I'm going to build a home server soon, I don't have many computers at home or much storage space. So when I build my home server I'd like to have PXE boot images with different linux distros and since the PXE server will end up being the storage for these images I'm hoping there is a way to add persistence to images booted over PXE so I can boot into them, change things or install stuff, shut down, and when I reboot have it where I left off. Is there a way to do this? And if yes where can I look for information to set this up?

Thanks for anything you provide.

As far as I can tell I found my answer here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DisklessUbuntuHowto

Just figured I'd post my found answer in case anyone was curious.

Normally you would need to pxe or gpxe/ipxe to a nfs/ftp/cifs or iscsi to make changes that are saved. A common way is to have a static file or group of files that are sent to the client.

I guess you could figure out a way to use some live cd image and attach casper even. Never tried that.

Let us know how it works out.

As far as I knew the link I posted did mount the FS over NFS. Is there a better way to do that?

I guess it would work like that, when I skimmed it over I thought it was a normal thin client setup where the entire image was sent. NFS is pretty common for this and other network use. Not real secure.

It's only going to be used over my LAN and maybe my WiFi. Not sure how security matters when I have very few neighbors near me and they all have their own WiFi. But the NFS mounting for boot is something I would have never picked out as a set of terms to search for if you hadn't brought it up so thanks for that, it'll help me learn more about this method and alternatives much easier.

Not sure what you are doing it considered easy. I usually suggest that a person tries Knoppix 3.8 to 5.x live cd/dvd. I think all of them have a proper working Knoppix terminal server. Knoppix is a live cd/dvd. You boot to it and start Knoppix terminal server. It is a collection of scripts and apps that do everything you need to make a pxe server. Then you go to a client computer and hopefully boot pxe to a knoppix or even FreeNX of host. It is a good way to see what is going on and play with but there are thousands of web pages on how to do what you want. Each seems to be a bit different and has options.

Some suggest things like Edubuntu or even K212 (I forget name) that is a thin client setup.

The page you posted looks good to try. Let us know how it goes. Again, I'd think this is not newbie stuff so don't worry if it fails first time. If you get it right then good job!

If this was newbie stuff I'd be able to do it. I'm doing this for two reasons, to learn and to make up for my lack of computers. At the moment I do not have my home server box as I need to save up more to make it. I plan on trying it a few times in a VM before I try it in a live environment anyway. I'll be glad to post about how it works as I get around to testing it.