Installing the PXE server (Windows)

Use this task to install a PXE server and the TFTP server, which are functional components required for the BMC Server Automation provisioning solution, on Microsoft Windows.

For Linux and UNIX installations, see Installing BMC Server Automation components.

Note

  • For successful provisioning, the RSCD agent must be installed on the same host computer as the PXE server. You can install the agent before or after you install the PXE server.
  • The PXE server installation task requires you to specify information about the database that you plan to use for provisioning. If you plan to set up a multidatabase provisioning environment, specify one database here in the PXE installation task, then add additional databases as described in Setting up a multiple database provisioning environment.
  • If the PXE and DHCP servers are running on separate host computers, the PXE server must be able to receive the initial DHCP packet broadcast from the target server being provisioned. If the PXE server is on a different subnet than the target server, an IP Helper address must be added to the network router to forward broadcasts from the target server to the PXE server.

Before you begin

  • To perform this installation, you must have local administrator privileges.
  • If you are installing the PXE server on Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2008, make sure that the Internet Information Server (IIS) 6 Metabase Compatibility component and the IIS 6 Metabase Management Console component are installed.
  • If you are using Windows Terminal Services or Citrix Presentation Server to install or if you are installing on Windows 2003 or 2008, you must either:
  • On 64-bit Windows systems, confirm that the <WINDIR>\SysWOW64 directory contains a copy of the chcp.com file. The installer uses this file to set the code page of standard output (stdout). You can obtain the file from a 32-bit version of Windows.

To install the PXE server

  1. Navigate to the directory containing installation files and run the installation program for the PXE server. (Installation program names follow the convention: PXEversion-platform.)
     The Choose Setup Language window opens.
  2. Select a language to use for the installation and click Next.
     The installer extracts the installation files, and the Welcome window opens.
  3. Click Next.
     The License Agreement window opens.
  4. (optional) To print the license agreement, click Print.
  5. Click Yes.
     The Customer Information window opens.
  6. Enter your name and the name of your organization, and then click Next.
     The Choose Destination Location window opens.
  7. (optional) To select a location other than the default which is C:\Program Files\BMC Software\BladeLogic\PXE, click Browse to select a location other than the default, C:\Program Files\BMC Software\BladeLogic\PXE.
  8. Click Next.
     The Network Configuration window opens.
  9. Confirm that the host name and IP address of the computer on which you are installing the PXE server are correct, and then click Next.
  10. Confirm that the host name and IP address of this computer are correct. (This information is used to configure a connection with the TFTP server and the data store.)
  11. Click Next.
     The DHCP Configuration window opens.
  12. Specify where the DHCP is located. If a DHCP server is running on:
    • The computer on which you are installing the PXE server, select Locally (On this server).

    • Another server or network device, select Externally (On another server). If the DHCP server is located on another host computer, the installation program automatically configures this server to function as a DHCP proxy. 

      Note

      You must configure the DHCP server differently, depending on whether it is installed on the same computer as the PXE server. For more information on configuring the DHCP server, see Configuring the DHCP server. BMC recommends that you install the PXE server and the DHCP server on different host computers.

  13. Click Next.
     The TFTP Root window opens.
  14. To accept the default TFTP root directory, which is C:\Program Files\BMC Software\BladeLogic\PXE\tftproot, click Next. Or, to choose another directory, click Browse.
     The TFTP server must reside on the same server as the PXE server. The TFTP server downloads the boot image during the provisioning process. The TFTP root directory is the location from which the files are read.
  15. Click Next.
     The Selected Components window opens.
  16. Review the current settings to confirm that you have specified the correct installation configuration, and then click Next.
     A progress bar indicates the progress of the installation until the Post-Configuration Options window opens.
  17. In the PXE Server Setup window, perform the appropriate action:
    • To configure the PXE and TFTP servers as part of installation -- Check Configure the PXE server. Then click Next. (For information, see Configuring the PXE and TFTP servers.)
    • To skip PXE/TFTP configuration -- Click Next. (To configure or reconfigure the servers, you can run the PXE/TFTP Server configuration tool later.)
  18. In the InstallShield Wizard Complete window, click Finish.

Where to go from here

If you have not already done so, install the RSCD agent on the same host computer as the PXE server.

 

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