Syslinux - Mar 2009 - Booting a complete CD iso image via PXE: SystemRescueCD

I couldn't find this information in the mailing list archive, so I
thought I mention if it someone else runs into the same problem.

While some mails in the archive point out that it is not possible to
just take a CD iso image and boot it over PXE, it *is* possible to
boot over PXE and the download the rest of the image into RAM over
ethernet. SystemRescueCD (http://www.sysresccd.org/Main_Page) is a CD
image that does exactly that. Moreover, one can just boot the CD on
one computer and then setup that computer as PXE boot-server with a
simple script. A second computer (without CD, but connected to the
first computer) can then boot over PXE from the first computer into
exactly the same image that is on the CD, if there's enough RAM.

The CD image contains among other things programs to access, repair and
backup the harddisk, which was exactly what I needed in my case.

- Dirk

Dirk Thierbach wrote:
> 
> While some mails in the archive point out that it is not possible to
> just take a CD iso image and boot it over PXE, it *is* possible to
> boot over PXE and the download the rest of the image into RAM over
> ethernet. SystemRescueCD (http://www.sysresccd.org/Main_Page) is a CD
> image that does exactly that. Moreover, one can just boot the CD on
> one computer and then setup that computer as PXE boot-server with a
> simple script. A second computer (without CD, but connected to the
> first computer) can then boot over PXE from the first computer into
> exactly the same image that is on the CD, if there's enough RAM.
> 
It's not possible *IN GENERAL*.  A distro can easily make itself
PXE-bootable, of course.

	-hpa

-- 
H. Peter Anvin, Intel Open Source Technology Center
I work for Intel.  I don't speak on their behalf.