Network Boot Services

Network Boot Services (NBS) provides startup control for devices that support the Pre-Boot eXecution Environment (PXE). NBS responds to PXE network boot requests from devices and then directs the devices to boot using the Deployment Agent, the operating system on the hard disk, or a virtual floppy disk. It can also direct devices to ignore the boot request.

NBS is made up of three services: the ADS PXE service, the Deployment Agent Builder service, and the TFTPD service. The ADS PXE service answers PXE requests from devices on the network, and then queries the Controller for device boot instructions. The Deployment Agent Builder service creates Deployment Agent images that are customized to the hardware on a device. The TFTPD service transfers the Startnbs network boot program, virtual floppy disk images, and Deployment Agent images to devices.

With a virtual floppy disk, which contains MS-DOS-based utilities, you can perform hardware or firmware tasks such as upgrading a device's basic input/output system (BIOS).

This section provides general background information about Network Boot Services:

• Network Boot Services overview
• Deployment Agent Builder service
• Deployment Agent overview
• Configuring the Deployment Agent Builder service
• PXE boot instructions overview
• Installing DHCP and PXE on the same server
• Network Boot Services registry settings
• Network Boot Services performance counters
• Virtual floppy disk overview