Big Book of Internet File Transfer RFCs
A collection of Internet standards documents (RFCs) on FTP and related protocols.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Big Book of Internet File Transfer RFCs
RFC 906: Bootstrap Loading using TFTP
| Network Working Group | Ross Finlayson |
Status of this Memo
It is often convenient to be able to bootstrap a computer system from a communications network. This RFC proposes the use of the IP TFTP protocol for bootstrap loading in this case.
This RFC specifies a proposed protocol for the ARPA Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements.
Introduction
Many computer systems, such as diskless workstations, are bootstrapped by loading one or more code files across a network. Unfortunately, the protocol used to load these initial files has not been standardized - numerous methods have been employed by different computer manufacturers. This can make it difficult, for example, for an installation to support several different kinds of systems on a local-area network. Each different booting mechanism that is used must be supported, for example by implementing a number of servers on one or more host machines. This is in spite of the fact that these heterogeneous systems may be able to communicate freely (all using the same protocol) once they have been booted.
We propose that TFTP (Trivial File Transfer Protocol) [6] be used as a standard protocol for bootstrap loading. This protocol is well-suited for our purpose, being based on the standard Internet Protocol (IP) [4]. It is easily implemented, both in the machines to be booted, and in bootstrap servers elsewhere on the net. (In addition, many popular operating systems already support TFTP servers.) The fact that TFTP is...
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