Are DHCP Options the best solution for WDS PXE booting?Īccording to this TechNet article: Managing Network Boot Programs, the answer is no.Īlthough Microsoft does not recommend this method, you can use the following DHCP options to direct PXE clients to an appropriate NBP to download I had a working solution, but that comment I ran across on the TechNet site about DHCP options not being recommended was bothering me. I was able to PXE boot any client in my environment regardless of location. One more thing to keep an eye on are open ports that need to be open to the WDS server: Predefined Option 66 – IP or Hostname of the WDS Server (in our case 10.150.150.1) I have included their recommended settings below:ĭHCP Settings to deploy x86 architecture:Ĭustom-made Option 60 – String – PXEClient They posted their working solution here: WDS server and DHCP server on two different servers Their two posts: Differential Analysis – WDS & DHCP Separation & Revisit: Differential Analysis – WDS & DHCP are extremely informative, so check them out. The above recommended settings simply did not work in any configuration.Ĭredit for a working solution goes to: Jason Koppe & Ned_Schneebly Note that this only applies if DHCP is on the same server as Windows Deployment Services. You should set this to the string PXEClient. However, identifying the exact DHCP option settings that would permit cross VLAN PXE booting proved challenging.Īlthough Microsoft does not recommend this method, you can use the following DHCP options to direct PXE clients to an appropriate NBP to download: I could make one centralized change that would enable PXE booting throughout the environment. My initial reaction was that the DHCP options seemed preferable. DHCP options to direct PXE clients to an appropriate NBP to download.Configuring routers to forward broadcasts (Setting Up IP Helpers).
There turned out to be two ways of accomplishing this goal: I needed a way to enable clients to first get an IP from the DHCP server, and then be properly directed (across different VLANs) to the WDS server. DHCP servers by default will ignore the extended PXE-specific options, and routers don’t typically forward broadcast traffic. This proved problematic as PXE booting clients broadcast a DHCPDISCOVER packet extended with PXE-specific options.
Due to a multitude of factors the WDS server could not be implemented onto the existing DHCP Server, and would instead reside as an independent server on a separate VLAN. I recently embarked on a mission to implement (WDS) Windows Deployment Services into our environment.
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