Remotely Install Linux, Windows and Solaris on Servers, Blades, Virtual Machines and Workstations
Back up and Restore Windows and Linux systems from Bare Metal!
Easy to use with Browser Interface and API!
What is LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning?
LinMin is software that lets you remotely and natively install Linux, Windows and Solaris operating systems and applications onto servers, blades, PCs, appliances and virtual machines. It can install (not just "image") Red Hat, Novell, CentOS, Ubuntu, Fedora, OpenSUSE, Asianux, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Solaris. As a separate feature, LinMin can also do bare metal imaging (capture and restore entire disks without the native OS running) to help with disaster recovery and to give you flexibility in reducing energy consumption. A good way to learn more is to read what leading technology editors and journalists are saying about LinMin.
Why would I be interested in LinMin?
If you have only a handful of systems, then LinMin probably isn't for you. However, if you find yourself frequently deploying new systems or repurposing others, and you find that it takes too much of your personal (and elapsed) time, or that sometimes mistakes just happen, then LBMP can really help you out. Take it for a free test drive!
How does LinMin work?
First, you install LBMP on one of your systems. Then you upload all your Linux and Windows DVDs and CDs. Finally, you create "System Roles" that you find yourself installing from DVD/CDs and configuring by hand. You can set them up for casual or volume deployments ("On the Fly" provisioning) or for pinpoint accuracy ("Fire and Forget" provisioning). Here is what a typical environment looks like (click each image once to enlarge, and a second time to make crisper)
 On the Fly Provisioning |
 Fire and Forget Provisioning |
 Disk Imaging |
Can you give me some examples of "System Roles"?
Sure... Examples would be "Red Hat Enterprise Server 5 with JBoss", "Novell SLES 10 with SAP", "Microsoft Windows 2003 Server", "CentOS 5 Web Hosting Server", "Ubuntu classroom desktop", and so on. Click on each of these "On the Fly" System Roles to see how simple it is to create them:
 Novell SLES 10 SP1 System Role |
 Windows 2003 Server System Role |
 Client-Side Menu: just press a key to provision! |
And what about "Fire and Forget" Provisioning?
First, create one or more templates (with the OS and applications you want to install), then assign each template to one or more systems, with unique MAC address, host name, nickname, password, network settings and so on:
 First, create Role Templates |
 Next, assign Templates to one or more system |
 Here's a ready-to-deploy "Fire and Forget" Role |
And what about Bare Metal Imaging?
Disk imaging is performed on systems that are powered down, then powered back up. Before the OS on the local hard disk boots the system, LinMin installs RAM-resident software that captures all disk contents and stores them on the network, or restores a system from bare metal to a prior known-good state. The reason why this approach is very good is because all applications, services and databases are closed, ensuring maximum integrity. But it's not for every system, because it requires that the system be unavailable during the backup. Overall, it's a great complement to traditional backup and restore software which perform daily backups of selected files.
Sounds very interesting! Where do I go from here?
Very good! First, make sure that in our list of over 50 operating system and architecture combinations, we provision the systems you use, then go to our online store to purchase.
And if you're still not sure, download a free trial version and try LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning for yourself!
