Intel(R) Boot Agent Release Notes
September 7, 2005
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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 and Gigabit Ethernet Adapters, as well as LOM, or 
LAN on Motherboard implementations

 Complies with the Pre-boot eXecution Environment(PXE) Version 2.0, also 
called PXE 2.0 and 2.1 Specification

 Some versions of the Boot Agent also include support for Remote
Program Load (RPL) runtime and loader software


Some important Features offered by the Intel Boot Agent are:

 Same user interface for Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet Adapters

 Compliant with the Wired for Management Baseline 2.0 (WfM 2.0)
specification

 Compatible with legacy boot agent environments that use 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 in DOS Environments

  - Installing/Updating 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 an executable image 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
\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 next several steps require that your computer be booted
only to DOS, and not from a Windows "DOS box". These steps 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.
Single Adaptor:
 Type IBAUTIL -UP by default the NIC is selected and updated.

Multiple Adaptors:
 Type IBAUTIL -up -NIC=xx and press Enter.

If -NIC=xx is not entered, The following message 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 - 2004  Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.

NIC Network Address   Series   WOL  Boot ROM Type  Version 
=== ================= ======   ===  =============  =======
 1    00D0B7D36018    Gigabit  Yes  PXE/RPL         1.2.23

 2    000347003E35    10/100   Yes  RPL             1.2.23
 
ERROR: No NIC selected

4.For multiple adaptors,Pass the number(-NIC=xx) that corresponds to the 
Ethernet address of the desired adapter on the commandline. XX could be
01 or 02 as listed.The next question appears:

Programming FLASH on NIC XX with the following images: RPL/PXE
Create restore image of NIC xx before proceeding? (Y)es or (N)O:

Create Restore Image? (Y)es or (N)o:

5. Type Y (yes) to create a backup of the current contents of the
flash ROM device (not yet updated) onto a file. If such a file already
exists, you'll be asked if you want to overwrite the file. If you type
Y (yes), the flash image file is overwritten with the current contents
of the flash ROM. The new Boot Agent image is then written into the
flash ROM device used by the adapter. The process takes approximately
one minute. 

NOTE: The IBAUTIL utility automatically names the flash image file
(backup file) as XXXXXXXX.FLS, where XXXXXXXX are the last eight
digits of the adapter's Ethernet address. So, if you selected 1 (the
first NIC listed) in step 4 above, the backup file's name would be
B7D36018.FLS.

--or--

Type N (no) to cause IBAUTIL to proceed without first saving a copy of
the current contents of the flash ROM device onto a file. IBAUTIL asks
you to confirm your choice as follows:

Continue Update without Restore Image? (Y)es or (N)o:

If you type N (no), IBAUTIL cancels the update, leaving the flash
contents unchanged, and then asks you whether you want to reboot or
return to the DOS prompt. If you type Y (yes), a new Boot Agent image
is written into the flash ROM device used by the adapter. The process
takes approximately one minute.

6. After update you will see the following message if successfully updated
the image.

FLASH Update successful.

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 from a PXE and RPL BIOS on both
Fast Ethernet and 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:

\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) 2003-2005 Intel Corporation
All rights reserved.

* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
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