Specifications
ReadyBoard 800 Reference Manual 87
Appendix C LAN Boot Feature
This Appendix describes the LAN Boot feature provided by the ReadyBoard 800, which can be enabled
or disabled in the ReadyBoard 800 BIOS Setup Utility. The balance of this appendix briefly describes
how to set up LAN Boot using the PXE boot agent BIOS settings.
Introduction
LAN Boot is supported by a single Ethernet port on the ReadyBoard 800, and is based on the Preboot
Execution Environment (PXE), an open industry standard. PXE (pronounced pixie) was designed by
Intel, along with other hardware and software vendors, as part of the Wired for Management (WfM)
specification to improve management of desktop systems. This technology can also be applied to the
embedded system market place. PXE turns the ReadyBoard 800 Ethernet port into boot device when
connected over a network (LAN).
PXE boots the ReadyBoard 800 from the network (LAN) by transferring a boot image file from a server.
This image file is typically the operating system for the ReadyBoard 800, or a pre-OS agent that can
perform management tasks prior to loading the image file (OS). A management task could include
scanning the hard drive for viruses before loading the image file.
PXE is not operating system-specific, so the image file can load any OS. The most common application
of PXE (LAN Boot) is installing an OS on a brand new device (hard disk drive) that has no operating
system, (or reinstalling it when the operating system has failed or critical files have been corrupted).
Using PXE prevents the user from having to manually install all of the required software on the storage
media device, (typically a hard disk drive) including the OS, which might include a stack of installation
CD-ROMs. Installing from the network is as simple as connecting the ReadyBoard 800 to the network
and powering it on. The server can be set up to detect new devices and install software automatically,
thereby greatly simplifying the management of small to large numbers of systems attached to a network.
If the hard disk drive should crash, the network can be set up to do a hardware diagnostic check, and
once a software-related problem is detected, the server can re-install the defective software, or all the
ReadyBoard 800 software from the server. Booting from the network also guarantees a clean boot, with
no boot-time viruses or user-modified files. The boot files are stored on the PXE server, protected from
infection and user-modification.
To effectively make use of the LAN Boot feature, you need a PXE boot agent for configuration and set
up, as well as, a PXE server with PXE server components installed. Ampro has provided a third party
PXE boot agent integrated into the ReadyBoard 800 BIOS, which allows you to select the LAN Boot
feature. Once you change the BIOS settings to enable LAN Boot, you will need to exit BIOS Setup,
saving your changes, and reboot the system to enter and set the PXE Boot Agent BIOS settings. Refer to
PXE Boot Agent BIOS Setup on the next page for more setup and configuration information.
The PXE server includes specific PXE components, but Ampro does not provide the PXE server
components or the PXE server. You will need to provide your own compatible PXE server and its
related PXE components. The PXE server components include tools and utilities for such things as
setting up the network-booting environment, setting up a pre-OS environment, booting remotely,
managing the PXE client/server relationship, maintaining security, and utilities for building a boot image
to be transferred over the network. The network must have a PXE server and TFTP (Trivial File
Transfer Protocol) server. The PXE server is designed to work in conjunction with a Dynamic Host
Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server. The PXE server can be shared with the DHCP server or
installed on a different server. This makes it possible to add PXE to an existing network without
affecting the existing DHCP server or configuration. The boot image file is transferred to the client
using TFTP, and this file is then used to boot the client. Refer to these web sites for a more detailed
technical description of how PXE works, go to, http://www.pxe.ca, or for more detailed information
concerning PXE server tools, such as pre-OS agents, go to: http://www.pre-OS.com.