Deploying an OS image from a remote file server

When remote file servers are defined in the system through Admin > Network Admin > Remote File Servers, the Deploy OS Image action allows you to select From Remote File Server for the Image File field allowing you to copy the image file from the remote file server associated with each device in the network span. If a device has no such association, then it is simply skipped.

To use a remote image file, you must place the image files onto the remote file server manually or via other external means. You must ensure that there is a TFTP, FTP, and/or SCP server running on the remote file server, and that the image files must be placed in the main directory of the FTP, SCP or TFTP service.

Because the file resides remotely, the system cannot automatically determine the size of the file nor its MD5 checksum. You must provide this information manually. Most vendors supply this information when downloading images, so make note of the vendor's data at download time, or be prepared to calculate your own checksums. An MD5 checksum value is based on the file's contents, so any MD5 calculation utility or program will produce the same value when run on the same file.)

Note that the system does not automatically take an initial snapshot of the device's current OS image when you select to deploy the OS image From Remote File Server. The system cannot determine whether the current image snapshot exists on the remote file server. Therefore, for performance reasons (to avoid a snapshot for every device), the image snapshot is always skipped.

Related topics

Managing-remote-file-servers
Deploying-an-OS-image