Glossary

Stuck on an abbreviation? Each term is explained in one sentence here. Terms are also explained inline the first time they appear in a document.

• PXE — A mechanism that lets a computer load its operating system directly from the network at boot time; no USB drive or optical disc required
• iPXE — An enhanced open-source implementation of PXE, supporting HTTP boot, scripted logic, and more — far more capable than classic PXE
• NBP (Network Bootstrap Program) — The first boot program a client loads over the network (e.g. ipxe.pxe), responsible for kicking off the rest of the boot flow
• DHCP — The protocol that automatically assigns IP addresses and boot information to network devices
• ProxyDHCP — A source of boot information layered on top of an existing DHCP server: IPs are still assigned by the existing DHCP, while PxeLab supplies the PXE boot information
• TFTP — A simple file transfer protocol; classic PXE uses it to transfer boot files
• HTTP — The web transfer protocol; iPXE uses it to load boot files and installation images much faster
• DNS — The domain name resolution service
• NFS — A network file system that lets you use a remote directory as if it were local
• UEFI / BIOS — The two kinds of computer firmware; they determine the shape of the boot flow
• Secure Boot — A UEFI security mechanism that only allows loading signed boot programs
• Boot Menu — The list of options a client sees after booting (install an OS, boot from local disk, etc.)
• Profile (Boot Configuration) — A boot configuration bound to a specific host, defining how that machine boots
• Netboot Catalog (OS Install Catalog) — PxeLab's built-in distribution install menu, listing the operating systems that can be installed
• Answer File — A configuration file that pre-fills installer questions (preseed / kickstart / autounattend.xml), enabling unattended installation
• Arch Code (DHCP Option 93) — The DHCP option field that identifies the client's CPU architecture; PxeLab uses it to select the matching boot file
• WOL (Wake-on-LAN) — Remotely waking a powered-off machine by sending a magic packet over the network
• BMC / IPMI — A server's out-of-band management interface for remote power on/off and power status queries
• sanboot — Booting directly from an iSCSI target; the client doesn't even need a disk (diskless workstations)
• WDS — Windows Deployment Services; PxeLab supports Windows installation in WDS scenarios
• Interface & Subnet — PxeLab organizes DHCP by interface: one NIC interface can host one or more subnets, each with its own DHCP mode
• Address Pool — The IP range within a subnet that gets assigned to clients (e.g. 192.168.50.100-200)
• Lease — The IP address DHCP assigns to a client, along with its validity period
• Two-stage boot — PxeLab's boot flow: the PXE ROM first loads iPXE, then iPXE loads the boot menu — solving the limited capabilities of classic PXE
• BootType — An option type in the boot menu: direct (load kernel), chain (chain-load), sanboot (SAN boot), wds (Windows WIM), local (local disk), custom (custom script)
• ISO — The optical disc image format; PxeLab can mount ISOs for network installation
• Arch Map — The mapping from client CPU architecture to boot file; PxeLab uses it to pick the right boot file automatically
• iSCSI — A network storage protocol that makes a remote disk behave like a local one; the foundation of sanboot diskless boot