Specifications

Figure 6‑1. Overview of PXE Boot Installation Process
DHCP server
DHCP server
Web server
ESXi target host
ESXi host
Give me an IP
for the virtual
network adapter
UDP
IP & TFTP server
kernel
IP
TCP for gPXELINUX
UDP for PXELINUX
UDP
Give me
the kernel
Give me an IP
for the kernel
TFTP server
gpxelinux.0 or pxelinux.0
UDP
Give me the
network boot loader
scripts depot
Installer
starts
ks.cfg
TCP
Give me an
installation script
Sample DHCP Configuration
To PXE boot the ESXi installer, the DHCP server must send the address of the TFTP server and a pointer to
the pxelinux.0 or gpxelinux.0 directory.
The DHCP server is used by the target machine to obtain an IP address. The DHCP server must be able to
determine whether the target machine is allowed to boot and the location of the PXELINUX binary (which
usually resides on a TFTP server). When the target machine first boots, it broadcasts a packet across the
network requesting this information to boot itself. The DHCP server responds.
CAUTION Do not set up a new DHCP server if your network already has one. If multiple DHCP servers
respond to DHCP requests, machines can obtain incorrect or conflicting IP addresses, or can fail to receive
the proper boot information. Talk to a network administrator before setting up a DHCP server. For support
on configuring DHCP, contact your DHCP server vendor.
Many DHCP servers can PXE boot hosts. If you are using a version of DHCP for Microsoft Windows, see the
DHCP server documentation to determine how to pass the next-server and filename arguments to the
target machine.
Chapter 6 Upgrading and Migrating Your Hosts
VMware, Inc. 93