Intel(R) Boot Agent Release Notes June 29, 2006 ====================================================================== DISCLAIMER: ----------- This BOOTAGNT.TXT as well as the software described in it is furnished under license and may only be used or copied in accordance with the terms of the license. The information in this manual is furnished for informational use only, is subject to change without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by Intel Corporation. Intel Corporation assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this document or any software that may be provided in association with this document. Except as permitted by such license, no part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the express written consent of Intel Corporation. Introduction ------------ The Intel Boot Agent is a software product that allows your networked client computer to boot using a program code image supplied by a remote server. PC vendors can implement the Intel Boot Agent to accommodate various environments and protocols.  Implementation support for the Boot Agent includes: - Multi-protocol boot ROM (Read Only Memory) code designed for remote booting from Fast Ethernet, Gigabit and 10-Gigabit Ethernet Adapters, as well as LAN on Motherboard (LOM) implementations - Complies with the Pre-boot eXecution Environment (PXE) Version 2.1. - Some versions of the Boot Agent also include support for the Remote Program Load (RPL) bootstrap protocol Some important features offered by the Intel Boot Agent are: - Same user interface for all supported adapters - Compliant with the Wired for Management Baseline 2.0 (WfM 2.0) specification - Compatible with legacy boot agent environments that use the BOOTP protocol - Customizable in pre-boot, Windows*, and DOS environments For more detailed information, refer to the Intel Boot Agent online user's guide. Installing the Boot Agent Software ---------------------------------- Most Intel WfM-compatible adapters, such as the Intel PRO/100 S Desktop Adapter or the Intel PRO/1000 T Desktop Adapter, have a factory-installed, integrated flash ROM device that has been pre-programmed with a Boot Agent software image. However, you may still wish to configure the Boot Agent Software. To do so, see the Intel Boot Agent online user guide. NOTE: The Intel PRO/1000 XT Server Adapter flash ROM can be enabled if needed using the IBAUTIL utility. In the event that you wish to install flash ROM in an adapter that has an empty socket (Intel PRO/100 adapters only), access the list of compatible flash ROM devices that are compatible with the Intel Boot Agent from Intel's support website as follows: 1. Access Intel Customer Support's website at http://support.intel.com. 2. Click the Search button. 3. Enter Boot Agent as your search string, and indicate that you want to search through all types of documents. 4. Click "Intel Boot Agent - Top Technical Issues" to select the Boot Agent Home page. 5. Click "How do I get a Boot ROM for the Intel PRO/100B or PRO/100+ adapters that only come with a socket?" In cases involving hardware upgrades, once a flash ROM device is available within the client computer, a valid Boot Agent software image must be installed onto the flash ROM device. The way in which the Boot Agent software image is installed within the flash ROM depends upon your hardware configuration. - If your computer includes the network adapter on its motherboard, the Boot Agent software will need to be available as part of a motherboard BIOS. Contact your computer or motherboard manufacturer to upgrade your motherboard BIOS code. Alternatively, it is possible that the motherboard has a ROM socket with a 64 KB (or larger) flash ROM device. In this case, contact the motherboard manufacturer to get the code that must be loaded into the flash ROM. - If your computer uses a flash ROM-equipped adapter, use one of the following procedures to install or update the Boot Agent software: - Installing/Updating the Boot Agent in DOS Environments - Updating the Boot Agent in Windows Environments Installing/Updating the Boot Agent in DOS Environments ------------------------------------------------------ Perform the following steps to install the Boot Agent software in a DOS environment: 1. The following operation requires use of a DOS-bootable floppy disk containing a copy of the IBAUTIL.EXE utility. If you do not have IBAUTIL.EXE on your DOS bootable floppy disk, copy it to your system disk from the CD ROM that came with your product under the \APPS\BOOTAGNT directory, or acquire the most up-to-date version from Intel's website at http://support.intel.com. 2. Using your DOS bootable floppy disk, boot your computer to a DOS prompt. CAUTION: The update process requires that your computer be booted only to DOS, and not run from a Windows "DOS box". Updating cannot be performed from a DOS Command Prompt window or using a DOS task within Windows. NOTE: If the flash ROM device installed in the adapter ROM socket is already programmed (not blank), you may need to take steps to enable your computer to boot from the floppy drive. If necessary, disable the network boot function from either the BIOS Setup program or the Boot Agent's configuration setup menu. Then, reboot to the DOS bootable floppy disk containing the IBAUTIL utility that you just prepared. 3. Run the IBAUTIL utility. If you have a single adapter in your system, type IBAUTIL -UP and press Enter to select the NIC for updating. If you have multiple adapters in your system, type IBAUTIL and press Enter. A display similar to the following appears, showing a list of all compatible network adapters found in your system. INTEL (R) BOOT Agent utility. IBAUTIL VERSION vx.xx.XX.XX Copyright (C) 2002 - 2006 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. NIC Network Address Series WOL Boot ROM Type Version === ================= ====== === ============= ======= 1 00D0B7D36018 Gigabit Yes PXE/RPL 1.2.31 2 000347003E35 10/100 Yes RPL 4.1.19   ERROR: No NIC selected Select the NIC you want to update by typing IBAUTIL -UP -NIC=x and pressing Enter. The value x selects the NIC from the displayed list. In this example, valid values for x are 1 or 2. Alternatively, the parameter -ALL can be used to select all supported adapters. 4. For each adapter selected above, IBAUTIL offers to create an optional restore image containing the current contents of the flash. This image can later be programmed back into the adapter if necessary. Type Y to create the image or N to skip making the backup. If you select to make the backup file, it will be created in the current directory with a name of the form 8086XXXX.IBA, where XXXX is the PCI device ID of the selected adapter. If the file already exists, you will be prompted whether or not to overwrite the file with the new backup image. If you choose not to overwrite the file, the update is cancelled. If you choose not to make a backup image, IBAUTIL will ask you to confirm your choice to proceed. Again, type Y to continue without making a backup image or N to cancel the update. 5. The new Boot Agent image is then written into the flash ROM device on each selected adapter. The process may take up to one minute. While the flash is being programmed, a message similar to the following is displayed, along with a progress indicator: Programming FLASH on NIC XX with the following images: RPL | PXE 6. The updated flash image will be available for use after you reboot the system. See IBAUTIL.TXT for additional information on the IBAUTIL program. Updating the Boot Agent in Windows Environments ----------------------------------------------- For instructions on updating the Boot Agent in a Windows environment, refer to the online Intel Boot Agent User's Guide. Configuration Setup ------------------- The Intel Boot Agent software provides configuration options that allow you to customize the behavior of the Boot Agent software. Changing the Boot Agent configuration will usually be required only the first time you add a new network adapter to a client computer within your network. The Boot Agent supports PXE and RPL configuration in pre-boot, Windows, and DOS environments. In each of these environments, a single user interface allows you to configure the Boot Agent for PXE or RPL operation on both Fast Ethernet and Gigabit adapters. RPL is not available for 10-gigabit adapters. For instructions on configuring the Boot Agent for the desired environment, refer to the following sections within the Intel Boot Agent User's Guide: - Configuring the Boot Agent in a Pre-Boot Environment - Configuring the Boot Agent in a Windows Environment - Configuring the Boot Agent in a DOS Environment Auxiliary DOS Utilities ----------------------- Intel provides utilities for installing and configuring the Boot Agent using the DOS environment. These utilities include: - The IBAUTIL utility backs up the current flash ROM image to a file and copies a new Boot Agent image file into the flash ROM using a simplified, menu-based user interface. The above utilities are available on Intel Customer Support's web site. These utilities are also located on the CD-ROM in the directory: \APPS\BOOTAGNT For additional information about using these utilities, refer to the Auxiliary DOS Utilities section of the Intel Boot Agent User's Guide. NOTE: These utilities should be run from a DOS startup disk and not from within Windows. Operation when Windows is loaded may be unreliable. CAUTION: If you use a third-party (non-Intel) boot ROM solution with an Intel adapter and run Intel Boot Agent utilities, you may corrupt the contents of your flash ROM, rendering it useless. Troubleshooting --------------- Once installed, the Boot Agent product has very few potential areas where problems can arise. For a list of potential problems that you might encounter while using the Boot Agent, as well as corrective actions, refer to the Troubleshooting Procedures section of the Intel Boot Agent User's Guide. Copyright (c) 2003-2006 Intel Corporation All rights reserved. * Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. ---End of BOOTAGNT.TXT---