Subject: Use of bootfile field by BOOTP/DHCP clients

From: [email-masked] (by way of Ralph Droms <[email-masked]>)
Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1999 16:18:45 -0400 (EDT)

message sent to [email-masked] by [email-masked] follows.
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Hi folks,
	I'm trying to get a feel for the common practice among
BOOTP/DHCP client implementations with regards to the bootfile
field. RFC 951, section 7.3:

"We now check the boot file name field (file).  The field will be
null if the client is not interested in filenames, or wants the
default bootfile.  If the field is non-null, it is used as a
lookup key in a database, along with the client's IP address.  If
there is a default file or generic file (possibly indexed by the
client address) or a fully-specified path name that matches, then
replace the 'file' field with the fully-specified path name of the
selected boot file.  If the field is non-null and no match was
found, then the client is asking for a file we dont have; discard
the packet, perhaps some other BOOTP server will have it."

I've seen implementations provide the name of a file they expect.
Is this the general usage, or are there clients that provide strings
whose purpose is strictly a hint/key to be used in combination with
the client's assigned IP address or hardware address to do a
configuration table lookup which would result in the actual absolute
path which would then be returned to the client in the bootfile field
by the server?

TIA,

Mike Carney
SNT Internet Engineering
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Mailstop UBUR02-212
One Network Drive
Burlington, MA 01803