[250] in Resnet-Forum
Re: Bootp Concerns
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (paul@atlas.abccomp.oz.au)
Mon Apr 18 20:46:34 1994
From: paul@atlas.abccomp.oz.au
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 1994 10:28:22 -0500
To: Steve Morytko <STEVE@uconnvm.uconn.edu>, resnet-forum@MIT.EDU
Thus expounded Steve Morytko on Apr 18, 3:37pm:
/--------------------
|I have to say that BOOTP sounds interesting but I've resisted using
|it here because of some unanswered questions and concerns like:
|
|1. Since most of the software we use is either shareware or freeware
| can I *expect* BOOTP support for all or most desirable software? Can
| anyone think of notable exceptions that do NOT support BOOTP (on
| any platform - Mac, PC, UNIX, ...)? Today we mostly use CUTCP, NCSA,
| MacTCP, and we're starting to use WINSOCK apps. Any problems there?
With the exception of MacTCP, which I know nothing about, everything
else you mention supports BOOTP. I don;t know of any commercial
WINSOCK vendors that don;t support BOOTP, either.
|2. I don't want to have to put a BOOTP server on every subnet so do
| all routers pass BOOTP with no problems? We have mostly Wellfleet
| or Novell today but that might change.
You would have to speak to your router vendors about that - its an option
that exists in many, but by no means all, routers. For instance, if by
'Novell' routers you mean a Netware 3.11 server with the TCP/IP NLM
installed, that probably won't forward BOOTP (at least, our doesn't,
I don't think!)
|3. Is one able to specify backup BOOTP servers from every platform?
| I don't remember seeing this option in CUTCP's CONFIG.TEL or any
| other one either.
The BOOTP request is a broadcast, so every BOOTP server typically
responds - usually a host chooses the first one, and ignores the
rest. BOOTP-forwarding routers pick up the broadcast, and direct it
to your central BOOTP server, then return the reply.
You might also want to look at the other side of the coin - a recent large
client of ours is religiously trying to cut down on all traffic on
its wide-area links - and that means putting BOOTP and RARP servers
on every subnet, because they don't want the overhead of
BOOTP-forwarded queries and replies traversing the links to a
central single server.
You might well benefit from looking at BOOTP again - it can make
address assignment and management _much_ easier.
--
Paul Brooks |paul@abccomp.oz.au |Emerging Standard:
TurboSoft Pty Ltd |pwb@newt.phys.unsw.edu.au| one that has not yet
579 Harris St., Ultimo | | been superseded.
Sydney Australia 2007 |ph: +61 2 281 3155 |
