Welcome to the
-EtherBoot Project
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-![Etherboot logo](-"doc/html/images/etherboot_logo.png"){kind=logo}
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-Welcome to the- |
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- EtherBoot Project
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-diff --git a/style.css b/style.css deleted file mode 100644 index 8a381f3ad..000000000 --- a/style.css +++ /dev/null @@ -1,15 +0,0 @@ -body { - background-color: #BFCBD9; - color: #000000; -} -ul.c11 {color: #0F3161; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif} -div.c10 {color: #BFCBD9; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: right} -span.c9 {color: #0F3161; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif} -a.c8 {color: #0F3161; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif} -p.c7 {color: #0F3161; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif} -h2.c6 {color: #0F3161; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif} -a.c5 {color: #FA5053; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif} -div.c4 {text-align: right} -a.c3 {color: #BFCBD9; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif} -div.c2 {color: #0F3161; font-family: Arial; font-size: 200%; text-align: left} -h2.c1 {color: #BFCBD9; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif}About EtherBoot
- -Etherboot is a software package for creating ROM -images that can download code over an Ethernet network to be -executed on an x86 computer. Many network adapters have a socket -where a ROM chip can be installed. Etherboot is code that can be -put in such a ROM. Etherboot is normally used for for booting PCs -diskless. This is useful in various situations, for example:
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- -- An X-terminal.
- -- Clusters of compute servers.
- -- Routers.
- -- Various kinds of remote servers, e.g. a tape drive server that -can be accessed with the RMT protocol.
- -- Machines doing tasks in environments unfriendly to disks.
- -- A user platform where remote partitions are mounted over the -network and you are willing to accept the lower speed compared to -disk.
- -- Maintaining software for a cluster of equally configured -workstations centrally.
-Etherboot can boot computers faster than from a disk -because there are no delays in spinning up disks, etc. A moment's -calculation will show that even with a 10Mbit Ethernet, sending a -500kB kernel will take only a couple of seconds typically. With -100Mbit Ethernet it gets even better.
- -Compared to booting from solid-state devices, e.g. -Flash disks, Etherboot has the advantage of centralising software -adminstration, the tradeoff being the dependence on a server. This -can be partly alleviated by providing redundant servers.
- -Etherboot can work with RAM disks, NFS filesystems, -or even local disks, if desired. It's a component technology and -can be combined with other technologies to do things the way you -want.
- -Etherboot is usually used to load Linux, FreeBSD or -DOS. However the protocol and boot file formats are general, so -there is no reason why it could not be used to load arbitrary -images to a PC, including other OSes.
- -Etherboot is Open Source under the GNU General Public -License Version 2 (GPL2).
- -The components needed by Etherboot are
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-- A bootstrap loader, usually in an EPROM on a network card, or -installed in the flash BIOS, but could be put anywhere in the -address space the BIOS probes in. For testing this could be put on -a floppy disk or a hard disk partition. Some configurations may -even be always run from a floppy disk (e.g. temporary testing -setups or pedagogic uses).
- -- A DHCP or bootp server, for returning an IP address and other -information when sent a MAC (Ethernet card) address.
- -- A tftp server, for sending the kernel images and other files -required in the boot process. Alternatively, Etherboot can boot -from an NFS mount.
- -- A Linux or FreeBSD kernel.
- -- Optionally, a NFS server, for providing the disk partitions -that will be mounted if Linux or FreeBSD is being booted.
- -- Optionally, a RAM disk contained in the loaded image. This can -be the initial RAM disk if desired.
- -- Software tools for building the download image, and tools for -debugging.
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