<s>
Network	B-Device
booting	I-Device
,	O
shortened	O
netboot	B-Device
,	O
is	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
booting	B-Operating_System
a	O
computer	O
from	O
a	O
network	B-Architecture
rather	O
than	O
a	O
local	O
drive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
method	O
of	O
booting	B-Operating_System
can	O
be	O
used	O
by	O
routers	B-Protocol
,	O
diskless	B-Device
workstations	I-Device
and	O
centrally	O
managed	O
computers	O
(	O
thin	B-Device
clients	I-Device
)	O
such	O
as	O
public	O
computers	O
at	O
libraries	O
and	O
schools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Network	B-Device
booting	I-Device
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
centralize	O
management	O
of	O
disk	O
storage	O
,	O
which	O
supporters	O
claim	O
can	O
result	O
in	O
reduced	O
capital	O
and	O
maintenance	O
costs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
cluster	B-Architecture
computing	I-Architecture
,	O
in	O
which	O
nodes	O
may	O
not	O
have	O
local	O
disks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
late	O
1980s/early	O
1990s	O
,	O
network	B-Device
boot	I-Device
was	O
used	O
to	O
save	O
the	O
expense	O
of	O
a	O
disk	O
drive	O
,	O
because	O
a	O
decently	O
sized	O
harddisk	O
would	O
still	O
cost	O
thousands	O
of	O
dollars	O
,	O
often	O
equaling	O
the	O
price	O
of	O
the	O
CPU	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Contemporary	O
desktop	B-Device
personal	I-Device
computers	I-Device
generally	O
provide	O
an	O
option	O
to	O
boot	B-Operating_System
from	O
the	O
network	B-Architecture
in	O
their	O
BIOS/UEFI	O
via	O
the	O
Preboot	B-Device
Execution	I-Device
Environment	I-Device
(	O
PXE	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Post-1998	O
PowerPC	B-Architecture
(	O
G3	B-Device
G5	B-General_Concept
)	O
Mac	B-Device
systems	O
can	O
also	O
boot	B-Operating_System
from	O
their	O
New	B-Device
World	I-Device
ROM	I-Device
firmware	O
to	O
a	O
network	B-Architecture
disk	O
via	O
NetBoot	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Old	O
personal	O
computers	O
without	O
network	B-Device
boot	I-Device
firmware	O
support	O
can	O
utilize	O
a	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
or	O
flash	O
drive	O
containing	O
software	O
to	O
boot	B-Operating_System
from	O
the	O
network	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
initial	O
software	O
to	O
be	O
run	O
is	O
loaded	O
from	O
a	O
server	B-Application
on	O
the	O
network	B-Architecture
;	O
for	O
IP	B-Protocol
networks	O
this	O
is	O
usually	O
done	O
using	O
the	O
Trivial	B-Device
File	I-Device
Transfer	I-Device
Protocol	I-Device
(	O
TFTP	B-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
server	B-Application
from	O
which	O
to	O
load	O
the	O
initial	O
software	O
is	O
usually	O
found	O
by	O
broadcasting	O
a	O
Bootstrap	B-Device
Protocol	I-Device
or	O
Dynamic	B-Protocol
Host	I-Protocol
Configuration	I-Protocol
Protocol	I-Protocol
(	O
DHCP	B-Protocol
)	O
request	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typically	O
,	O
this	O
initial	O
software	O
is	O
not	O
a	O
full	O
image	O
of	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
to	O
be	O
loaded	O
,	O
but	O
a	O
small	O
network	B-Device
boot	I-Device
manager	O
program	O
such	O
as	O
PXELINUX	B-Application
which	O
can	O
deploy	O
a	O
boot	B-Operating_System
option	O
menu	O
and	O
then	O
load	O
the	O
full	O
image	O
by	O
invoking	O
the	O
corresponding	O
second-stage	O
bootloader	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
case	O
,	O
a	O
network-booted	O
helper	O
operating	O
system	O
is	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
platform	O
to	O
execute	O
the	O
script-driven	O
,	O
unattended	O
installation	O
of	O
the	O
intended	O
operating	O
system	O
on	O
the	O
target	O
machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Implementations	O
of	O
this	O
for	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
and	O
Windows	B-Application
exist	O
as	O
NetInstall	O
and	O
Windows	B-Application
Deployment	O
Services	O
,	O
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Before	O
IP	B-Protocol
became	O
the	O
primary	O
Layer	B-Application
3	I-Application
protocol	O
,	O
Novell	O
's	O
NetWare	B-Protocol
Core	I-Protocol
Protocol	I-Protocol
(	O
NCP	O
)	O
and	O
IBM	O
's	O
Remote	B-Device
Initial	I-Device
Program	I-Device
Load	I-Device
(	O
RIPL	O
)	O
were	O
widely	O
used	O
for	O
network	B-Device
booting	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Their	O
client	B-Protocol
implementations	O
also	O
fit	O
into	O
smaller	O
ROM	B-Device
than	O
PXE	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Technically	O
network	B-Device
booting	I-Device
can	O
be	O
implemented	O
over	O
any	O
of	O
file	B-Protocol
transfer	I-Protocol
or	O
resource	B-General_Concept
sharing	I-General_Concept
protocols	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
NFS	B-Protocol
is	O
preferred	O
by	O
BSD	B-Operating_System
variants	O
.	O
</s>
