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Etherboot @ O'Reilly's OSDir.com
Linux Terminal Server Project is an
open source project to create the administration tools that will make
setting up a diskless workstation easier.
Some people interested in spreading the benefits of diskless
terminals and Linux in schools have taken LTSP and created K12 LTSP, which is a
distribution based on RedHat, with additional RPMs for setting up a LTSP
server easily.
A case
study from GBdirect on deploying thin clients. Mike Banahan might be
able to make you a ROM if you are in the area and you ask nicely.
:-)
Marty Connor operates the rom-o-matic and Thinguin web sites which offer
Etherboot ROM images and information about various thin client
technology issues.
New Warewulf is a
Linux Cluster distribution that uses Etherboot as the mechanism to boot
all of the slave nodes.
Netboot is another
package for booting PCs diskless. Some of the original software provided
in the Etherboot package came from Netboot. Netboot is maintained by
Gero Kuhlmann. Netboot might be useful for network cards that are not
supported by Etherboot, but you may have to do some experimentation on
your own.
As far as I know, Etherboot is distributed by the following
distributions: SuSE, Connectiva, and Polish(ed) Linux Distribution.
Although a small complaint that I have is that some vendors have used
different version numbers from mine, creating confusion. Please tell me
if you know of any others.
RTL-EtherBootD
is a project to port the Etherboot drivers to RTLinux so that they can
be used by real-time processes.
LUI
is GPLed software from IBM for doing cluster installs. Etherboot is one
of the supported bootrom platforms.
ClusterNFS is a
version of the Universal NFS Daemon that allows clients to share the same
NFS-mounted root.
GRUB is a
project that is developing a unified bootloader and has network booting
capabilities, derived from Etherboot source.
DIET-PC is a
software kitset for building generic or special-purpose thin client
solutions from x86 hardware using Etherboot and embedded Linux.
Supported protocols include X11, RDP, and ICA. DIET-PC is similar to
NetStation but is DIY not PnP, and is aimed mostly at newer hardware
(Pentium II and later).
A
HOWTO on configuring Windows 2000 DHCP server to serve
Etherboot-based thin client distributions.
Davicom, manufacturers of
the DM9102 Ethernet controller, have contributed changes to the Tulip
driver for their controller chips. They are keen to support Open Source
software so please do try their hardware and drivers and give us
feedback and bug reports for improvement.
A HOWTO by Richard W. Kaszeta on turning older PCs
into X-Terminals
Glenn McK has written a web page on how
to netboot the Dachstein floppy based firewall distribution.
Sparcs don't use Etherboot or Netboot but here is a web page that shows
you how to make an X-terminal out of a Sparc talking to a Linux server.
A collection
of jumper settings for old network cards
A web page
about networking software for DOS and Win3.x
Jerzy Tarasiuk has written some notes about how
Novell (IPX) network boot ROMs work.
Linux Remote-Boot mini-HOWTO: Configuring Remote-Boot Workstations
with Red-Hat Linux, DOS, Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 talks about
booting from a commercial boot ROM product but a lot of the
information is useful to Etherboot and Netboot also.
A page on
creating network boot disks, mostly for DOS and Windows.
Netaudio is
a neat way of redirecting audio to another computer on the network,
especially a diskless X-terminal.
Recent versions of mtools have a floppy
daemon which gives remote access to a floppy drive.
Booting the
Bull Netstation
Serving SSH sessions
shows how to configure a (possibly diskless) Linux/Unix host so that
users can directly ssh to a remote hosts from the login prompt.
Jean Marc Lacroix
provided the source code for a filter that
translates from binary image format to Intel's HEX format. You need this
tool if the software that came with your EPROM burner does not support
raw image files.
Steve Flynn wrote a small LPR
daemon.
Not a commercial product, but Abhijit Dasgupta has a open hardware
for an EEPROM programmer that can program chips up to 28256. Download
from here.
Free schematics and Linux controller code for a Flash ROM
programmer.
The following links were kindly contributed by Alexander Foken:
Flash EEPROM Programmers:
The "c't-Flasher" programmer in German, and in English
translation. The "c't-Flasher" is a very simple ISA card (raw card w/o
components commercially available for about 13 EURO), using a well-supported,
but closed-source DOS-based software. c't-Flasher was developed by the famous
German "c't" magazine.
The "IDE Flasher" in German
only. The "IDE Flasher" is an extremly simple flash programmer connected to
any IDE bus (exclusively, can't be connected in parallel to harddisk or CDROM).
Using this simple trick, it is compatible with any computer that has an IDE
interface, no matter what bus system is used. This circuit uses exactly two
chips, two resistors and two capacitors, nothing more. Like the "c't-Flasher",
closed-source DOS-based software is used to write the EEPROM. The printed
circuit board is available raw with resistors and capacitors soldered on, as
kit, and as complete, tested device for 17 EURO to about 50 EURO.
Tips and Tricks:
"Pannenhelfer" in
German
only contributes a know-how collection for the c't-Flasher and a few
tricks.
Flash-Programmer Software:
Linux-based software for "c't-Flasher", "IDE Flasher" and a few others
is available in English.
Alexander writes: I have no relation to the links above except that I
read that pages. I'm not involved in any of those projects. I wired the
"IDE Flasher" circuit on a prototype board within 8 hours, and it simply
works. No trouble. I took the 32pin to 28pin adapter from the
"Pannenhelfer" page to put 32pin-EEPROMs into the 28pin sockets of my
network cards. And of course, the EEPROMS contain Etherboot.
Last updated 2004-10-05