[syslinux] PXE Booting EFI

[Patrick Masotta]

> Though I'm trying to think of a DHCP option
> that wouldn't be in the
> earlier
> packets.

If I'm not wrong in the case of a single PXE provider ("DHCP Server + PXE options"
or "DHCP Server + proxyDHCP")  PxeReply and ProxyOffer should be mutually
exclusive; both structures should not be populated at the same time. 
I repeat in the case of a single PXE provider; If there are more than one 
then the case would fall under the typical PXE offer uncertainty.

 
>> Fore some
>> reason I think there might be also a bug on EFI firmware
>> code:
>> If the DHCP server provides an
>> answer with "next server" populated
>> but no file field populated nor the
>> corresponding option either that's not
>> a PxeReply then that structure should be
>> empty..
> 
> Which sounds like a
> server operator error.
>

I think more of an error in the client EFI firmware mistakenly populating
both structures PxeReply and ProxyOffer 
 
 >> Reading the standard does not say much about how/when these
 >>structures
 >> really get
 >>populated.
 >
 >If they're the on-wire frames, it's the server.  If
 >it's the packet
 >buffer in RAM, it's
 >the server.  If it's how Syslinux variants use the
 >packet buffer, that's up to the Syslinux
 >variant to (hopefully) follow
 >the standards
 >to utilize them.
 >
The problem here are who populates PxeReply and ProxyOffer 
I think this is done by the client's EFI firmware; Syslinux
reads those structures by the GNU-EFI interface,
that's why I'd like to know more about how and when those structures 
are populated but the standard doesn't say much...

Best,
Patrick
 -- 
 -Gene