BOOT protocol

Description

Glossary

RFCs

Publications

Obsolete RFCs

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Description:

Protocol suite:	TCP/IP.
Protocol type:	Application layer configuration protocol.
Related protocols:	DHCP.
Ports:	67 (UDP) server.  68 (UDP) host.
SNMP MIBs:
Working groups:	DHCP, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol.
Links:	IANA: BOOTP/DHCP options.

The Bootstrap Protocol allows a host to configure itself dynamically at boot time. This protocol provides 3 services:

• IP address assignment.
• Detection of the IP address for a serving machine.
• The name of a file to be loaded and executed by the client machine.

The BOOTP packet is assumed to never fragment.

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MAC header

IP header

UDP header

BOOTP message

BOOTP message:

00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Opcode								Hardware type								Hardware address length								Hop count
Transaction ID
Number of seconds																Flags
Client IP address
Your IP address
Server IP address
Gateway IP address
Client hardware address :::
Server host name :::
Boot filename :::
Vendor specific info :::

Opcode. 8 bits.

Value	Description
1	BOOTREQUEST, Boot request.
2	BOOTREPLY, Boot reply.

Hardware type. 8 bits.

Value	Description
1	Ethernet.
2	Experimental Ethernet.
3	Amateur Radio AX.25.
4	Proteon ProNET Token Ring.
5	Chaos.
6	IEEE 802.
7	ARCNET.
8	Hyperchannel.
9	Lanstar.
10	Autonet Short Address.
11	LocalTalk.
12	LocalNet (IBM PCNet or SYTEK LocalNET).
13	Ultra link.
14	SMDS.
15	Frame Relay.
16	ATM, Asynchronous Transmission Mode.
17	HDLC.
18	Fibre Channel.
19	ATM, Asynchronous Transmission Mode.
20	Serial Line.
21	ATM, Asynchronous Transmission Mode.
22	MIL-STD-188-220.
23	Metricom.
24	IEEE 1394.1995.
25	MAPOS.
26	Twinaxial.
27	EUI-64.
28	HIPARP.

Hardware address length. 8 bits.

Hop count. 8 bits.

Transaction ID. 32 bits.

Number of seconds. 16 bits.
The elapsed time, in seconds since the client sent its first BOOTREQUEST message.

Flags. 16 bits.
Defined in RFC 1542.

00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15
B	0

B, Broadcast. 1 bit.

Client IP address. 32 bits.

Your IP address. 32 bits.

Server IP address. 32 bits.

Gateway IP address. 32 bits.

Client hardware address. 16 bytes.

Server host name. 64 bytes.

Boot filename. 128 bytes.

Vendor specific info. 64 bytes.

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BOOTP/DHCP options.

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Glossary:

Martian address filtering.
The technique of silently discard incoming datagrams containing illegal IP source addresses.

Relay agent.
Also known as a BOOTP forwarding agent.

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RFCs:

[RFC 951] BOOTSTRAP PROTOCOL (BOOTP).

[RFC 1534] Interoperation Between DHCP and BOOTP.

[RFC 1542] Clarifications and Extensions for the Bootstrap Protocol.

• Obsoletes: RFC 1532.
• Updates: RFC 951.

[RFC 1812] Requirements for IP Version 4 Routers.

[RFC 2132] DHCP Options and BOOTP Vendor Extensions.

• Category: Standards Track.
• Updated by: RFC 3942, RFC 4361.
• Obsoletes: RFC 1533.

[RFC 2242] NetWare/IP Domain Name and Information.

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Publications:

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Obsolete RFCs:

[RFC 1048] BOOTP Vendor Information Extensions.

[RFC 1084] BOOTP Vendor Information Extensions.

• Obsoletes: RFC 1048.

[RFC 1395] BOOTP Vendor Information Extensions.

• Obsoletes: RFC 1048, RFC 1084.
• Updates: RFC 951.

[RFC 1497] BOOTP Vendor Information Extensions.

• Obsoletes: RFC 1048, RFC 1084, RFC 1395.
• Updates: RFC 951.

[RFC 1532] Clarifications and Extensions for the Bootstrap Protocol.

• Updates: RFC 951.

[RFC 1533] DHCP Options and BOOTP Vendor Extensions.

• Category: Standards Track.
• Obsoleted by:
  RFC 2132.
• Obsoletes:
  RFC 1048, RFC 1084, RFC 1395, RFC 1497.

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Description

Glossary

RFCs

Publications

Obsolete RFCs