Netbooting Linux on Power uses – same as AIX – the following protocols:

• BOOTP is an IP protocol that informs a computer of its IP address and where on the network to obtain a boot image.
• The TFTP (Trivial File Transfer Protocol) is used to serve the boot image to the client.

Two basic approaches exist:

1. AIX NIM server
   • Uses a directed bootp request
   • Does not require you to know the MAC address of the network boot adapter
2. (Linux) DHCP server
   • Uses a broadcast bootp request
     • DHCP server must support BOOTP protocol
   • Requires you to know the MAC address of the network boot adapter