Adding network support to real mode bootloader

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melk0revshere
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Joined: Fri Mar 29, 2024 9:58 am

Adding network support to real mode bootloader

Post by melk0revshere »

Hello,
I'm currently developing a bootloader and am interested in adding network support, but I'd prefer not to use PXE. I'm a bit unclear on how to implement network booting without relying on PXE protocols. Could anyone provide guidance, share insights, or point me to useful resources on alternative methods for network booting?
Thank you!
Octocontrabass
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Joined: Mon Mar 25, 2013 7:01 pm

Re: Adding network support to real mode bootloader

Post by Octocontrabass »

If you want to boot from the network, PXE is basically your only choice. Back in the 90s there were some other options, but none of those saw widespread adoption, and they were all replaced by PXE.

If you want to boot from a disk and then connect to the network to download whatever else you need to boot, your choices are either PXE or writing drivers for every network card you want to support.
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