HP D6028-90004 User Manual

Page 83

Appendix C

Installing and Using TFTP

NOTE

HP recommends that you do not update the HP TopTools
Remote Control card firmware if the link between the TFTP
server and the HP NetServer is a dial-up network connection.
A disconnection during an update can leave the HP TopTools
Remote Control card partially updated and you would need to
repeat the update before proceeding.

A firmware update takes approximately one minute over a 10Base-T LAN
connection. After the update has completed, the HP TopTools Remote Control
will be reset in order to start the new firmware.

Using the HP TopTools Remote Control Remote Boot Feature

You can use the HP TopTools Remote Control to remotely boot the HP NetServer
in which you have installed the HP TopTools Remote Control card. The card
boots the HP NetServer using a boot floppy image located on a TFTP server.

Starting an HP NetServer from a remote boot image requires that you have
already created an alternate bootable floppy image file and that this image is
available in the base directory used by the TFTP server. After the HP TopTools
Remote Control processes a remote reboot, the feature is disabled automatically
so that the next boot will be a local boot.

You use the HP Copydisk utility to create a floppy image file. The 1.44MB file
created contains a sector-by-sector copy of the floppy plus a 32-byte copydisk
header; you can also use generic floppy image files (no header) created with other
utilities. The image file (usually with the extension .DSK), when accessed via
TFTP, is interpreted by the HP NetServer with the HP TopTools Remote Control
card as if it were a local floppy disk image. Thus, the HP NetServer boots using
this image as if it were accessing a bootable disk stored in floppy drive A.

The ability to create a floppy boot image opens up powerful remote
administration possibilities. A system administrator can create boot floppy
images to:

•

update the server BIOS

•

change and/or update software drivers

•

boot your various diagnostic utilities

•

boot virus-checking software