What is network booting?

Network booting means that your PCs or client devices can boot over a LAN using files located on a network server. To perform a network boot, the client PCs must contain appropriate firmware (boot ROM) and a server must be running network boot services. When the client PC is powered on, a boot image file is downloaded from the server into the PC's memory and executed. This boot image file can contain the operating system for the PC or a pre-OS agent that performs client management tasks. When booting a full OS over iSCSI, the boot image file contains an iSCSI driver.

Reduces Total Cost of Ownership
Network booting can be another weapon in the IT manager's arsenal to help reduce the Total Cost of Ownership associated with managing today's client PCs. For example, with network booting you can automate PC/client device maintenance tasks such as application and OS deployment onto new PCs, virus scanning, and critical file backup and recovery. You can also boot diskless systems such as thin clients, POS devices and embedded systems.

Network Boot Standards
The Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) specification (part of the Intel Wired for Management initiative) has become the standard definition of protocols and interfaces required for network booting. emBoot's networking booting products comply with the PXE specification.