pxe-server/SETUP.md

PXE Server Setup Guide

Automated build process for deploying an Ubuntu-based PXE boot server that hosts GE Aerospace Windows PE images. The entire setup is air-gapped — no internet required on the target machine.

Architecture

Client PXE boot
  -> Broadcom signed iPXE (Secure Boot)
  -> iPXE boot menu (HTTP, port 4433)
     ├── Windows PE -> wimboot -> boot.wim -> startnet.cmd -> Samba -> Image deployment
     ├── Clonezilla -> vmlinuz/initrd -> Disk cloning/imaging
     ├── Blancco    -> vmlinuz/initrd -> NIST 800-88 drive erasure (auto-reports)
     └── Memtest86+ -> Memory diagnostics

Services on the PXE Server

Service	Port	Purpose
dnsmasq	67/udp	DHCP (10.9.100.10-100)
dnsmasq	69/udp	TFTP (serves ipxe.efi)
Apache	80/tcp	HTTP (wimboot, WinPE boot files, proxy)
Apache	4433/tcp	iPXE boot script (GetPxeScript.aspx)
Samba	445/tcp	Deployment content + backup + reports
Flask Webapp	9009/tcp	Web management interface

Prerequisites

Hardware

• Server or PC with >= 8 GB RAM, >= 250 GB disk, one wired NIC
• USB thumb drive >= 8 GB (32+ GB if bundling WinPE images)

Software (on your workstation)

• Ubuntu Server 24.04 ISO — https://ubuntu.com/download/server
• Linux workstation (Ubuntu/Mint) for running download and build scripts
• GE Aerospace Media Creator LITE (for caching WinPE images)

GE Access Packages

• EPM Rufus Exception Request
• EPM DT Functions
• DLP - Encrypted Removable (USB) Long Term Access

Setup Process

Step 1: Download Offline Packages (one-time, requires internet)

./download-packages.sh

Downloads all .deb packages (ansible, dnsmasq, apache2, samba, wimtools, etc.) into offline-packages/ and Python wheels (flask, lxml) into pip-wheels/. Approximately 252 packages (~140 MB) + 8 Python wheels.

Packages included:

• Server: dnsmasq, apache2, samba, ufw, cron
• Automation: ansible
• Tools: wimtools, unzip, p7zip-full
• Python: python3-pip, python3-venv
• Network: network-manager, wpasupplicant, wireless-tools, linux-firmware

Step 2: Prepare Boot Tools (optional)

./prepare-boot-tools.sh /path/to/blancco.iso /path/to/clonezilla.zip /path/to/memtest.bin

Extracts boot files for Blancco, Clonezilla, and Memtest86+ into the boot-tools/ directory. Automatically patches Blancco's config.img to auto-save erasure reports to the PXE server's Samba share.

Step 3: Build the USB

# Basic — server only (import WinPE images later)
sudo ./build-usb.sh /dev/sdX /path/to/ubuntu-24.04-live-server-amd64.iso

# With WinPE images bundled (single USB, larger drive needed)
sudo ./build-usb.sh /dev/sdX /path/to/ubuntu-24.04.iso /path/to/winpe-images

This creates a bootable USB with:

• Partition 1: Ubuntu Server installer
• Partition 2: CIDATA (autoinstall config, offline .debs, pip wheels, Ansible playbook, webapp, boot tools)

Step 4: Boot the Target Machine

1. Insert the USB into the target machine
2. Press F12 (or vendor boot key) and select the USB
3. Ubuntu auto-installs — no interaction needed
4. After reboot, the first-boot script installs all .deb packages and runs the Ansible playbook
5. PXE services (dnsmasq, Apache, Samba) are configured automatically
6. Flask webapp starts on port 9009

Step 5: Connect to Isolated Network

Move the server's wired NIC to the isolated switch for PXE clients.

Step 6: Import WinPE Content (if not bundled in Step 3)

Option A: Use the web interface at http://10.9.100.1:9009 to import from USB.

Option B: Manual copy:

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/usb2
sudo mount /dev/sdb2 /mnt/usb2
sudo cp -r /mnt/usb2/. /srv/samba/winpeapps/gea-standard
sudo umount /mnt/usb2

Web Management Interface

Access at http://10.9.100.1:9009 from any machine on the isolated network.

Page	URL Path	Purpose
Dashboard	/	Service status, disk usage, DHCP clients
Image Import	/import	Import WinPE images from USB drives
Unattend Editor	/unattend	Edit Windows unattend.xml per image type
startnet.cmd	/startnet	Edit startnet.cmd inside boot.wim (wimtools)
Clonezilla Backups	/backups	Upload/download/manage disk backup images
Blancco Reports	/reports	View/download drive erasure reports
Audit Log	/audit	Activity history for all write operations

Verification

1. Connect a test workstation to the isolated switch
2. Set Network Boot (PXE) as first boot in BIOS/UEFI
3. Boot — the client should pull an IP from 10.9.100.x
4. iPXE loads, fetches the boot script from port 4433
5. Select an option from the boot menu:
   • Windows PE: Boots via wimboot + boot.wim, maps Samba shares, begins deployment
   • Clonezilla: Boots Clonezilla Live for disk imaging
   • Blancco: Boots Drive Eraser, auto-saves reports to server
   • Memtest86+: Runs memory diagnostics

Testing with KVM

# Download Ubuntu ISO
wget -O ~/Downloads/ubuntu-24.04.3-live-server-amd64.iso \
  https://releases.ubuntu.com/noble/ubuntu-24.04.3-live-server-amd64.iso

# Launch test VM
sudo ./test-vm.sh ~/Downloads/ubuntu-24.04.3-live-server-amd64.iso

# Watch progress (Ctrl+] to detach)
sudo virsh console pxe-test

# After install: ssh pxe@10.9.100.1 / http://10.9.100.1:9009

# Clean up
sudo ./test-vm.sh --destroy

Project Structure

pxe-server/
├── autoinstall/
│   ├── user-data                 # Cloud-init autoinstall + first-boot script
│   └── meta-data                 # Cloud-init metadata (required, empty)
├── playbook/
│   ├── pxe_server_setup.yml      # Ansible: dnsmasq, Apache, Samba, iPXE, UFW, webapp
│   └── inventory.ini             # Ansible inventory
├── webapp/
│   ├── app.py                    # Flask application
│   ├── requirements.txt          # Python deps (flask, lxml)
│   ├── static/                   # CSS, JS, fonts, logo (all bundled offline)
│   └── templates/                # Jinja2 HTML templates
├── unattend/
│   └── FlatUnattendW10.xml       # Windows unattend.xml template
├── boot-tools/                   # Extracted boot files (gitignored, built by prepare-boot-tools.sh)
│   ├── blancco/                  # Blancco Drive Eraser
│   ├── clonezilla/               # Clonezilla Live
│   └── memtest/                  # Memtest86+
├── offline-packages/             # .deb files (gitignored, built by download-packages.sh)
├── pip-wheels/                   # Python wheels (gitignored, built by download-packages.sh)
├── download-packages.sh          # Downloads all offline packages
├── build-usb.sh                  # Builds the 2-partition installer USB
├── prepare-boot-tools.sh         # Extracts/patches boot tools from ISOs
├── test-vm.sh                    # KVM test environment
├── README.md                     # Project overview
└── setup-guide-original.txt      # Original manual setup notes (reference)

Image Types

Image Type	Domain	Description
gea-standard	geaerospace.com	Standard desktop
gea-engineer	geaerospace.com	Engineering desktop
gea-shopfloor	geaerospace.com	Shop floor kiosk
ge-standard	ge.com	Standard desktop
ge-engineer	ge.com	Engineering desktop
ge-shopfloor-lockdown	ge.com	Shop floor (locked)
ge-shopfloor-mce	ge.com	Shop floor (MCE)

Network Configuration

• PXE server static IP: 10.9.100.1/24
• DHCP range: 10.9.100.10 - 10.9.100.100
• Lease time: 12 hours
• DNS: 8.8.8.8 (passed to clients, not used by server)
• Firewall: UFW deny-by-default, allow 67/udp 69/udp 80/tcp 445/tcp 4433/tcp 9009/tcp

Samba Shares

Share	Path	Purpose
winpeapps	/srv/samba/winpeapps	WinPE deployment images
clonezilla	/srv/samba/clonezilla	Clonezilla disk backup images
blancco-reports	/srv/samba/blancco-reports	Blancco erasure reports (auto)

All shares use guest access for the isolated network.