Remote Booting a IIgs


The IIgs can remote boot over localtalk from a Mac running AppleShare File Server versions 2 or 3. There are a couple of resources online for how to do this, the two best I've found are here and here. Between the two, I managed to get my ROM01 IIgs booting successfully. Unfortunately, neither one was sufficient on its own, so I'll combine the two and document what worked for me.

Preparation

I needed 5 DSDD floppies. As noted elsewhere, don't use 1.44MB floppies and cover up the hole. It doesn't work very well and there is a *lot* of floppy swapping involved if you only have 1 drive on the IIgs.
Retrieve the IIgs System 6.0.1 software from Apple: Older Software Downloads
I required Install, SystemTools1, SystemTools2, and Fonts to be written to floppy. You'll also need a blank/scratch floppy. This need to be actually blank or in a format the IIgs can't recognize, otherwise the install will likely fail with a "not enough space" message. I formatted the blank/scratch floppy on the Mac as an 800K ProDOS disk prior to starting the process.
You'll need AppleShare File Server 2 or 3. I used version 3 so that's what this document will refer to. It is not a free download on Apple's site, and it isn't for sale from Apple anymore. Version 2 runs on System 6, version 3 runs on System 7. I'm using System 7.6.1.
Retreive the AppleShare 3.0.3 patch from Apple's site as well.
You'll also want to make sure your Mac is connected to the IIgs via LocalTalk. You can do this with a printer cable plugged into each machine's printer port, or if you've got phonenet-like adapters you can use RJ11 phone cables. Make sure the LocalTalk is plugged into the printer port (absolutely required for the IIgs).

The Mac setup

IIgs work

Back on the Mac

You should go back to AppleShare Admin and select the user you're using when booting the IIgs. Under the Startup menu, select "Set Apple II Startup Info". Set the StartupApp to Finder instead of BASIC.System.
This should cause it to boot into System 6.0.1 finder instead of a BASIC prompt.

Notes

I've found the remote boot does not work on a machine using LocalTalk Bridge with the AppleTalk control panel set to Ethernet. The serving Mac must have AppleTalk set to LocalTalk.