Configuring the PXE Server

When provisioning some types of servers, you must set up a PXE server, which provides instructions for downloading the bootstrap program required to begin the provisioning process. Use this procedure to provide various parameters required to run a PXE server.

1. Start the Application Server Administration console and specify the PXE server deployment (_pxe). Enter:
   blasadmin -s _pxe
2. Identify the type of Ethernet interface that the PXE server uses to listen by entering the following:
   set pxeserver interface_to_bind <interfaceName>
   where <interfaceName> is the type of Ethernet interface. For example, you might enter the name of a network interface card, such as eth0 or eth1.
3. Identify the address of the TFTP server by entering the following:
   set pxeserver default_address <TFTP_address>
   where <TFTP_address> is the IP address of the TFTP server. Servers being provisioned download bootstrap programs from a TFTP server.
4. Identify the IP address of the multicast group that the PXE server listens on by entering the following:
   set pxeserver multicast_address <address>
   where <address> is an IP address. By default, a BMC Server Automation PXE server listens on the multicast address of 224.0.1.2. Multicast addresses must fall in the range 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255.
5. Identify the IP address of a multicast TFTP server by entering the following:
   set pxeserver mtftp_address <MTFTP_address>
   where <MTFTP_address> is the multicast address that the TFTP listens on.
6. Identify the multicast port that PXE clients use to communicate with the TFTP server by entering the following:
   set pxeserver mtftp_client_port <port>
   where <port> is the multicast port that servers being provisioned use to communicate with the TFTP server. By default BMC Server Automation uses port 1758.
7. Identify the port that the TFTP server use to listen for traffic from PXE clients by entering the following:
   set pxeserver mtftp_server_port <port>
   where <port> is the multicast port. By default, BMC Server Automation uses port 1759.
8. Identify the PXE server's listening port by entering the following:
   set pxeserver listen_port <port>
   where <port> is the port on which the PXE server listens for connections from PXE clients.
9. Specify whether the PXE server uses a multicast by entering the following:
   set pxeserver is_use_multicast #
   where # can be one of the following:
   • 0 — PXE server cannot use a multicast.
   • 1 — PXE server can use a multicast.
10. Specify whether the PXE server can use a broadcast by entering the following:
    set pxeserver is_use_broadcast #
    where # can be one of the following:
    • 0 — PXE server cannot use a broadcast.
    • 1 — PXE server can use a broadcast.
11. Specify the amount of time the boot prompt displays before the boot process begins by entering the following:
    set pxeserver prompt_timeout #
    where # is the maximum amount of time the boot prompt can appear. If you enter 0, the boot prompt does not appear.
12. Identify the base directory on the TFTP server where operating system bootstrap programs are stored. Enter:
    set pxeserver tftpd_base_dir <directory>
    where <directory> is the base directory on the TFTP server for storing bootstrap programs.
13. Identify the PXE server domain by entering the following:
    set pxeserver domain <domain_name>
    where <domain_name> is the name of the PXE server's domain.
14. Restart the PXE server.