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docs: Add laptop deployment guide (PXE + Clonezilla)#9

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sergio-gimenez wants to merge 4 commits intodevelopfrom
docs/laptop-deployment
Open

docs: Add laptop deployment guide (PXE + Clonezilla)#9
sergio-gimenez wants to merge 4 commits intodevelopfrom
docs/laptop-deployment

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@sergio-gimenez
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Summary

  • Add Chapter 2.22 (story): "We have 20 laptops and no time to set them up one by one" — introduces the problem of mass laptop provisioning and the PXE + Clonezilla solution
  • Add Chapter 3 guide: Step-by-step instructions for the full deployment pipeline (golden master → Clonezilla capture → PXE server setup → mass deploy)
  • Update Namibia case study (4.1) with real deployment details from the AUCOOP/Labdoo project (9 ThinkPads, lessons learned)
  • Update mkdocs.yml nav with new sections (new Act 6 "Equipping the Community")

Details

The Chapter 3 guide covers:

  1. Preparing a golden master image
  2. Capturing it with Clonezilla
  3. Setting up a PXE server (DHCP + TFTP + NFS + GRUB)
  4. Disabling Secure Boot on target machines
  5. Mass deploying to all machines over Ethernet
  6. Troubleshooting common issues (Secure Boot, TFTP symlinks, NFS)

Includes Mermaid diagrams, a file layout reference, and a kernel parameter table.

Status

🚧 WIP — Content is complete and functional but may benefit from:

  • Screenshots / photos of the physical deployment setup
  • Review of prose and technical accuracy
  • Testing the guide end-to-end from scratch

Add new Chapter 2.22 story section explaining the problem of deploying
multiple laptops and the PXE network boot solution. Add comprehensive
Chapter 3 guide covering golden master preparation, Clonezilla image
capture, PXE server setup (DHCP + TFTP + NFS + GRUB), and mass
deployment. Update Namibia case study with real deployment details
and lessons learned from the Labdoo project.
@sergio-gimenez sergio-gimenez requested a review from MJT-13 March 31, 2026 12:29
sergio-gimenez and others added 3 commits March 31, 2026 20:54
…t disk

- Add Phase 3: resize filesystem/partition for smaller target disks
- Replace inline ocs-sr with auto-restore.sh (auto-detect NVMe vs SATA)
- Add -icds -k1 flags for mixed disk size deployments
- Add troubleshooting entry for 'target seek ERROR'
- Fix file layout reference (remove .aa suffix assumption)
- Update Namibia case study with partition resize lesson and corrected
  PXE server reference
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2 participants