Re: [Etherboot-developers] pxe

[<ebi...@ln...>]

prl...@sy... writes:

> If you have a real need for PXE, that's fine, but there is a common
> misconception that "PXE" is another term for "network boot". Not so -
> if you just want Linux, PXE is just unnecessary complication.

I believe that is also the case for FreeBSD.  Though I am not
terribly fond of the way FreeBSD support is currently built.  There
is no future proofing in there.
 
> > 	im interesetd in etherboot setting the env. so that the loaded
> > program thinks it got loaded by a pxe boot-rom, actualy a minimum
> > pxe emulation is great - just open/close/udpread/uptwrite - not all
> > the jazz of wfm.
> 
> The "E" in PXE means Environment; it is an execution environment
> defined by Intel's spec. When Etherboot provides a PXE environment, it
> really will BE a PXE implementation - not an "emulation". Code really
> will have been booted by a "PXE boot-rom", namely Etherboot; it does
> not have to be written by Intel to be PXE.

Given the holes in the implementation calling it emulation is
probably a fair description.  But then again given the holes
in the PXE spec/practice we might qualify as implementing it.

> I was trying to make the point that in addition to the desirable
> feature of supporting NBPs on top of Etherboot, a PXE boot rom can
> invoke Etherboot as an NBP (and soon use UNDI - note the separate
> thread on Michael Brown's progress). Just be aware that references to
> PXE in the context of Etherboot may not be want you want.
> 
> I *believe* that the existing code for FreeBSD was designed to do
> exactly what you are describing, but it may have degraded in recent
> versions if no-one has stressed it. 

The code degraded before it made it into a production release.
There may be a point in the cvs archive where the code works though.
The core of the code looks o.k. but there are a few places where
the code is likely to still have issues.

The biggest problem is that the code depends on bsd specific headers
and will never compile under anything else.  If you could fix
that the code is more likely to be maintained.

Eric