linux bootp tftp ethernet

[Donald Becker]

On Fri, 19 Feb 1999, Oscar Stiffelman wrote:

> Can anyone suggest an ethernet card for RedHat Linux that supports bootp
> on Intel machines?

Most cards have a boot PROM socket.
Now just try to purchase a bootp boot PROM!

> On the Compaq (Dec) Alpha machines, bootp is controlled from within the
> SRM or alpha bios.

Correct.
Alpha machines include the bootp code for a few specific models of Tulip
cards.

>  I believe that for PC's, bootp is controlled by the
> boot rom on the ethernet card and does not require any special settings
> in the bios.  

Yes.  It's also possible to put the bootp code into unused space on the
motherboard's flash BIOS.  Erik Hendriks (erik@cesdis.gsfc.nasa.gov) has
done this for our PR440FX motherboards with on-board i82557 (EEPro100B)
chips.

My 'vortex-diag' and 'eepro100-diag' programs allow writing a few types of
FlashROM directly on 3c905B and EEPro100 boards.
The leaves only locating an appropriate flash chip and finding the correct
boot PROM image...

Donald Becker					  becker@cesdis.gsfc.nasa.gov
USRA-CESDIS, Center of Excellence in Space Data and Information Sciences.
Code 930.5, Goddard Space Flight Center,  Greenbelt, MD.  20771
301-286-0882	     http://cesdis.gsfc.nasa.gov/people/becker/whoiam.html