The Preboot eXecution Environment (PXE, also known as Pre-Execution Environment; sometimes pronounced "pixie") is an environment to boot computers using a network interface independently of data storage devices (like hard disks) or installed operating systems.
PXE was introduced as part of the Wired for Management framework by Intel and is described in the specification (version 2.1) published by Intel and Systemsoft on September 20, 1999.[1] It makes use of several network protocols like Internet Protocol (IP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) and of concepts like Globally Unique Identifier (GUID), Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) and Universal Network Device Interface and extends the firmware of the PXE client (the computer to be bootstrapped via PXE) with a set of predefined Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).
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The firmware on the client tries to locate a PXE redirection service on the network (Proxy DHCP) in order to receive information about available PXE boot servers. After parsing the answer, the firmware will ask an appropriate boot server for the file path of a network bootstrap program (NBP), download it into the computer's random-access memory (RAM) using TFTP, possibly verify it, and finally execute it. If only one NBP is used among all PXE clients it could be specified using BOOTP without any need of a proxy DHCP, but a TFTP boot server is still required.
PXE was designed to be applicable to many system architectures. The 2.1 version of the specification assigns architecture identifiers to six system types, including IA-64 and DEC Alpha. However, the specification only completely covers IA-32. Intel included PXE in the EFI for IA-64, creating a de-facto standard with the implementation.
The PXE protocol is approximately a combination of DHCP and TFTP, albeit with subtle modifications to both. DHCP is used to locate the appropriate boot server or servers, with TFTP used to download the initial bootstrap program and additional files.
To initiate a PXE bootstrap session the PXE firmware broadcasts a DHCPDISCOVER packet extended with PXE-specific options (extended DHCPDISCOVER) to port 67/UDP (DHCP server port). The PXE options identify the firmware as capable of PXE, but they will be ignored by standard DHCP servers. If the firmware receives DHCPOFFERs from such servers, it may configure itself by requesting one of the offered configurations.
If a PXE redirection service (Proxy DHCP) receives an extended DHCPDISCOVER, it replies with an extended DHCPOFFER to the client's port 68/UDP (DHCP client port).
An extended DHCPOFFER contains mainly:
The Proxy DHCP service may also run on the same host as the standard DHCP service. Since two services cannot share port 67/UDP, the Proxy DHCP runs on port 4011/UDP and expects the extended DHCPDISCOVER packets from PXE Clients to be DHCPREQUESTs. The standard DHCP service has to send a special combination of PXE options in its DHCPOFFER, so the PXE client knows to look for a Proxy DHCP on the same host, port 4011/UDP.
To contact a PXE Boot Server the booting system must have an IP address (perhaps from a DHCP server).
It multicasts or unicasts a DHCPREQUEST packet extended with PXE-specific options (extended DHCPREQUEST) to port 4011/UDP or broadcasts it to port 67/UDP. This packet contains the PXE Boot Server type and the PXE Boot Layer, allowing multiple boot server types to run from one daemon. The extended DHCPREQUEST may be a DHCPINFORM.
A PXE Boot Server receiving an extended DHCPREQUEST configured for the requested type and client architecture responds with an extended DHCPACK including:
The booting system accepts information from only one extended DHCPOFFER.
A 2.1 version PXE Boot Server supports "Boot Integrity Services" ([2]) allowing the Client to verify downloaded NBPs using a checksum file which is downloaded from the same boot server as the NBP.
To get the file path of this credentials file another exchange of extended DHCPREQUEST and extended DHCPACK is required.
After receiving the requested extended DHCPACK, the Network Bootstrap Program is uploaded into RAM and after it is verified or if verification is not required, the NBP will be executed. It has access to the APIs of the PXE firmware extension (Pre-boot, UDP, TFTP, Universal Network Device Interface (UNDI)). Its functions or tasks are not described in the PXE specification.
The PXE Client/Server Protocol was designed so:
Additionally the PXE firmware extension was designed as an Option ROM for the IA-32 BIOS so you can make a personal computer (PC) PXE-capable by installing a NIC that provides a PXE Option ROM. Note, this procedure also applies to the newer AMD64 processor standard for PC.
The design goal of utilizing existing DHCP and TFTP servers cannot be achieved in a strictly conforming implementation. Some aspects of the PXE protocol require that the DHCP and TFTP servers be modified and communicate. One specific example is using multicast, where DHCP packets provide the multicast group information rather than an opening RFC-2090 multicast TFTP exchange. The impact of this is minimal as the most common PXE client implementation (written by Intel and provided at no cost as a linkable IA32 binary module) interoperates with a combination of isolated DHCP and unicast TFTP servers.
Specifications, RFCs and other documents about PXE:
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