DOS ain't dead

Anyone know if it can run a PXE server in DOS?

(Not a PXE client ...booting a prebuilt DOS image... : http://www.bttr-software.de/forum/forum_entry.php?id=13587)


The most similar thing I found is a little "TFTP client/server" by Dave Dunfield in:

http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/dos/index.htm

> Anyone know if it can run a PXE server in DOS?
>
> (Not a PXE client ...booting a prebuilt DOS image... :
> http://www.bttr-software.de/forum/forum_entry.php?id=13587)
>
>
> The most similar thing I found is a little "TFTP client/server" by Dave
> Dunfield in:
>
> http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/dos/index.htm


From reading up on PXE, a PXE server is two things on the same network:
1) A DHCP server that can respond to DHCPDISCOVER+PXE requests with a new IP, an IP for a TFTP server, and a filepath for the for the PXE image.

2) TFTP server serving up a few files that include a PXE boot image like the FreeDOS floppy boot image.

You've already found a DOS TFTP server from Dunfield. I'd say that's good enough. Now just configure your router with DHCP server to point to it. If you need an all in one solution, maybe your router can do it. DOS wouldn't make for a good kickstart/cobbler replacement like you have in Linux. If you don't have a router that can do it this, then maybe find another spare machine and put SmallWall, or pfSense, or SmoothWall.

Why do you need DOS to be your PXE server?

> From reading up on PXE, a PXE server is two things on the same network:
> 1) A DHCP server that can respond to DHCPDISCOVER+PXE requests with a new
> IP, an IP for a TFTP server, and a filepath for the for the PXE image.
>
> 2) TFTP server serving up a few files that include a PXE boot image like
> the FreeDOS floppy boot image.
>
> You've already found a DOS TFTP server from Dunfield. I'd say that's good
> enough. Now just configure your router with DHCP server to point to it. If
> you need an all in one solution, maybe your router can do it. DOS wouldn't
> make for a good kickstart/cobbler replacement like you have in Linux. If
> you don't have a router that can do it this, then maybe find another spare
> machine and put SmallWall, or pfSense, or SmoothWall.
>
> Why do you need DOS to be your PXE server?

Thank you very much. You gave me a beginning to start developing this idea.

I was thinking of an "all in one" software, as they exist in Windows.

On the other hand, I do not NEED a server ... I just want to experiment a little...

Here's a freedos plus Linux solution.

https://possiblelossofprecision.net/?p=491