gPXE

gPXE
Developer(s)	Etherboot project
Initial release	1995, 28–29 years ago
Final release	1.0.1 / 16 August 2011; 12 years ago
Written in	Boot loader
License	GPLv2+
Website	etherboot.org

gPXE is an

HTTP, iSCSI and ATA over Ethernet (AoE), and can work with Wi-Fi

rather than requiring a wired connection.

gPXE development ceased in summer 2010,[3] and several projects are migrating^[4] or considering migrating^[5] to iPXE as a result.

PXE implementation

gPXE can be loaded by a computer in several ways:

from media like floppy disk, USB flash drive, or hard disk
as a pseudo Linux kernel
as an ELF image
from an option ROM on a network card or embedded in a system BIOS
over a network as a PXE boot image

gPXE implements its own PXE stack, using a driver corresponding to the network card, or a

UNDI driver if it was loaded by PXE itself. This allows to use a PXE stack even if the network card has no boot ROM

, by loading gPXE from a fixed medium.

Bootloader

Although its basic role was to implement a PXE stack, gPXE can be used as a full-featured network bootloader. It can fetch files from multiple network protocols,

Windows CE

images.

In addition, it is scriptable and can load COMBOOT and COM32 SYSLINUX extensions. This allows for instance to build a graphical menu for network boot.

References

^ "about — Etherboot/gPXE Wiki".
^ "Bringing PXE Boot to the 21st Century". Archived from the original on 2012-11-20.
^ ""gPXE is no longer actively maintained. Users should upgrade to iPXE."". Archived from the original on 2014-04-13. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
^ Xen ChangeLog showing migration to iPXE because "it is actively maintained"
^ KVM call minutes showing consideration of migration to iPXE
^ Google TechTalk demonstrates how to load operating systems from remote servers using gPXE
^ "Booting your machine over HTTP". Archived from the original on 2010-02-08. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
^ SliTaz web boot

External links

[1] "about — Etherboot/gPXE Wiki".

[2] "Bringing PXE Boot to the 21st Century". Archived from the original on 2012-11-20.

[Ohloh_project_page_for_gPXE-3] ""gPXE is no longer actively maintained. Users should upgrade to iPXE."". Archived from the original on 2014-04-13. Retrieved 2010-11-30.

[Xen_changelog_-_iPXE-4] Xen ChangeLog showing migration to iPXE because "it is actively maintained"

[KVM_call_minutes_-_iPXE-5] KVM call minutes showing consideration of migration to iPXE

[Google_TechTalk_-_gPXE-6] Google TechTalk demonstrates how to load operating systems from remote servers using gPXE

[Booting_your_machine_over_HTTP-7] "Booting your machine over HTTP". Archived from the original on 2010-02-08. Retrieved 2009-12-23.

[SliTaz_web_boot-8] SliTaz web boot

[1]

[2]

[4]

[5]

PXE implementation

Bootloader

See also

References

External links