A method of copying an operating system image in a cluster computing environment that has virtually unlimited scale does not require the strict amounts of control over installation that current methods have, but rather causes operating system images to propagate themselves in a cluster environment, spreading from one node to the next until the entire cluster is installed. Broadcast storms and response storms during installation are avoided by employing a regulation method that automatically delays installation during busy periods. The method does not require any prior knowledge of the number of nodes in the cluster, or the cluster network configuration.