Specifications

152 Chapter 6. Managing the Router
TFTPD rootdirectory
The TFTPD operational parameters are kept in file ROUTER.INI in the form:
rootdir=rootdirectory
retries=maxtries
timeout=timeout
TFTPD is automatically called by BootP and Configuration Manager.
BootP Service
This section first discusses what BootP is and then describes the BootP service available from the router.
BootP Concepts
BootP refers to the Bootstrap Protocol. In general, BootP requests have these purposes:
¥ To obtain an IP address to use.
¥ To obtain a TFTP server address and file information to continue the booting up process.
For example, a diskless workstation could use a BootP request to get an IP address for itself, the TFTP server
address where it is to get the kernel it is to load and run, and the file name of that kernel.
A BootP server waits for incoming BootP broadcasts from BootP clients. The server looks up the MAC addresses
of the incoming BootP request in its database. If the MAC address is found, the server normally responds to the
requestor with an IP address. It may also respond with boot information, that is, the IP address of a TFTP server,
and the name of a file.
BootP Service by the DHCP Server
BootP is a subset of DHCP. The router has a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server (as described
in detail on page 82
). By default, the DHCP server ignores BootP requests. However, if desired, you can enable
the DHCP server in the router to process BootP requests. BootP processing can be enabled globally, on a per
subnetwork basis, or on a per client (IP address) basis. For more information, see Managing BootP, on page 87.
If the DHCP server in the router is disabled, it, of course, cannot process BootP requests even if BootP processing
is enabled. The DHCP server in the router disables itself if one of the following occurs:
¥ If another DHCP server is active on the network.
¥ If you enter the commands dhcp disable all and save.
¥ If the DHCP relay list contains one or more IP addresses.