every client just takes about 4 MB of disk space !!

And, since these clients are installed from the same base image as a machine

with a local disk, the diskless system looks just like a Debian system with a

local disk.

Further Reading and Acknowledgements

Most of the stuff in this article is mentioned in the 'diskless' package

documentation in the README.Debian file. Its an excellent README and you

should read it before you do a diskless installation.

The Diskless-root-NFS-HOWTO and the Remote-Boot Mini HOWTO are excellent

references.

Of course, during your install, you will have various glitches. So let me know

about those. I know that this is not a perfect article, but then diskless

installations aren't exactly a piece of cake :). This article isn't exactly a

step by step guide for diskless installation, but a demonstration of how one

would go about doing it, and how Debian helps you do it easier and faster.

I would also like to thank all the volunteers at Debian for this wonderful

effort, and all the people involved with Open Source Development. Also, a

special thanks to Brian May because of whom we have the diskless package in

Debian in the first place.