RE: Is it possible to run image from MS-DOS file

[jt@npdaxp.fuw.edu.pl]

> I am new to this list, read quite some mails but still don't know if it
> is possible to download Linux image from linux server to MS-DOS diskless
> client who acts like client with disk (it uses memory instead of disk)
> over network (100 MBit LAN). So if I rephrase the situation:
> I have server on Linux and on the other side diskless client who acts
> like a client with disk with MS-DOS OS on it.
> The client starts, after BIOS checking standard things (PC pentium
> machine) loads MS-DOS OS, then I would like to run executable file from
> autexec.bat (e.g. boot.com) with parameters - ip of a server, network
> card in use (&something more if necessary). 
> Then client downloads image from Linux server and boot's (loads) it on
> client.
> Janez Kostanjsek <janez.kostanjsek@ensico.si>

Hi,
I still use NCP boot rom (from few years my own) on many workstations,
and it boots DOS first, makes ramdrive, and later uses loadlin to boot
Linux if needed (lately I found using loadlin to load Linux kernel
directly from net causes problems, so I make ramdrive big enough to
put the kernel on it and then invoke loadlin). Is it what you need?

I suppose DOS can be booted from netboot rom as well as from NCP boot
rom; in any case it is possible to get DOS and ramdrive with files.

Some hard step is: before DOS is started some "bootdrive" is emulated
which has very limited size, so ramdrive must be created during the
boot, and you need some ability to get files from server then.
In my version the problem is solved by an utility (invoked in CONFIG.SYS)
which can download files during boot after the ramdrive is created.

Some possibility I tried years ago before I wrote the utility: load
files to ramdrive in high memory, then start DOS, invoking HIMEM with
TESTMEM disabled, create ramdrive and copy these files onto it.

Jerzy Tarasiuk
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