Open Source network boot server for low-cost computer network learning

Abstract

Universities in developing countries must have innovative ways of educating students to anticipate higher education costs. Computer network courses require server and client computers that are not cheap in terms of hardware and software. The most vulnerable computer hardware is the Hard Disk Drive (HDD), while the very expensive operating system license cost often forces universities to keep using outdated operating systems. This study aims to build open source network boot server by using PXE, DNSMASQ, TFTP, Casper and NFS. The PXE, DNSMASQ, TFTP, Casper and NFS will work together to become Open Source Network Boot Server (OSNBS). We conducted a simulation to measure the client boot speed from the network by using five clients and two versions of the uBuntu operating system image that have the capability of being a tool for computer networking courses. In addition, the processor server and hard disk server will be further monitored and analyzed. The simulation were carried out using virtualization on a desktop computer. We found that all clients successfully booted from the network. The latest uBuntu operating system image can efficiently improve the use of server resources for the processor and hard drive. In addition, the use of open source operating systems and existing hardware have also significantly reduced IT expenditure. This finding reinforces that OSNBS is suitable for low-cost computer network learning.