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Ethernet boot ROMs

ShErbO's picture

Hello,

I'm thinking of trying some thin client stuff, and I think the most suitable option for booting is to use a boot ROM.

  1. Are they available in Egypt ?? if so, where do I get them ? (Computer stores/Electronics stores??)
  2. Which cards do support them ?? I only know of the D-Link
  3. How do I program them ? (are they EEPROM or do they require a UV-programmer or what?)
  4. Do you suggest any other alternatives ??

Only alternative I can think about is using a floppy, which (IMHO) sucks because floppies are of nasty quality and are really slow (though I don't think slowness will be really a problem).

THanks alot.

Alaa's picture

boot ove the network

yes a perfect alternative exists, use etherboot or whatever they call the network boot protocol.

you'll need a dhcp server and tftp server on the network, thats all.

Alaa


"i`m feeling for the 2nd time like alice in wonderland reading el wafd"

ShErbO's picture

Sure Etherboot

Alaa I think you're missing the point here, Etherboot requires a NIC with a ROM chip, which is what I'm asking about.

Alaa's picture

nope

what I'm talking about is your nic loading a boot image over the network from a tftp server.

I'm yet to see a NIC that does not support this.

and I'm talking about something I actually used.

Alaa


"i`m feeling for the 2nd time like alice in wonderland reading el wafd"

ShErbO's picture

Sorry!

p.s while surfing I found out another alternative - flashing the boot image to the BIOS!! kinda risky and I'm not sure if there's really any advantage, just wanted to share...

Alaa's picture

boot over the network

just boot over the network, nothing is easier, there are actually two standards for that etherboot and PXE, PXE is more flexible (allows for larger images).

Alaa


"i`m feeling for the 2nd time like alice in wonderland reading el wafd"

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