A practical approach to deploying identical operating system images to dozens or hundreds of workstations in classrooms, laboratories and programming contest venues using PXE boot and multicast imaging.
FOG Project is an open-source computer imaging and deployment platform. It allows administrators to capture operating system images from a reference workstation and deploy them to multiple computers over the network.
The platform combines PXE boot, image management, task scheduling and multicast distribution to dramatically reduce the time required to prepare large computer fleets.
Workstations boot directly from the network using PXE and iPXE without requiring installation media or local preparation.
Reference systems can be captured once and redeployed repeatedly, ensuring a consistent environment for all participants.
A single image stream can be delivered simultaneously to many computers, significantly reducing deployment time and network load.
Traditional imaging sends a separate copy of an image to every workstation. When deploying to dozens of machines, the server must transmit the same data many times.
Multicast deployment sends a single stream that is received by all target systems simultaneously. This approach greatly improves scalability and makes large classroom deployments practical even on modest hardware.
Install the operating system, development tools, contest software, drivers and required configuration on a single machine.
Store the prepared system image in FOG for future deployment.
Associate the desired image and host group with automatic registration settings so newly discovered workstations can be prepared with minimal manual interaction.
Start each workstation from the network. Systems automatically register themselves in the deployment environment.
Confirm that all intended computers appear in the target group and are ready for deployment.
Start a multicast imaging task for the group. Every registered computer receives the image simultaneously.
After deployment completes, workstations reboot into an identical, pre-configured environment ready for participants.
| Challenge | Solution |
|---|---|
| Large number of computers | Simultaneous multicast deployment |
| Configuration consistency | Single golden image |
| Limited setup time | PXE-based automation |
| Software updates between rounds | Rapid image recapture and redeployment |
| Volunteer-operated venues | Simplified imaging workflow |
Modern imaging environments often integrate additional monitoring and performance validation tools to verify network throughput and deployment health during large multicast sessions.
This approach enables reliable preparation of classrooms ranging from small training laboratories to large-scale academic competitions with hundreds of participant workstations.