Technical data

9
Configuring BOOTP
The Bootstrap Protocol (BOOTP) server answers network bootstrap requests
from diskless workstations and other network devices such as routers, terminal
servers, and network switching equipment. When it receives such a request, the
BOOTP server looks up the client’s address in the BOOTP database file.
The Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) handles the file transfer from a TFTP
server to a diskless client or other remote system. The client initiates the file
transfer. TFTP is described in Chapter 10.
Because BOOTP is a subset of DHCP, you cannot enable both BOOTP and DHCP
on the same host.
This chapter reviews key concepts and describes:
• How to plan for configuring BOOTP (Section 9.2)
• How to configure the BOOTP service (Section 9.3)
• How to manage the BOOTP service (Section 9.4)
• Create the BOOTP database and populate it with client entries (Section 9.5)
• Solve BOOTP problems (Section 9.6)
9.1 Key Concepts
The BOOTP server answers client requests for diskless client configuration by
sending address and file name information to the client. When the client receives
this information from the BOOTP server, it initiates a file transfer using the
TFTP protocol.
Performing a network bootstrap consists of the following steps for the BOOTP
server:
1. The BOOTP server receives a configuration request from a client. A broadcast
request goes out to all potential servers on the subnetwork or is directed to a
predetermined known server address.
2. The BOOTP server reads information in the BOOTP database to get
information about the client. The identity of the client is based on the
network hardware address contained in the request.
3. BOOTP identifies the network client.
4. BOOTP constructs a response that contains all of the information in the
BOOTP database for that client. The client information in the database
includes:
• Client’s IP address
• Client’s host name (usually)
Configuring BOOTP 9–1