x86: Booting a System From the Network

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For x86 systems, two types of networking boots are available:

WAN boot is supported on x86 UEFI systems.
For non-UEFI x86 systems, Preboot eXecution Environment (PXE) boot is supported provided that their network adapter firmware supports the PXE specification. The PXE Network Bootstrap Program (NBP) uses GRUB 2 to load the Oracle Solaris kernel to proceed with the boot process.

If you are using PXE boot, the DHCP server must be properly configured. In automatic installations, the AI server and the DHCP server can be in one system, and both are managed by the installadm command.

If the DHCP server is separate, you must configure it in the same manner that the installadm command normally configures an accessible DHCP server, which is to set up the BootFile based on the client architecture identifier. To help the administrator, the installadm command prints out the client arch boot file paths that should be set for manually configured DHCP servers.

For reference, see the installadm(8) man page.

x86: How to Boot From the Network

Booting x86 systems from the network involves performing configurations on the firmware.

Before You Begin

Ensure that your role has the appropriate rights profiles to perform this procedure. See Using Rights Profiles to Administer Boot Features.

Reboot the system.
```
$ reboot -p
```
Access the BIOS or UEFI firmware.
The specific keys to access the firmware depend on whether your system is UEFI enabled or not.
On the BIOS or UEFI firmware screens, modify the boot priority so that the system would boot from the network.
Setting this configuration depends on which utility screen is displayed.
Press the appropriate keys to proceed with the boot process.
The process continues by booting from the network.