libexec/bootpd/bootpd.8

.\" Copyright (c) 1988, 1989, 1991 Carnegie Mellon University
.\"
.\"     $Header: /b/source/CVS/othersrc/bootpd/bootpd.8,v 1.2 1993/09/11 13:21:20 andrew Exp $
.\"
.TH BOOTPD 8 "November 11, 1991" "Carnegie Mellon University"
.UC 6

.SH NAME
bootpd \- Internet Boot Protocol server
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B /usr/libexec/bootpd
[
.B \-i
.B \-s
.B \-t
timeout
.B \-d
level
]
[
.I configfile
[
.I dumpfile
] ]
.SH DESCRIPTION
.I Bootpd
implements an Internet Bootstrap Protocol server as defined in RFC951,
RFC1048, and RFC1084.  It is normally run by
.I /usr/sbin/inetd
by including the following line in the file
.IR /etc/inetd.conf :
.PP
.br
        bootps  dgram   udp     wait    root    /usr/libexec/bootpd     bootpd
.PP
This mode of operation is referred to as "inetd mode" and causes
.I bootpd
to be started only when a boot request arrives.  If
.I bootpd
does not receive another boot request within fifteen minutes of the last one
it received, it will exit to conserve system resources.  The
.B \-t
switch may be used to specify a different timeout value in minutes (e.g.
-t 20).  A timeout value of zero means forever.
.PP
It is also possible to run
.I bootpd
in "standalone mode" (without
.IR inetd )
by simply invoking it from a shell like any other regular command.
Standalone mode is probably the desired mode of operation for large network
installations with many BOOTP clients.  (The greater the number of clients
listed in the configuration database,
.IR /etc/bootptab ,
the longer it takes
.I bootpd
to start up.  To ensure quick response to clients in a large network,
it is better to start
.I bootpd
once during the server machine's bootup sequence.  This can be done by invoking
.I bootpd
from within
.IR /etc/rc.local ,
for example.)
.
In standalone mode, the
.B \-t
switch has no effect since
.I bootpd
will never exit.
.PP
The server automatically detects whether it was invoked from inetd or from a
shell and automatically selects the appropriate mode.  For compatibility with
older versions of
.IR bootpd ,
the
.B \-s
switch may be used to force standalone operation.  Similarly, the
.B \-i
switch may be used to force the inetd mode of operation.  Normally, though,
it should be unnecessary to use these switches.
.PP
The
.B \-d
switch takes a numeric parameter which sets the level of debugging output.
For example, -d4 or -d 4 will set the debugging level to 4.
For compatibility with older versions of
.IR bootpd ,
omitting the numeric parameter (i.e. just -d) will
simply increment the debug level by one.
.PP
Upon startup,
.I bootpd
first reads its configuration file,
.IR /etc/bootptab ,
and then begins listening for BOOTREQUEST packets.
.PP
.I Bootpd
looks in
.I /etc/services
to find the UDP port numbers it should use.  Two entries are extracted:
.BR bootps ,
the bootp server listening port, and
.BR bootpc ,
the destination port used to reply to clients.  If the port numbers cannot
be determined this way,
.I bootpd
defaults to using 67 for the server and 68 for the client.
.PP
.I Bootpd
completely reloads its configuration file when it receives a hangup signal,
SIGHUP, or when it receives a BOOTREQUEST packet and detects that the file
has been updated.  If
.I bootpd
is compiled with the -DDEBUG option, receipt of a SIGUSR1 signal causes it
to dump its memory-resident database to
the file
.I /etc/bootpd.dump
or the command-line-specified dumpfile.

.SH FILES
/etc/bootptab
.br
/etc/bootpd.dump
.br
/etc/services

.SH BUGS
Individual host entries must not exceed 1024 characters.

.SH HISTORY
.TP
22-Jan-86  Bill Croft at Stanford University
.br
Created.

.TP
30-Jul-86  David Kovar at Carnegie Mellon University
.br
Modified to CMU specifications.

.TP
24-Jul-87  Drew D. Perkins at Carnegie Mellon University
.br
Modified to use syslog.  Added debugging dumps.  Other bug fixes.

.TP
17-Jul-88  Walter L. Wimer at Carnegie Mellon University
.br
Added vendor information to conform to RFC1048.
Adopted termcap-like file format to allow variable data.

.TP
11-Nov-91  Walter L. Wimer at Carnegie Mellon University
.br
Added TFTP directory- and server-specification features.  Added automatic
detection of inetd/standalone mode, making -s switch no longer necessary.
Other minor improvements and bug fixes.

.SH "SEE ALSO"
.br
bootptab(5), inetd(8), tftpd(8),
.br
DARPA Internet Request For Comments RFC951, RFC1048, RFC1084, Assigned Numbers