I don't know about Network installation, but I do know that our ITs used to use Symantec Ghost to eliminate the post installation configuration. One computer was configured to a "master" specification, and then the others had the entire operating system cloned.
Not that it might not be something that's being done, bu I have not seen, or heard of, anyone doing the distributed network installation, as on V4.
I don't know about an Image, but we perform network installs all of the time. I don't know about the details, but we have copied the install disks to the network, and then package it up with an install script that also includes our Environment files and some other stuff as well.
