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ZfD 3.2 Preboot Services consists of a number of distinct components that can be installed in different configurations, allowing the system to adapt to various management requirements and to any network design. It consists of the following components:
The Preboot Services client is downloaded by a workstation during a Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) session to enable the workstation to be managed by ZfD 3.2 Preboot Services. The Preboot Services client provides the workstation with the ability to communicate with the Preboot Services servers in the network, allowing the workstation to be managed and to request management intervention. The client consists of a preboot component that makes the workstation available on the network before the operating system has loaded. This component ensures that the workstation can notify the Transaction Server of its presence on the network even when there is no operating system installed on the workstation. It also enables system healing, operating system installation, and software installation on the workstation.
The Preboot Services client uses the Proxy DHCP Server to establish the network address of the Preboot Services TFTP Server and Preboot Services Transaction Server.
The Preboot Services clients make use of the Preboot Services Transaction Server to determine what management actions should be performed on the client as well as using the Transaction Server to store information about the client in the data store. The clients can request files from the TFTP Server if the clients need to perform complex actions.
The Preboot Services Proxy DHCP Server runs alongside a standard DHCP Server to inform Preboot Services clients of the network address of the TFTP Server and Transaction Server. The Preboot Services Proxy DHCP Server also responds to PXE clients to indicate to the client which boot server to use.
The Preboot Services TFTP and MTFTP servers can be used by the Preboot Services client to request files that are needed to perform complex tasks. This allows clients to increase the number of tasks that they can perform by requesting the necessary files from the server. The TFTP Server also provides a central repository for these task files, meaning that it is not necessary to update every Preboot Services client in order to make use of a new feature. A PXE client will use this service to download the Preboot Services client.
The Preboot Services clients connect to the Transaction Server to check if there are any actions that need to be performed on the client. The clients can also use the Transaction Server to get or set values in the data store.
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