Technical data

Configuring BOOTP
9.2 BOOTP Planning and Preconfiguration Tasks
If you configure multiple servers, each server competes to provide the
requested configuration information. For efficient use of each server, partition
the database with a subset of the overall client population designated to each
server.
• Separate directory for each client
To avoid writing over the same file name with configuration information
from multiple clients, create a separate subdirectory for each client in the
TCPIP$TFTP_ROOT directory tree.
Some BOOTP clients, such as routers and terminal servers, can store
configuration options on the BOOTP server host. In a network with two or
more of these clients, the clients can use the same file name to store the
configuration information with TFTP.
• Security needs
Identify your system’s security needs (see Section 9.2.3).
9.2.3 BOOTP Security
For security purposes, the server runs as an unprivileged image that can access
only the directories and files for which it has read access.
Compaq recommends that you safeguard your system’s normal file protection
mechanisms from unauthorized access. In particular, ensure the security of
system files.
The BOOTP server runs as the nonprivileged OpenVMS user account
TCPIP$BOOTP. When you set up BOOTP, follow these security procedures:
• Ensure that neither server has automatic access to any files.
To make files accessible to the BOOTP server, grant appropriate access to
its account. Use the normal OpenVMS file protection procedures. Enter the
DCL command DIRECTORY/SECURITY to display the current file protection
settings on a directory.
• Prevent unauthorized access to sensitive system or user data. Before you
enable BOOTP, ensure that you have set up all the necessary file protections.
• Give the TCPIP$BOOTP user account read access to the files in the
TCPIP$TFTP_ROOT: directory tree that might be used for downloading.
• Some clients first send a BOOTP request for the name of the file that they
need downloaded. On receipt, BOOTP opens the file for read access and
retrieves its size. BOOTP needs access to confirm that the file exists and to
provide the size of the file to the client in the BOOTP response.
Ensure that BOOTP has access to this file.
9.3 Configuring the BOOTP Service
To set up the BOOTP server software, run TCPIP$CONFIG (see the Compaq
TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS Installation and Configuration manual).
The procedure creates:
• BOOTP user account
• Service records in the services database
• Default directories
Configuring BOOTP 9–3