To use PXE Network Boot, you need a working DHCP server, TFTP server, and NFS server (Prerequisites for Using PXE Network Boot). DHCP needs to be configured to supply.

This proved problematic as PXE booting clients broadcast a DHCPDISCOVER packet extended with PXE-specific options. DHCP servers by default will ignore the extended PXE-specific options, and routers don’t typically forward broadcast traffic. So, you guessed it, nothing worked. I needed a way to enable clients to first get an IP from the DHCP server, and then be properly directed (across different VLANs) to the WDS server.

There turned out to be two ways of accomplishing this goal: • Configuring routers to forward broadcasts (Setting Up IP Helpers) • DHCP options to direct PXE clients to an appropriate NBP to download Setting DHCP options for WDS PXE booting My initial reaction was that the DHCP options seemed preferable. I could make one centralized change that would enable PXE booting throughout the environment. Brief Symptom Inventory Manual Pdf: Software Free Download. However, identifying the exact DHCP option settings that would permit cross VLAN PXE booting proved challenging. TechNet stated the following: Using DHCP Options 60, 66, and 67 Although Microsoft does not recommend this method, you can use the following DHCP options to direct PXE clients to an appropriate NBP to download: • Option 60 = client identifier. You should set this to the string PXEClient. Note that this only applies if DHCP is on the same server as Windows Deployment Services. • Option 66 = boot server host name • Option 67 = boot file name The above recommended settings simply did not work in any configuration.

Credit for a working solution goes to: & Their two posts: & are extremely informative, so check them out. They posted their working solution here: I have included their recommended settings below: DHCP Settings to deploy x86 architecture: Predefined Option 43 – 00FF Custom-made Option 60 – String – PXEClient Predefined Option 66 – IP or Hostname of the WDS Server (in our case 10.150.150.1) Predefined Option 67 – boot x86 wdsnbp.com One more thing to keep an eye on are open ports that need to be open to the WDS server: UDP – 67, 68, 69, 4011 TCP – 135, 137, 138, 139, 5040 These settings worked perfectly. I was able to PXE boot any client in my environment regardless of location. I had a working solution, but that comment I ran across on the TechNet site about DHCP options not being recommended was bothering me. Are DHCP Options the best solution for WDS PXE booting? According to this TechNet article:, the answer is no.

You said “However, the DHCP option method is generally not preferred as its limits your client’s ability to negotiate with the WDS server about what NBP would be best utilized. You must also choose between traditional BIOS and EFI as the DHCP option forces one or the other. IP Helpers offer the same level of performance with none of these restrictions.” but you ignore the restriction that if your IP helpers point back to the WDS server as a DHCP server you have to manage all of your DHCP at the WDS, and make your WDS a single point of failure for DHCP (unless you are running WDS on multiple servers that are now going to be your DHCP servers) If there is no performance advantage to loading the x64 NBP, then why should we care if it loads the 32 bit NBP?

Either NBP is capable of deploying either 32 or 64 bit images. Also you quote Microsoft saying that if the WDS server is down DHCP could point to a server that is not available, but in your preferred set-up that’s not an issue because the client never even gets an address because it’s DHCP server (the WDS) is not available, so that affects not just the PXE booting clients, but all DHCP clients on the network. Of course what Microsoft probably intended is that all of your DHCP servers will be Microsoft DHCP servers running WDS. This, of course would be the best overall solution. You make a good point that if you are running the WDS service on a single DHCP server that there is a single point of failure regardless of IP Helper vs DHCP option configurations. If there is no performance advantage to loading the x64 NBP, then why should we care if it loads the 32 bit NBP?