pxe cloud

PXE Cloud

PXE Cloud is a project that tries to create an easy to setup and easy to manage enviroment to boot live images and OS installers. Currently, you can boot both isos and initrd images.

Getting Started

If you are interested in using this project, check out the PXE Cloud Docker repository. There you have containers and Docker Compose definitions for both the local server (the server that is going to server the iPXE binary that is going to connect to the main server) and the main server (the server that is going to serve the API, the front-end and all the boot menus).

How it works?

There's a diagram that shows all the process:

• The red and orange path shows how the client manages the organizations, users, images, menus... through a web browser. This front-end calls the API to make changes to the DB

• The purple and green path shows the boot process:

  • The user boots through the traditional PXE
  • The PXE requests an IP address to the DHCP server
  • The DHCP server sends back an address and sends the PXE to the TFTP server
  • The TFTP server returns the iPXE binary. The client boots this binary
  • The iPXE binary requests (again) an IP adress and calls automatically the API
  • The API responds with a login menu
    • The user sends the login credentials (if they are wrong, the API returns again the login menu)
  • The API responds with a list of all the organizations that the user is in (if it's just one, it jumps to the next step)
    • The user chooses an organization
  • The API responds with a list of all the groups inside the organization selected previously that the user is in (if it's just one, it jumps to the next step)
    • The user chooses a group
  • The API responds with the menu related with the organization
    • The user chooses an image (or action)
  • The iPXE boots the option that the user has chosen

Code Structure

The code is separated in two big folders:

• api: The API folder is the folder that contains all the code related with the back-end of the project
• website: The website folder is the folder that contains all the code related with the front-end of the project

Database Diagram

The database is structurated as the following:

 USERS
+------------------------------------------+
|                                          |
|  username    PK    string                |
|  password          string                |
|  email             string                |
|  organizations     array of strings (FK) +----+
|  groups            array of strings (FK) +----+----+
|                                          |    |    |
+------------------------------------------+    |    |
                                                |    |
 ORGANIZATIONS                                  |    |
+------------------------------------------+    |    |
|                                          |    |    |
|  id          PK    string                |<---+    |
|  name              string                |         |
|  description       string                |         |
|  groups            array of strings (FK) +----+    |
|                                          |    |    |
+------------------------------------------+    |    |
                                                |    |
 GROUPS                                         |    |
+--------------------------------+              |    |
|                                |              |    |
|  id          PK    string      |<-------------+----+
|  name              string      |
|  description       string      |
|  menu              sitrng (FK) +----+
|                                |    |
+--------------------------------+    |
                                      |
 MENUS                                |
+---------------------------+         |
|                           |         |
|  id          PK    string |<--------+
|  title             string |
|  background        string |
|  entries           array  |
|     type           string |
|       "image"             |
|       "separator"         |
|   * image_id FK    string +----------------------------------------------+
|   * content        string |                                              |
+---------------------------+                                              |
* If type is image, the field content isn't going to exist and viceversa    |
                                                                           |
 IMAGE                                                                     |
+---------------------------+                                              |
|                           |                                              |
| id           PK    string |<---------------------------------------------+
| title              string |
| type               string |
|     iso                   |
|     kernel_initrd         |
| kernel_source      string |
| image_source       string |
| boot_args          array  |
|                           |
+---------------------------+

API Reference

For the API Reference, check out https://pxecloud.docs.apiary.io. The code of this API Blueprint documentation is at docs/pxecloud.apib

Questions?

In case you need help or you have a question, just open an issue and we'll be happy to help you!

Authors

• Néfix Estrada Campañá
• Jorge Pastor

License

This project is under a GNU General Public License v3.0. For more information, check LICENSE