How to Set up PXE Redirection

The Preboot Execution Environment (PXE, aka Pre-Execution Environment, or 'pixie') is an environment to boot computers using a network interface card independently of available data storage devices (like hard disks) or installed operating systems. (Thanks Wikipedia).

Now that we know what it is, let's do something with it. Juice contributor SK worked through an installation (or two, or three) and is sharing the details.

1. In order to install the Altiris PXE Server, please follow the instructions in: https://kb.altiris.com/article.asp?article=21837&p...
2. If PXE was installed during the installation of Deployment Server, then you would have had the opportunity to also have its PXE Images created. If this was not done during the install, then please use the following nomenclature for them as part of the Shared Configuration so that they receive their default Boot Option numbers:
   • DOS Managed = Option 129
   • Linux Managed = Option 130
   • WinPE Managed = Option 131
3. Remote PXE Servers will have the shared Boot Menus replicated to them via the PXE Manager. Each remote PXE Server will also have its own Datastore which is a locally shared drive containing your images, Rdeploy file, etc. You can use Deployment Solutions "DS Library" package to keep these up to date. Please refer to the Deployment Server Reference Guide for further details on how to set this up.
4. PXE Redirection consists of three items:
   • Shared Boot Menus
   • Local Boot Menus
   • Shared Boot menu assigned to Task
5. Shared Boot Menu: The PXE Images for the Shared Boot Menus will have the F:\ drive mapping to the Deployment Servers eXpress share by default. This can be changed if your environment consists of machines that have four or more drives installed in them. Please refer to https://kb.altiris.com/article.asp?article=23899&p... for further details.
6. Local Boot Menu: Section 10a & b in the PXE Install document (https://kb.altiris.com/article.asp?article=21837&p...) shows you how to select a specific PXE Server in order to create a Local Configuration. When creating a Local Boot Menu, please remember that the default eXpress share drive mapping MUST be kept, and that you just need to add one or more additional drive mappings to the Boot Menu. This is because a batch file is created in the default eXpress share by the PXE Redirection process, which is then sent to the remote sites.

   It is best to keep additional drive letter mapping consistent across all Local Configurations. For Example, if you use I: to map to an image store, and J: to map to an application file store in one local configuration, use those same drive letters in another local configuration. This helps so that when a job is sent to a group of computers that are in different locations/sites the job can refer to the drive letter I: or J: and each client will use its local sites image/application store.

   Please note that the above is not a requirement and is not enforced, but it is highly recommended in order to take full advantage of the redirection feature.

   Creating additional drive mappings:

   

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   The Configuration Summary should look something like this:

   

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   Once the Boot Image has been created, you need to select a Shared Boot Menu in order to have it redirected to a Local Boot Menu.

   

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   The Local Configuration will now look like this:

   

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   The Shared Configuration will now look like this:

   

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   Notice that the Redirected column also contains a number in brackets. This number denotes how many Local Boot Menus (remote PXE Servers) this Shared Boot Menu has been redirected to.

7. Shared Boot menu assigned to Task: By default, Tasks are assigned to the default Automation Pre-boot environment. This is of course OK for PXE Redirection as long as the default environment is the Shared Boot Menu that has been redirected. If it isn't, then you will need to assign that environment to each Task that you wish to take advantage of the redirection.
   
   

   Click to view.