Diskless clients in modern ATE

For modern Automatic Test Equipment, it is not unusual to have multiple computers making up a single system. One issue with having multiple computers is the requirement for each computer to have a disk drive and associated operating system. This becomes an issue in environments that require periods processing, as each system must be cleared prior to moving from one operating state to another. This process can become even more complicated by the fact that some of the computers may be installed in places that are not readily accessible for quick turnaround. In addition, these computers require additional disk drives to support the operation in each mode. In order to reduce the complexity of periods processing, a scheme of diskless operation can be used to allow multiple computers to share a single disk drive off a master computer. This paper will describe a method to handle just such a complex scenario. In this particular instance, several computers are hosted running multiple operating systems off of one main computer's hard drive. This allows for quick and reliable periods processing to be performed while maintaining acceptable performance. With the advent of cheap Solid State Disk drives and fast intelligent managed switches, the performance of the overall system is actually not impacted much at all. Modern operating systems and tools provide the capability to implement diskless nodes in a fairly straightforward manner. While this technology is not new by any means (older ATE used Sun computers in a diskless configuration), modern technology makes this easy to implement and provides a performance close enough to a disk based system to be an effective solution. In addition, by removing the extra disks, not only is the periods processing time reduced, but the margin of error in completing the conversion is reduced to the one drive.