View source for GPXE

{{Short description|Open-source PXE client}}
{{Lowercase title}}
{{Infobox software
|name                       = gPXE
|logo                       =
|screenshot                 =
|caption                    =
|collapsible                =
|author                     =
|developer                  = Etherboot project
|released                   = {{Release year|1995}}<ref>{{cite web | url = http://etherboot.org/wiki/about | title = about &mdash; Etherboot/gPXE Wiki }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://tech.firdooze.com/2010/05/09/bringing-pxe-boot-to-the-21st-century/ |title=Bringing PXE Boot to the 21st Century |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120055756/http://tech.firdooze.com/2010/05/09/bringing-pxe-boot-to-the-21st-century/ |archivedate=2012-11-20 }}</ref><!-- {{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
|latest release version     = 1.0.1
|latest release date        = {{Start date and age|2011|08|16|df=yes}}
|latest preview version     =
|latest preview date        = <!-- {{Start date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
|programming language       = [[C (programming language)|C]]
|operating system           =
|platform                   =
|size                       =
|language                   =
|discontinued               = yes
|genre                      = [[Boot loader]]
|license                    = [[GNU General Public License#Version 2|GPLv2]]+
|website                    = {{URL|http://etherboot.org/}}
}}
'''gPXE''' is an [[open-source software|open-source]] [[Preboot Execution Environment|Preboot eXecution Environment]] (PXE) client firmware implementation and bootloader derived from '''Etherboot'''. It can be used to enable computers without built-in PXE support to boot from the network, or to extend an existing client PXE implementation with support for additional protocols.  While standard PXE clients use [[Trivial File Transfer Protocol|TFTP]] to transfer data, gPXE client firmware adds the ability to retrieve data through other protocols like [[Hypertext Transfer Protocol|HTTP]], [[iSCSI]] and [[ATA over Ethernet]] (AoE), and can work with [[Wi-Fi]] rather than requiring a wired connection.
gPXE development ceased in summer 2010,<ref name="Ohloh project page for gPXE">{{Cite web |url=https://www.ohloh.net/p/gpxe/ |title="gPXE is no longer actively maintained. Users should upgrade to iPXE." |access-date=2010-11-30 |archive-date=2014-04-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413132727/http://www.ohloh.net/p/gpxe |url-status=dead }}</ref> and several projects are migrating<ref name="Xen changelog - iPXE">[http://lists.xensource.com/archives/html/xen-changelog/2010-11/msg00055.html Xen ChangeLog showing migration to iPXE because "it is actively maintained"]</ref> or considering migrating<ref name="KVM call minutes - iPXE">[http://www.spinics.net/lists/kvm/msg45496.html KVM call minutes showing consideration of migration to iPXE]</ref> to [[iPXE]] as a result.
== PXE implementation ==
gPXE can be loaded by a computer in several ways:
*from media like [[floppy disk]], [[USB flash drive]], or [[hard disk drive|hard disk]]
*as a pseudo [[Linux kernel]]
*as an [[Executable and Linkable Format|ELF image]]
*from an [[option ROM]] on a network card or embedded in a system [[BIOS]]
*over a [[Ethernet|network]] as a PXE boot image
gPXE implements its own PXE stack, using a driver corresponding to the network card, or a [[Universal Network Device Interface|UNDI]] driver if it was loaded by PXE itself. This allows to use a PXE stack even if the network card has no boot [[Read-only memory|ROM]], by loading gPXE from a fixed medium.
== Bootloader ==
Although its basic role was to implement a PXE stack, gPXE can be used as a full-featured network bootloader. It can fetch files from multiple network protocols,<ref name="Google TechTalk - gPXE">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GofOqhO6VVM Google TechTalk demonstrates how to load operating systems from remote servers using gPXE]</ref> such as [[Trivial File Transfer Protocol|TFTP]], [[Network File System (protocol)|NFS]], [[Hypertext Transfer Protocol|HTTP]]<ref name="Booting your machine over HTTP">{{Cite web |url=http://boot.kernel.org/ |title=Booting your machine over HTTP |access-date=2009-12-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100208164141/http://boot.kernel.org/ |archive-date=2010-02-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="SliTaz web boot">[http://boot.slitaz.org/ SliTaz web boot]</ref> or [[File Transfer Protocol|FTP]], and can boot PXE, [[Executable and Linkable Format|ELF]], Linux, [[FreeBSD]], [[Multiboot Specification|multiboot]], [[Extensible Firmware Interface|EFI]], [[Network Bootable Image|NBI]] and [[Windows CE]] images.
In addition, it is scriptable and can load COMBOOT and COM32 [[SYSLINUX]] extensions. This allows for instance to build a graphical menu for network boot.
== See also ==
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}
* [[Preboot Execution Environment|PXE]]
* [[SYSLINUX#PXELINUX|PXELINUX]]
* [[iPXE]]
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==External links==
* [http://etherboot.org/wiki/index.php etherboot.org - The Etherboot/gPXE Wiki]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091226145846/http://rom-o-matic.net/ ROM-o-matic.net dynamically generates gPXE and Etherboot network booting image]
* [http://www.linuxdocs.org/HOWTOs/Diskless-HOWTO-8.html Introduction to Network Booting and Etherboot]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160315061754/https://blogs.oracle.com/ksplice/entry/pxe_dust_scalable_day_to PXE dust: scalable day-to-day diskless booting (via Archive.org last available)]
{{Firmware and booting}}
[[Category:Network booting]]
[[Category:Free boot loaders]]
[[Category:Free network-related software]]