Also, below is a video of a setup from 2008 that quickly goes over some of the boot possibilities. For a more in depth explanation of the entire process, its history and some of the infrastructure options it and gPXE (which is a more evolved cousin) enable, see this lecture on YouTube from their developers.
In a sense, it is the secret ingredient that enables us to perform all of the above and then some. Using the “ PXElinux” NBP, it is possible to setup the server for more then just one PXE boot program for our clients. Power on –> BIOS –> Network Card’s PXE stack –> Network Boot Program (NBP) downloaded using TFTP from server to Client’s RAM –> NBP’s responsibility to perform the next step (a.k.a.
When using PXE the boot process is changed from the normal order to: but we are getting ahead of our selves lets get back to the beginning. Power on –> BIOS –> HD/CD) and do some nifty stuff starting from troubleshooting, to using a liveOS and even re-imaging the machine…. This method of booting was created way back in 1999 and as long as the computer in question is connected to the network (and supports this standard), it is possible to circumvent the normal boot procedure (I.E.
PXE (Pre eXecution Environment), affectionately pronounced Pixie (as in fairy dust), is a method of having an end computer (client) boot using only its network card.
