Bootstrap Protocol: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 12:28, 20 November 2020

Revision as of 08:52, 16 March 2021

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The '''Bootstrap Protocol''' ('''BOOTP''') is a [[computer network]]ing protocol used in [[Internet Protocol]] networks to automatically assign an [[IP address]] to network devices from a configuration server. The BOOTP was originally defined in RFC 951.

When a computer that is network-connected to a network is powered up andcomputer [[booting|boots]]-up, its operating system, the system softwareIP-stack broadcasts BOOTP network-messages onto the network to requestrequesting an IP -address assignment. A BOOTP configuration -server assignsreplies anto IPthe addressrequest basedby onassigning thean requestIP address from a pool of addresses, which is configuredpreconfigured by an administrator.

BOOTP is implemented using the [[User Datagram Protocol]] (UDP) asfor transport protocol, port number 67 is used by the (DHCP) server tofor receivereceiving client -requests and port number 68 is used by the client tofor receivereceiving (DHCP) server responses. BOOTP operates only on [[IPv4]] networks.

Historically, BOOTP has also been used for [[Unix-like]] [[diskless workstation]]s to obtain the network ___location of their [[boot image]], in addition to the IP address assignment. Enterprises used it to roll out a pre-configured client (e.g., [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]]) installation to newly installed PCs.

OriginallyInitially requiring the use of a boot [[floppy disk]] to establish the initial network connection, manufacturers of network cards later embedded the protocol in the [[BIOS]] of the interface cards as well as system boards with on-board network adapters, thus allowing direct network booting.

While some parts of BOOTP have been effectively superseded by the [[Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol]] (DHCP), which adds the feature of leases, parts of BOOTP are used to provide service to the DHCP protocol. DHCP servers also provide the legacy BOOTP functionality.