Create and deploy network disk images in System Image Utility on Mac
To create a NetBoot, NetInstall, or NetRestore network image, you must have valid macOS image sources or volumes and be logged in as an administrator. If you download the Install macOS app from the Mac App Store, a valid macOS image source appears in the source pop-up menu.
Important: You must have a valid macOS license for each Mac that starts from a NetBoot, NetInstall, or NetRestore network image. You must also have all the necessary license agreements to install apps, books, and fonts on multiple Mac computers.
Open System Image Utility for me
You can’t create a network image of the startup disk the Mac is currently using or from a volume over the network. You must start up from a volume other than the one you want to use as the image source. For example, you could start up from an external storage device or a second volume on the Mac computer’s internal storage device.
You can also build a workflow to create a NetBoot, NetInstall, or NetRestore network image that permits advanced customization of your images. See Build a custom workflow.
If you create a NetRestore network image of a macOS volume, you can use it to restore Mac computers over an Ethernet network using the NetInstall service. When you create a NetRestore network image, you are creating a clone of a volume.
To create an image, choose an image source from the source pop-up menu, then follow the steps in the task for the type of image you’re creating. If you have no image sources, mount a valid macOS image or bootable volume.
Deploy images
After you create images, you can deploy them over an Ethernet network using the NetInstall service in the Server app.
You can also provide copies of the same network image on multiple instances of the Server app running NetInstall service. This distributes the load when many identical computers require the image at the same time.
Tip: NetInstall service in the Server app can use NetBoot, NetInstall, and NetRestore images along with a macOS enrollment profile to provide a personalized work environment for each user. For more information on profiles, see About profiles and payloads in Profile Manager Help.