... 37

4 Creating a Client ImageIntroduction ......................................................................................................................................... 38Using Client Builder ............................................................................................................................ 38Testing the Image ............................................................................................................................... 45Advanced Client Builder Options ........................................................................................................ 45

5 Enabling Clients to Access ImagesTFTP and DHCP Server Configuration .............................................................................................. 52

Windows ............................................................................................................................ 52Linux .................................................................................................................................. 52Testing the TFTP Service .................................................................................................. 52DHCP Server Configuration ............................................................................................... 53

Client Configuration ............................................................................................................................ 53Troubleshooting .................................................................................................................................. 54

6 Assigning Volumes to ClientsIntroduction ......................................................................................................................................... 55Running the Image Manager Console ................................................................................................ 55Adding New Clients ............................................................................................................................ 56Adding a New Group .......................................................................................................................... 58Assigning a Volume to a Group .......................................................................................................... 58Creating or Modifying a Volume ......................................................................................................... 59Adding a Volume From Another Configuration File ............................................................................ 62Changing a Volume's Write Mode ...................................................................................................... 64Modifying a Configuration File Currently Running .............................................................................. 65

7 Controlling the Use of Images and VolumesThe Image Configuration File ............................................................................................................. 67Client Volume Overlay Files ............................................................................................................... 67

Location of Overlay Files ................................................................................................... 68Maximum Size of CVOL Files ............................................................................................ 68

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Volume Write Modes .......................................................................................................................... 69Admin Mode ....................................................................................................................... 69CVOLwrite Mode ............................................................................................................... 70Normal Mode ..................................................................................................................... 70Volatile Mode ..................................................................................................................... 70Persistent Mode ................................................................................................................. 70

8 The Image Manager ConsoleIntroduction ......................................................................................................................................... 72Running the Image Manager Console ................................................................................................ 72The Toolbar ........................................................................................................................................ 73The File Menu .................................................................................................................................... 75The Edit Menu .................................................................................................................................... 75The Config Menu ................................................................................................................................ 76The View Menu .................................................................................................................................. 76The Help Menu ................................................................................................................................... 76Displaying and Changing Properties .................................................................................................. 77

Client Properties ................................................................................................................ 77Group Properties ............................................................................................................... 80Volume Properties ............................................................................................................. 81

Creating a Volume .............................................................................................................................. 81The General Tab ................................................................................................................ 82The Parameters Tab .......................................................................................................... 83The CVOL Tab ................................................................................................................... 84The Permissions Tab ......................................................................................................... 85

Global Settings ................................................................................................................................... 86The General Tab ................................................................................................................ 86The Directories Tab ........................................................................................................... 87The Executable Paths Tab ................................................................................................ 88The Network Tab ............................................................................................................... 90The Authorized Subnets Tab ............................................................................................. 91

The NVDD Manager ........................................................................................................................... 92Merging Configuration Files ............................................................................................................... 93Password for Remote Administration ................................................................................................. 94

9 Adding Clients and New SoftwareAdding a New Client ........................................................................................................................... 95Modifying an HD Image to be Used by Several Clients ..................................................................... 95

Using Admin Mode ............................................................................................................ 95Using the CVOLMerge Tool ............................................................................................... 96Using Intermediate Overlays ............................................................................................. 98

Managing and Updating Images Located at Multiple Remote Sites ................................................... 99Restoring a Virtual Volume to an Actual Hard Disk .......................................................................... 101

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10 Merging Image and Overlay FilesIntroduction ....................................................................................................................................... 103Using the CVOLCompactor Tool ...................................................................................................... 103Using the CVOLMerge Tool ............................................................................................................. 104

11 Adding Clients to Windows DomainsIntroduction ....................................................................................................................................... 105How the HP Domain Wizard Works ................................................................................................. 105Repository for Domain Credentials .................................................................................................. 105

Repository in a Server Directory ...................................................................................... 105Repository in the System Partition ................................................................................... 106Repository in a Non-system Partition .............................................................................. 106

Storing Domain Credentials in an NVDD Server Directory .............................................................. 107Windows XP Professional Clients .................................................................................... 107Windows 2000 Professional Clients ................................................................................ 115Client Names ................................................................................................................... 116Adding a New Client to the Domain ................................................................................. 116

Storing Domain Credentials on a Non-volatile Drive ........................................................................ 117Adding a New Client to the Domain ................................................................................. 123Do I Need to Reboot? ...................................................................................................... 123

Storing Domain Credentials in the System Partition ........................................................................ 123Client Names ................................................................................................................... 126Adding a New Client to the Domain ................................................................................. 127

12 Adding Network Boot Devices to an ImageOverview .......................................................................................................................................... 128Before Using the UbiBoot Tools ....................................................................................................... 129Extracting Boot Device Details ......................................................................................................... 129Inserting Boot Device Details into an Image .................................................................................... 134Testing the Image ............................................................................................................................. 139

13 Building a Virtual Hard Disk to Boot Any PC or TCHP UbiBoot ....................................................................................................................................... 140Installing HP UbiBoot ....................................................................................................................... 140Potential Incompatibilities ................................................................................................................. 141Running HP UbiBoot ........................................................................................................................ 141Using a UbiBoot-Enabled Hard Disk ................................................................................................ 145

Learn To Use Unknown Hardware .................................................................................. 145Master HD for Building Images ........................................................................................ 145Detecting New Hardware ................................................................................................. 146Updating or Removing Drivers for Off-line Devices ......................................................... 146

Additional Uses for HP UbiBoot ....................................................................................................... 147Creating a Windows Installation That Can Run Unknown Hardware .............................. 147

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Creating a Windows Installation That Can Run Heterogeneous Hardware ..................... 147HAL Considerations ......................................................................................................................... 147Mixing ACPI and Non-ACPI Computers ........................................................................................... 148Mixing Unicore and Multicore (or Multi-CPUs) Computers ............................................................... 148HAL Selection ................................................................................................................................... 148

Choosing a Specific HAL at Windows Installation ........................................................... 148Downgrading HAL After Windows Installation ................................................................. 149Recommended HAL ........................................................................................................ 149HAL Related Resources .................................................................................................. 150

Windows Product Activation ............................................................................................................. 150UbiBoot and Microsoft SysPrep ....................................................................................................... 150UbiBoot Expiry Date ......................................................................................................................... 151Troubleshooting ................................................................................................................................ 151

14 HP Active ClonerIntroduction ....................................................................................................................................... 153Cloning a Partition ............................................................................................................................ 153Cloning Procedure Examples ........................................................................................................... 155

Cloning Directly to an Attached Hard Disk ....................................................................... 155Cloning to a Network Shared Hard Disk .......................................................................... 156Cloning to Another Image Manager Virtual Hard Disk ..................................................... 156

Creating Empty Images with HDFile ................................................................................................ 158Expert Options .................................................................................................................................. 158

Disable Options ............................................................................................................... 159Boot Options .................................................................................................................... 159

Command Line Options .................................................................................................................... 159Error Messages ................................................................................................................................ 160Using HP Active Cloner for (Automated) Provisioning of Physical Disk Drives ................................ 161

15 Managing Local Hard Disk AccessIntroduction ....................................................................................................................................... 162Using the Local HD Manager ........................................................................................................... 162

16 Client-side ServicesNIMClientMonitor .............................................................................................................................. 165

Behavior on Disconnection and Reconnection ................................................................ 165Identification ..................................................................................................................... 166Status Information ............................................................................................................ 166Activity Graph .................................................................................................................. 167

NimCltD Service ............................................................................................................................... 168

17 Windows Product ActivationIntroduction ....................................................................................................................................... 170

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Product Activation Procedure ........................................................................................................... 170

18 Windows User ProfilesDomain Roaming Profiles ................................................................................................................. 172Local Roaming Profiles .................................................................................................................... 172Folders Redirection .......................................................................................................................... 173

19 NVDD Server AdministrationIntroduction ....................................................................................................................................... 175

Secured nvddadmin Protocol ........................................................................................... 175The nvddadmin Tool ......................................................................................................................... 175

nvddadmin Command Syntax .......................................................................................... 175Command Examples ....................................................................................................... 176

nvddadmin Commands .................................................................................................................... 176Considerations Related to File Operations ...................................................................... 176Considerations Relating to Put and Get Commands ....................................................... 176Conventions ..................................................................................................................... 177Command Descriptions ................................................................................................... 177

20 Virtualized EnvironmentsVMWare Environment ...................................................................................................................... 181

Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 181Streaming Disk Images to Virtual Machines .................................................................... 182Provisioning VMs with Image Manager ........................................................................... 183Running Image Manager Server in a VM ........................................................................ 184Using Private Networks ................................................................................................... 184Using Public and Private Networks .................................................................................. 184Performance and Storage Optimization ........................................................................... 185Image Consolidation ........................................................................................................ 186Limitations ........................................................................................................................ 186

Microsoft VirtualPC Virtual Server Environments ............................................................................. 186Enabling Network Boot .................................................................................................... 186

Other Virtualized Environments ........................................................................................................ 187

21 Configuring the DHCP ServerIntroduction ....................................................................................................................................... 188

Before Installing DHCP Server ........................................................................................ 188Configuring the Server ..................................................................................................................... 188Configuring DHCP ............................................................................................................................ 193DHCP Reservations ......................................................................................................................... 205Related Resources ........................................................................................................................... 209

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22 Configuring NVDD as a Windows ServiceIntroduction ....................................................................................................................................... 210Installation Procedure ....................................................................................................................... 210Using NVDD as a Service ................................................................................................................ 214

Configuring NVDD Service Options ................................................................................. 214Uninstalling the Service ................................................................................................... 216Changing Service Settings .............................................................................................. 216

23 Upgrading Image ManagerImportant .......................................................................................................................................... 217Upgrading from Previous Versions of HP Image Manager 4 or Neoware Image Manager 4 ........... 217

Order of Upgrading Operations ....................................................................................... 217Troubleshooting ............................................................................................................... 218

24 Boot Process Comparison

25 TroubleshootingTechnical Support ............................................................................................................................ 222Check Versions ................................................................................................................................ 222PXE .................................................................................................................................................. 222

PXE Implementations ...................................................................................................... 222Etherboot ......................................................................................................................... 223PXE Error File Not Found ................................................................................................ 223Issues .............................................................................................................................. 223PXE Error ......................................................................................................................... 224

Network Adapters ............................................................................................................................. 224VIA Rhine Family ............................................................................................................. 224Servers with Several Network Adapters .......................................................................... 224

Volumes ........................................................................................................................................... 225Multivolume Windows 2000 Clients ................................................................................. 225

ACPI ................................................................................................................................................. 225Stand By and Hibernation ................................................................................................ 225

Shutdown and Reboot ...................................................................................................................... 225NVD.SYS shutdown Delay .............................................................................................. 225Windows 2000 Without the Latest Service Pack ............................................................. 226

Startup .............................................................................................................................................. 226Clients Using Intel i810 Chipset Under Windows 2000 ................................................... 226Inaccessible Boot Device ................................................................................................. 226Boot Process Stuck ......................................................................................................... 226

Global Performances ........................................................................................................................ 226Single Client Running Slowly ........................................................................................... 226Number of Sectors Per Read/Write Request ................................................................... 227

Network Facilities ............................................................................................................................. 227

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Global Connectivity .......................................................................................................... 2271000 BT/100 BT Ethernet Switches ................................................................................. 227

Operations on Virtual Volumes ......................................................................................................... 228Delayed Write Failed or Disk Full Error in Client Operating System ................................ 228Delayed Write Failed Warnings ....................................................................................... 228

Large File Support on Linux 2.2 ....................................................................................................... 230Error When Opening a Large Volume ............................................................................. 230

Computer SIDs ................................................................................................................................. 230License ............................................................................................................................................. 231

License Server Connectivity ............................................................................................ 231Client Boot-up Time ......................................................................................................... 231Rules For Locating A License File ................................................................................... 231

Limitations ........................................................................................................................................ 231Data Transfer During Single Client Bootup ...................................................................... 231Maximum Clients Attached to a Single Server ................................................................ 231Clients Booting Same Images on Several Servers .......................................................... 232Maximum Number of Applications Run from an Image ................................................... 232

Recommended Network Configuration ............................................................................................ 233

Appendix A The NVDD Configuration FileIntroduction ....................................................................................................................................... 234The nvdd.smalldisk.vol.conf File ...................................................................................................... 234Configuration File Settings ............................................................................................................... 236

IP Addresses and Port Numbers ..................................................................................... 237Timing .............................................................................................................................. 237Directory for Client Volumes ............................................................................................ 238Directories for File Transfer ............................................................................................. 238Directory for Binaries ....................................................................................................... 239Certificate File .................................................................................................................. 240Maximum Size of CVOL Files .......................................................................................... 240Computer Name Change Default .................................................................................... 240Number of Processing Units ............................................................................................ 241Buffer Size ....................................................................................................................... 241User Definitions ............................................................................................................... 241Client MAC Address ........................................................................................................ 241Computer Name Change ................................................................................................. 242Maximum Number of Clients ........................................................................................... 242Volume Definitions ........................................................................................................... 242Volume ID and Name ...................................................................................................... 243Volume Geometry ............................................................................................................ 243Volume Type .................................................................................................................... 244Volume Integrity ............................................................................................................... 244Volume Write Mode ......................................................................................................... 244

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Directory for Overlay Files ............................................................................................... 246Cache Size ...................................................................................................................... 246Allowed Clients ................................................................................................................ 246Group Definitions ............................................................................................................. 247

Client Naming ................................................................................................................................... 248Setting Client Name Using NVD Protocol ........................................................................ 248Updating Client Name From Client .................................................................................. 248

Enabling Client MultiBoot ................................................................................................................. 249Example nvdd.conf with Multivolume Support .................................................................................. 251

Appendix B Licensing ImplementationUp-to-date Licensing Toolkit Components ....................................................................................... 255License Server Requirement ............................................................................................................ 255Hostid Types .................................................................................................................................... 255Default License File Location ........................................................................................................... 256License File Environment Variables ................................................................................................. 256License File Location in Registry ...................................................................................................... 256Read the Registry ............................................................................................................................. 256License Finder ( Windows Only) ...................................................................................................... 256License Denial/Checkout Failure ...................................................................................................... 256License Timeout ............................................................................................................................... 256License Lingering ............................................................................................................................. 257Reconnection Strategy ..................................................................................................................... 257License Borrowing ............................................................................................................................ 257Duplicate Grouping ........................................................................................................................... 257Host Naming Convention ................................................................................................................. 257License Server Organization ............................................................................................................ 257

Appendix C mPXELdr and its Configuration FileIntroduction ....................................................................................................................................... 258Contents and Syntax ........................................................................................................................ 259Example mPXELdr.ini File ................................................................................................................ 260Keywords .......................................................................................................................................... 261

The Include Keyword ....................................................................................................... 261The NVDServers Keyword ............................................................................................... 262The BootMode Keyword .................................................................................................. 263The VolSelectionTO Keyword .......................................................................................... 268The PreBootPause Keyword ........................................................................................... 268The ReQueryDHCPOptions Keyword .............................................................................. 269The NICRxTxQs Keyword ............................................................................................... 269The OSType Keyword ..................................................................................................... 270

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Appendix D HP Image Manager PXE and TFTP ServerIntroduction ....................................................................................................................................... 272Overview and Configuration Examples ............................................................................................ 274

Basic Automatic Configuration ......................................................................................... 274Selectively Answering Client Stations With a Single Network Boot Program .................. 274Selectively Answering Client Stations With Multiple Network Boot Programs ................. 277Using Station List Files .................................................................................................... 278

Multi-homed Server and Bindings Configuration .............................................................................. 279Configuration File Reference ............................................................................................................ 281

General .ini File Format ................................................................................................... 281Log section ...................................................................................................................... 281PXE Section ..................................................................................................................... 283TFTP Section ................................................................................................................... 286IncludeStations Section ................................................................................................... 287ExcludeStations Section .................................................................................................. 289

Implementation Details ..................................................................................................................... 291

Appendix E DHCP ReferenceHow Clients Locate the Image Manager Server ............................................................................... 292

ISC dhcpd.conf File Example .......................................................................................... 293Native DHCP Options ....................................................................................................................... 293

Optional Subkeys and Values .......................................................................................... 295Examples ......................................................................................................................... 296

NetBIOS Name for Clients Set by DHCP Option 12 ........................................................................ 298Windows DHCP Client ..................................................................................................................... 298

Appendix F NVDD ReferenceIntroduction ....................................................................................................................................... 299Command Syntax ............................................................................................................................. 299

Verbose Mode ................................................................................................................. 299Port Number .................................................................................................................... 300Configuration File ............................................................................................................. 300Log File ............................................................................................................................ 300No Lock File Check .......................................................................................................... 300Flush Disk Buffers on Write ............................................................................................. 301

Appendix G NVD.SYS ReferenceIntroduction ....................................................................................................................................... 302Parameters ....................................................................................................................................... 302

IP Address ....................................................................................................................... 302Port Number .................................................................................................................... 302MAC Address ................................................................................................................... 302Client IP Address ............................................................................................................. 302

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Sectors Per Request ........................................................................................................ 303Shutdown Time Out ......................................................................................................... 303Server's Idle Timeout ...................................................................................................... 303Boot Volume .................................................................................................................... 303Cache Size ...................................................................................................................... 303Network Interfaces Binding .............................................................................................. 303

Appendix H File TransferIntroduction ....................................................................................................................................... 304Root Folder for File Transfers .......................................................................................................... 304

Appendix I NVDD Temporary FilesThe NVDD Configuration File ........................................................................................................... 305The nvdd.conf.LOCK File ................................................................................................................. 305USER_REP Files ............................................................................................................................. 306How to Retrieve Restored Files ........................................................................................................ 306Automatic Background Compaction of Overlays .............................................................................. 307

Appendix J OverlaysOverlay Types .................................................................................................................................. 308

Volume Overlays ............................................................................................................. 308Group Overlays ................................................................................................................ 308Client Overlays ................................................................................................................ 309

How to Use Overlays ........................................................................................................................ 309Background Compaction .................................................................................................................. 309Overlay Validity ................................................................................................................................ 310

Manual Selection of a Group’s Top Overlay .................................................................... 310Overlay Limitations ........................................................................................................................... 310

Appendix K Copyright Notices and License TermsPatents ............................................................................................................................................. 311Third Parties Copyrights ................................................................................................................... 311

Software Copyrighted by Aladdin Enterprises ................................................................. 311Software Copyrighted by Paul Kocher ............................................................................. 311Software Copyrighted by Brian Gladman ........................................................................ 312Software Copyrighted by Lukas Gebauer ........................................................................ 312Software Copyrighted by Jordan Russell ......................................................................... 313Source code from JEDI project ........................................................................................ 313

Glossary ........................................................................................................................................................... 315

Index ................................................................................................................................................................. 317

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1 Introduction

What is HP Image Manager?HP Image Manager delivers operating systems and applications on-demand from your server to PCsor thin clients. The server is used as a virtual disk drive, so clients do not require a hard disk or flashmemory. All application processing is done by the client.

A single software image containing the operating system, application and hardware drivers for multiplehardware platforms can be streamed on-demand to any PC or thin client—regardless of the device’shardware configuration. PC and thin client users keep their personal configurations and settings, andtheir data remains unique and secure on the server.

Using HP Image Manager you can easily manage multiple images from a graphical interfacerepresenting client desktops, groups of desktops and their related hard disk images (volumes). Youcentrally manage images and define each client’s virtual drives in just a few mouse clicks.

● Changes are made to a single image on the server

● Applications can be deployed instantly

● Images can be swapped in and out quickly

● Desktops can be repurposed just by rebooting

● Software failure gets repaired by a simple reboot

You can think of HP Image Manager as a network storage product (a SAN product) that makes it possibleto boot several clients off a single virtual drive hosted on the server.

About This ManualThis manual describes how to install and use HP Image Manager version 5.0. It assumes that you arefamiliar with Windows® and server operating system administration, as well as Dynamic HostConfiguration Protocol (DHCP)/Bootstrap Protocol (BOOTP) and Trivial File Transport Protocol (TFTP)server configuration.

ConventionsThe following names may be abbreviated within the text of this manual:

“HP Image Manager” may be abbreviated to "Image Manager".

“HP Image Manager Server” may be abbreviated to "Image Manager server" or "NVDD server".

“HP Image Manager Console” may be abbreviated to "Image Manager Console" or just "the Console".

What is HP Image Manager? 1

“HP UbiBoot” may be abbreviated to "UbiBoot".

“HP Image Manager Client Builder” may be abbreviated to "Client Builder".

“HP Active Cloner” may be abbreviated to "Active Cloner".

The following abbreviations are also used:

“HD” for Hard Disk.

“HDD” for Hard Disk Drive.

“TC” for Thin Client.

2 Chapter 1 Introduction

2 HP Image Manager Overview

Software Suite ComponentsHP Image Manager consists of the following main components:

● HP Image Manager Server—Allows the remote boot and central management of desktops(diskless PCs or flashless thin clients) running Windows Vista (Service Pack 1 and above) andWindows XP operating systems from servers running Windows/x86 Linux (kernel 2.6) operatingsystems.

NOTE: Other Windows operating systems may also work, but are not supported by this editionof HP Image Manager.

● HP Image Manager Client Builder—Enables you to create a virtual disk off an existing hard diskdrive.

● HP Image Manager Console—Allows easy configuration of hard disk drive image servers andallocates configurations and operating modes in a few mouse clicks.

● HP UbiBoot—A suite of tools that enable you to reduce the number of images required for a fleetof heterogeneous client hardware, making image management easier.

● HP Active Cloner—A partition duplicator that works on a file by file basis and enables differentialcloning and duplication of the current system partition to another partition while Windows is working.The Active Cloner allows for optimized image update processes when used with HP UbiBoot.

● HP license server—The FLEXnet license server including HPQ vendor daemon that serveslicense for HP Image Manager.

● HP PXEServer—The PXE server used to complement Image Manager installation. It is an optionalcomponent that can ease the deployment of Image Manager on some networks.

How HP Image Manager WorksHP Image Manager enables you to quickly build and distribute virtual hard disk images (volumes) todiskless PCs and clients. The procedure is very straightforward and can be summarized as follows.

First of all you would install then run HP Image Manager Server on a server, then, on another PC (a"client" PC), install and run Client Builder on a hard disk containing the required Windows operatingsystem and software configuration. Client Builder will create an image of the hard disk on the server.The hard disk image can be hosted on virtually any type of server, which acts as a virtual hard disk drive.There is no increase in the number of processors required because all application processing is doneat the client desktop, not by the server.

Software Suite Components 3

HP Image Manager client desktops are then configured to use PXE-based remote boot to find theoperating system, hardware drivers and applications they need to load from disk images stored in theImage Manager server, instead of loading them from their local hard drive or flash memory. When youturn on the PC or thin client you will immediately receive a complete preinstalled configuration.

The Client Builder will generate a configuration file associated with the hard disk image. This enablesyou to specify which clients can use the image and how they can use it. The settings in the configurationfile can be modified using the HP Image Manager Console, which provides an easy-to-use graphicaluser interface.

Image Manager can serve simultaneously several images to several clients. You can have severalImage Manager servers serving several images and a same image can be mirrored on several serversusing standard synchronization tools.

Client desktops can run with different modes of operation, allowing or preventing changes to the desktopby users, while also sharing the same image on the server. For example, in Volatile mode, users willalways boot from the originally defined configuration. User profiles (desktop, shortcuts, favorites,bookmarks, application settings, etc.) may be stored on a remote server and presented according towhich user logs into the desktop device. This enables user personalization based on Windows UserProfiles while desktops are not dedicated to any one user. However, running desktops in Normal modeallows users to individually configure them, enabling basic per-client product activation and licensemanagement. Normal mode is not recommended except in very specific cases, because it createsvirtually as many logical virtual HDDs as there are clients, and then these virtual disks cannot be centrallymanaged from a single Image.

HP Image Manager Boot ProcessWhen it boots, a HP Image Manager client performs several steps that are very similar to the HDD bootprocess. The first steps of the boot process, usually devoted to BIOS and BIOS-based mechanisms,also exist in HP Image Manager.

The Network Boot Program named mPXELdr.bin (supplied with HP Image Manager), is the firstcomponent to be involved in HP Image Manager clients boot process. It acts as a BIOS extension andprovides a BIOS-based interface for the first step of the boot process (the step that experts call int13hbased or “real mode” portion of the boot process).

At first, mPXELdr.bin is downloaded into the client memory using the PXE boot prom capabilities.mPXELdr.bin is then executed. It sets the BIOS extensions (int13h redirector in particular) so that readand write operations of disk drives that are usually BIOS-based can be processed by mPXELdr if thedrive is a virtual disk drive. mPXELdr translates these BIOS based disk operations into the correspondingHP Network Virtual Disk (NVD) operations.

NVD is the name of the protocol and technology that enables HP Image Manager to share virtual driveswith several clients. mPXELdr sends NVD operations as NVD packets, on the Local Area Network, toa server that processes them. The server is a program named NVDD (Network Virtual Disk Daemon)that runs on a remote host.

If several bootable virtual drives are available, mPXELdr displays a boot menu. The users can thenchoose the drive to be used as the system (boot) drive. mPXELdr can be configured to select the firstboot drive automatically, for instance, after a certain time.

mPXELdr then loads and runs the MBR (Master Boot Record) of the virtual system drive, just as theBIOS loads and runs the MBR of an actual HDD. The boot process then goes on normally (with all theint13h based read/write operations being handled by mPXELdr and NVDD); MBR locates the activepartition, loads and runs the Boot Sector, which loads the operating system bootloader, usually NTLDRor BootMgr.

4 Chapter 2 HP Image Manager Overview

NTLDR is a Windows 2000/Windows XP/Windows 2003 operating system loader. It does a lot of things,but in particular, it initializes Windows kernel, then loads and runs the boot device drivers. During a HPImage Manager client boot process, NTLDR loads and runs BDruPD.SYS, NVD.SYS andDSKIMG.SYS, which are the HP Image Manager core client drivers. BootMgr is the bootloader forWindows Vista operating system. It performs the same kind of operations as NTLDR; in particular, itloads the same boot drivers. These drivers create a pseudo device that Windows considers as a diskdrive. The operations on this pseudo device, especially read and write operations, are translated intoNVD requests to read or write data on the virtual drive served by NVDD. These requests are processedby NVDD. Windows can then use the HP Image Manager virtual system disk drive to finish the loadingand execution of the rest of the operating system, just as it does when booted off an actual HDD.

For a comparison between the HDD based boot process and the HP Image Manager based bootprocess, refer to Boot Process Comparison on page 219.

Adding a New Desktop and Upgrading HardwareHP Image Manager provides a set of UbiBoot utilities that can enable you to modify a hard disk imageso that it is able to serve a range of desktops (PCs and thin clients) with heterogeneous hardwareconfigurations. The UbiBoot utilities are used whenever you want to add a new desktop or upgradehardware. Note that it is not always possible to create a single image that will be usable with all yourhardware and associated features. For example, you cannot create an image that will boot both mono-core and dual-core processor clients that will use the two cores of the dual-core clients.

The administrator has two choices when building an image that can support heterogeneous hardware:

1. Boot the new desktop you want to support on a local device (HDD for instance) using the sameoperating system version as the one in the virtual disk image (e.g., Windows XP Professional withService Pack 2). Launch UbiBoot Extractor on the new desktop. This will create a file that contains"boot details" about the new desktop to support. This file is then given to UbiBoot Inserter whichis running on a HP Image Manager client booted off the disk image you want to modify. UbiBootInserter modifies the existing virtual disk image so that it can be used to boot the new desktop type.The new desktop can then be booted off the image and Windows will be able to detect the unknownhardware.

2. Launch HP UbiBoot on a client actually booted off an Image Manager virtual drive to enhance it(this will enable the operating system on this virtual drive to boot unknown hardware when bootedoff an actual hard disk drive). Use HP Active Cloner to transfer the hard disk image to an actualhard disk and make it boot on the new hardware. The hard disk learns to recognize the newhardware configuration, then the administrator only has to rebuild the image on the server usingClient Builder. Note that HP UbiBoot needs to be launched each time just prior to connecting thehard disk to each new hardware configuration.

Client Writing ModesImage Manager allows administrators to customize how clients write data to virtual volumes. The mainwriting modes are described below. Refer to Controlling the Use of Images and Volumeson page 67 for a complete description of all the modes available.

Normal ModeNormal mode enables a client user to install applications and make system changes without modifyingthe original hard disk image file. Any changes made by the user are written to a write cache file calleda CVOL (Client Volume Overlay) file on the server. This enables clients to have different configurationswhile sharing the same hard disk image file.

Adding a New Desktop and Upgrading Hardware 5

This mode saves significant time when administrators want to provide users with a configuration definedon a ’per desktop’ basis in a simple way, or when users require complete control of their desktops.Restoring a clean installation for a specific client is just a matter of deleting the write cache file on theserver.

NOTE: If the common hard disk image file is modified, all per-client customizations will be discarded.

Volatile ModeVolatile mode enables clients to use exactly the same volume configuration after every reboot. Anythingwritten to the volume by the client will be lost when rebooted. One of the advantages of this mode isthat clients boot up from the server very quickly.

You can use Windows User Profiles (desktop, shortcuts, favorites, bookmarks, application settings, etc.)in Volatile mode. User Profiles are stored on a server and copied to the client volumes at logon time.

Persistent ModePersistent mode is similar to Volatile mode except it enables you to retain some customization of thevolume for each client, separate from the hard disk image. For example, to retain Windows XP activationdata customized for each computer.

NOTE: Persistent mode uses the same CVOL files as in Normal mode, so if the common hard diskimage file is modified, all per-client customizations will be discarded.

Administrator ModeAdministrator mode is usually reserved for administrators so that they can deploy applications and makesystem changes to the configuration. All modifications are performed and saved on the actual hard diskimage. This mode can also be used for all stations at the same time if each station has its own privatevolume on the server, making it a very private mode.

High Availability and Fast System RecoveryStateless NVD Protocol

The NVD (HP Virtual Disk) protocol used by the HP Image Manager client and server to access virtualdrives is completely stateless. This means that even if the network connection fails between the clientand the server, operation will resume smoothly as soon as the network connection is reestablished.

You can reboot the Image Manager server while clients are still running. Of course, during the time HPImage Manager is not running the clients will not be able to access their virtual drives and thus they willnot be able to do much. But as soon as the server is up and running, the clients will be able to workagain.

Replacing ServersHP Image Manager clients know the server they have to contact by using that server’s IP address. Thismeans you can replace a server with another one as long as the new server has the same IP addressand the files required by the clients (volume image file and CVOL files) are accessible to the new server(if they are stored on Network Storage for instance).

6 Chapter 2 HP Image Manager Overview

Servers ListHP Image Manager clients use an initialization file (default name mPXELdr.ini) that the Image Managerboot loader loads and interprets to determine the server to contact from a list of servers. HP ImageManager clients can also use a specific DHCP option (DHCP Option 132) to determine the server tocontact from a list of servers.

HP Image Manager boot loader builds a list of the servers to contact from the initialization file and fromDHCP Option 132. If the first server in this list does not answer, the client tries to contact the next serverin the list, and so forth. If the client reaches the last server in its list and this server does not answer, itthen tries the first server again.

You can use Servers List to achieve a form of load-balancing. A server that has reached the maximumnumber of clients it can serve will refuse to serve a new client. Then a client that tries to boot off thatserver will fail and will try the next server. By tuning various different initialization files and/or DHCPoptions 132, you can balance the number of clients that connects to each server in your network.

Using a Cluster of ServersUsing a cluster of servers that are exposed to the outside world as a single IP address is a very goodway to add fast recovery and high availability capabilities to the servers.

Technical Notes● If a network cable is unplugged the session will not crash or ’blue-screen’. The desktop will wait

for the network to return.

● If the server fails, the client waits for the server to reboot. No data will be lost as long as the userdoes not shut down the client and the files on the server (especially CVOL files) are free from errorloss.

● HP Image Manager provides support for various storage options. Hard disk images can be storedon IDE, SCSI, iSCSI, SAN, NAS, RAID, SATA, etc.

● There is no theoretical limitation to the number of clients that can be connected to a single HPImage Manager server, as long as there are enough bandwidth and hard disk resources on thenetwork and server to fulfill all the client requests in an acceptable time.

● HP Image Manager has little effect on memory or performance requirements of softwareapplications running on the clients. The number of applications that can be run at the same timeon the same client depends on the client CPU and available memory.

HP Image Manager LicensesFile-based floating licenses are supported by HP Image Manager, and a FLEXnet license server withHP vendor daemon is required. This licensing model allows multiple NVDD servers to share licensesNVDD servers check out for client connections within a local network provided that the number of thetotal client connections does not exceed the number allowed by the licenses.

A License file is installed on the license server, and it is used to control number of clients that can connectto HP Image Manager NVDD servers. These licenses are dynamically allocated on a first-come, first-served basis whenever a client attempts to connect to an NVDD server.

HP Image Manager commercial licenses are permanent licenses and do not expire.

Technical Notes 7

Customers redeem their licenses through standard HP license redeem process specified in your LicenseEntitlement Certificate.

Evaluation LicenseHP Image Manager offers a free, 90-day full function evaluation license. The expiration date is displayedin HP Image Manager NVDD server logs when the server checks out the license from the evaluationlicense for client connection. The evaluation license cannot be used legally after the expiration date.

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3 Installing Image Manager Components

System RequirementsClient Requirements

● PXE 2.x enabled.

● Any CPU supported by the operating system to be downloaded from the HP Image Manager server.

● Main memory: 128 MB minimum, 256+ MB recommended.

● Network card (100 Mb/s recommended).

In order to successfully install HP Image Manager, you will need at least one client workstation with PXE2.x capabilities that will be used to create a hard disk or "flash disk" image. This client station must haveWindows Vista or Windows XP properly installed and configured on a regular hard disk drive, and allthe required software applications. It is recommended that the latest service packs, patches, updatesand hotfixes are applied to the operating system.

The system partition size (the partition where the Windows operating system is installed) must be smallerthan 2 terabytes. The system partition will be used to build a hard disk image file that will be stored onthe Image Manager server. You must be sure that the file system used on the server can handle filesthe same size as the partition. For instance, if your hard disk image file is created on a FAT32 partitionon the server, the partition size cannot be larger than 4 GB because FAT32 does not support files largerthan 4 GB. Listed below are the typical maximum file sizes for common file systems.

NTFS File size limited only by size of server volume.

FAT Maximum file size is 2 GB.

FAT 32 Maximum file size is 4 GB.

Ext-2 Maximum file size is 2 GB.

Ext-3 Maximum file size is 2 Terabytes (if LFS support is completely implemented).

UFS 32 GB (with default block size of 8K, default in FreeBSD).

Windows and all the applications must be installed in C drive. The C drive should be the only hard diskpartition available to the client workstation. Additional applications can be installed in the free space onthe hard disk image after the image has been built. If more storage is required, it is recommended thata network share is used. A network drive (a folder on a Windows or Samba server) may be mountedautomatically at boot time. Adding this network drive (and extra applications) can be done after thediskless system has been set up.

System Requirements 9

The network card should be configured to use Auto Media Detection (in EEPROM and in drivers).

The client BIOS settings must specify that the hard disk is accessed in Automatic mode (or LBA modeif no Automatic mode is available).

Server Requirements● Operating system: Windows 2003, 2008, Linux x86 (kernel 2.6)

NOTE: Only the x86/32Bits versions of Windows server-based components are provided. Theywill run in compatibility mode on x64 Windows 2003 and Windows 2008 server.

● Main memory: 128 MB minimum, 512 MB or more recommended

● Processor: equivalent to Pentium“ III 800 or faster

● Hard drive capacity: 1.5 MB dedicated to Image Manager, plus disk space required to store theclient hard disk image files and cache files (the default maximum cache file size is 512 MB perclient)

HP Image Manager requires a computer to house the server module. This computer should have aminimum of 128 MB of RAM and must be properly installed and configured. Servers that have to servea large number of clients should have at least 512 MB of RAM (2GB or more is recommended). It isrecommended that the latest service packs, patches, updates and hotfixes are applied to the serveroperating system.

A server class Network Adapter is recommended for the Image Manager server network card. Youshould install the latest NIC (Network Interface Card) drivers for the NICs in the server, which are usuallyavailable from the NIC manufacturer Web site. These drivers are usually more efficient than the driversshipped with Windows XP/Windows 2000. (On a Windows 2000 server with 3C905C-TX-M, the HPImage Manager system is twice as fast with 3Com NIC drivers than with the NIC drivers shipped withWindows 2000.)

When using multiple clients booting off a single server, a performance bottleneck may occur duringnetwork and server hard drive data transfers. It is therefore recommended that you use the fastest harddrives and hard disk controllers available, and to have as much RAM as possible in the server to improvedisk caching. Having several hard disk drives in the server can also help increase performance. If thereis a RAID adapter in the server, we recommend that you use RAID 1 instead of RAID 5.

Network Requirements● Ethernet 100 Mb/S or better.

● Ethernet Switching.

● A computer running DHCP service and a computer running TFTP service. (This computer can bethe same as the HP Image Manager server, another single computer, or two separate computers.)

Switches are preferable to hubs. It is recommended that you enable full duplex communication and flowcontrol. Clients and server must be able to send and receive DHCP packets from and to each other.

TCP/IP connectivity between the server and the clients must be established.

A configurable DHCP (or BOOTP) service must be available on your network. For example, MS-DHCPServer for Windows Server NT/2000/2003, freeware TFTPD32 that includes a DHCP service. If you areusing a Microsoft DHCP server, refer to Configuring the DHCP Server on page 188 for a step-by-stepinstallation procedure.

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A configurable TFTP service must be installed and properly configured to serve boot files to PXE PROM.For example, MS-TFTPD for Windows 2000/2003 Server, 3Com freeware tftp server for Windowssystems, tftpd daemons shipped with Linux and Unix, freeware TFTPD32. A Samba server can be usefulif you use a Linux server. HP Image Manager contains a PXE/TFTP server called HP PXEServer.See HP Image Manager PXE and TFTP Server on page 272 for more information on its installation anduse.

Installation SummaryThe installation procedure consists of two stages. First you need to run the HP Image Manager InstallerWizard on the server and then again on the client to install the relevant software components. Secondly(optionally), you need to configure the server by copying various files into the directory that will containthe hard disk images (if the default location does not suit your requirements—due to not enoughavailable storage space for example).

The server will host the NVDD (Network Virtual Disk Daemon) server module and, eventually, the harddisk images that clients will access. This server must be on the same LAN as the clients that will accessthe images, and must be running either Windows NT/Windows 2000/Windows XP/Windows 2003 orLinux. The HP Image Manager Console, which enables you to control how images are assigned andused by clients, can either be installed on the NVDD server (if it runs a Windows operating system) oron a remote PC running a Windows operating system.

The client computer will provide the basis for the hard disk image that will eventually be created. TheInstaller Wizard will install various tools to enable you to build an image that can be served to clientsfrom the NVDD server.

Running the Installer WizardYou will need to run the Installer Wizard on the server (or a PC running a Windows operating system,if the server is running Linux—see note below) and then again on the client computer to install therelevant HP Image Manager software components.

Installation Summary 11

NOTE: If you want to install HP Image Manager on a server running Linux, you will need to run theInstaller Wizard on a PC running a Windows operating system, select Decompress as the Setuptype, then copy the server software component files installed on the PC to the server.

1. Run the HP Image Manager Installer Wizard.

12 Chapter 3 Installing Image Manager Components

2. Click Next to display the License Agreement screen.

Running the Installer Wizard 13

3. Read the License Agreement and, if you agree to the terms, select the I accept the agreementoption then click Next.

This dialog box provides instructions on how to install the software.

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4. Click Next to continue.

5. Specify the directory where the software components will be installed. The default directory is C:\Program Files\HP Image Manager.

6. Click Next then select the type of installation required from the following options:

Running the Installer Wizard 15

● Server Installation (Windows)—Select this option if you are installing HP Image Manageron the server running a Windows operating system that will host your images.

● Client Installation—Select this option if you are running this Installer Wizard on a clientdesktop. This will install the components that you will run to customize the Windows-basedconfiguration on that desktop’s hard disk, and to create an image of it for storing on the server.

● License Server installation (Windows)—Select this option if you would like to install onlythe HP License Server on a computer running a Windows operating system.

● PXE Server—Select this option if you would like to install only the PXE Server on a computerrunning a Windows operating system.

● Console—Select this option if you would like to install only the HP Image Manager Consoleon a computer running a Windows operating system.

● Web Console—Select this option if you would like to install only the HP Image Manager WebConsole on a computer running a Windows operating system.

● UbiBoot Suite—Select this option if you are installing UbiBoot Suite. UbiBoot Suite is a setof components aimed to enhance an existing Virtual Disk Drive so that it will support newhardware platforms.

● Client Platform Drivers—Select this option if you are installing the hardware drivers (Video,Audio, Network, etc.) for HP t5730/t5735 thin clients.

● Decompress—Select this option if you want to decompress the complete archive into aspecific folder. You can use this option if you plan to run HP Image Manager server on a Linuxserver that will host your images (you will need to run the Installer Wizard onto a PC runninga Windows operating system and then copy the Server Module and tools onto your server),or in order to perform a simple decompression without shortcuts creation in the Start menu.

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This Wizard will decompress the components of the distribution archive (selected in the nextdialog box) into a folder tree.

● Custom Installation—Use this option in order to select only some specific components. Forinstance, you could select only Linux server components or only UbiBoot Extractor.

7. Click Next to continue.

If you have selected Server installation (Windows) or License Server installation (Windows)or if the component License Server \ for Windows is selected on a Custom installation, theLicense Server Service Installation page is displayed. This page is not displayed if DecompressAll is selected.

8. Choose install only or install and start the License Server service.

If you don’t want to install the license server now, select Decompress License Server only andinstall it manually later.

9. If you want to install the License Server service, browse for the license file to enter the path to alicense file in the field. This will copy the license to the folder where the license server is installed.By default, logs are redirected into the same directory where the License Server is located.

Running the Installer Wizard 17

10. Click Next to continue.

If you have selected Server installation (Windows) or PXE Server installation or if thecomponent PXE Server is selected on a Custom installation, the PXE Server ServiceInstallation page is displayed. This page is not displayed if Decompress All is selected.

11. Choose to install only or to install and start the PXE Server service.

If you don’t want to install the license server now, select Decompress PXE Server only and installit manually later.

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12. Click Next to continue.

If you have selected Server installation (Windows) or if Server components/Components forWindows is selected on a Custom installation, the Server Folders Paths page is displayed. Thispage is not displayed if Decompress All is selected.

13. Choose between a Typical or a Custom.

Typical—The server components are decompressed onto the default folders and the serversettings are set with default folder paths:

● for volumes: \Volumes

● for CVOLs: \Cvols

● for Files: \Files

Custom—You must choose the folder paths:

● Volumes folder: \Volumes is the default location where the Images will bestored

● CVOLs folders: \Cvols is the default location where the CVOLs will becreated and stored

● Files folders: \Files is the default location where the Files will be createdand stored. The domain credentials are stored under this path.

You can browse for other paths and create other folders on your Windows system.

Running the Installer Wizard 19

14. If you have selected Server installation (Windows) or if the component Server components/Components for Windows is selected on a Custom installation, the Image Manager ServiceInstallation page is displayed. This page is not displayed if Decompress All is selected.

15. Choose to install only or to install and start the HP Image Manager Server service.

If you don’t want to install the license server now, select Decompress PXE Server only and installit manually later.

NOTE: By default, logs are redirected into the directory where the Image Manager Server(nvdd.exe) is located.

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16. If you have selected Server installation (Windows) or if the component Web Console is selectedon a Custom installation, the Web Console Installation page is displayed. This page is notdisplayed if Decompress All is selected.

17. Choose to Full install or Partial install the Web Console.

Full install requires the Windows 2003 installation disk. This option will install and configure IIS,FastCGI, and the Web console. Partial install will only decompress into the install directory allneeded files to install the web console manually.

Running the Installer Wizard 21

18. Click Next to continue. The Select Start Menu Folder page appears.

19. Accept or change the name of the Start Menu folder.

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20. Click Next to review the settings before continuing.

Running the Installer Wizard 23

21. If the settings are correct, cli