PXE Options

The PXE options can be displayed when a PXE (Preboot Execution Environment) device boots. Your options are to always show the menu, never show it, or show it only when Ctrl+Alt is pressed during bootup.

You can define the menu settings at three levels:

Management Zone: For managed devices, these global settings are inherited by all device folders and devices, except where device folder or device-specific settings are configured.

For non-registered devices where the Imaging Server they connect to for PXE services does not have a device or folder setting, this global setting determines whether to display the Imaging Menu when booting.
Device Folder: For managed devices, these settings are inherited by all devices contained within the folder or its subfolders. If you are configuring the settings here, you need to click Override settings before you can select any of the settings.

For non-registered devices, if these folder settings are defined for the Imaging Server they connect to for PXE services, they determine whether to display the Imaging Menu when booting.
Device: For managed devices, these settings apply only to the device for which they are configured. If you are configuring the settings here, you need to click Override settings before you can select any of the settings.

For non-registered devices, the settings defined for the Imaging Server they connect to for PXE services determines whether to display the Imaging Menu when booting.

IMPORTANT:For a folder or device, if you make changes and then click Revert to use the inherited settings instead, any changes you made at the folder or device level are not saved.

Click the following headings for information about each configuration option:

Menu Options

To determine whether the Novell Preboot Services Menu should be displayed on the devices in your system when they boot, select one of the following options:

Always show Imaging menu
Never show Imaging menu
Show Imaging menu if CTRL+ALT is pressed

NOTE:On a device that has UEFI firmware and an USB keyboard attached to the device, you cannot use the CTRL+ALT function key to launch the PXE menu. You will get a pop-up prompting you to press <Enter> key and launch the PXE menu with a time-out of three seconds. This option is also applicable to 64-bit devices.

Generally, if your Preboot Services work is completely automated, you should select to never display the Novell Preboot Services Menu on the device when it boots. Conversely, if you need to do manual Preboot Services functions for some or all devices, then select to always display the menu.

A compromise is where you select to display the menu if Ctrl+Alt is pressed, allowing unattended Preboot Services work but still allowing you the opportunity to display the menu when needed. This is the Management Zone’s default option.

The Novell Preboot Services Menu provides options for how Preboot Services can be used on your devices. The following options are presented when the menu is displayed:

Menu Option	Function
Start ZENworks Imaging	Executes the effective Imaging bundle.
Start ZENworks Imaging Maintenance	Displays the bash prompt, where you can execute imaging commands.
Disable ZENworks Partition	Prevents a ZENworks partition from being used during booting to execute the effective Imaging bundle.
Enable ZENworks Partition	Allows a ZENworks partition to be used when booting to execute the effective Imaging bundle.
Exit	Resumes normal booting of the device.

Boot Options

To provide PXE boot options, specify them in the PXE Kernel Boot Parameters field.

PXE is an Intel specification that allows a device to boot from the network, instead of its hard drive or other local media. ZENworks can use PXE to launch Preboot Services.

PXE uses DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) and TFTP (Trivial File Transfer Protocol) to locate and load bootstrap programs from the network. The PXE environment is loaded from the BIOS on the NIC.

In ZENworks, Preboot Services uses PXE to discover if there is imaging work specified for a device and to provide the device with the files necessary to execute the assigned work.

Using Preboot Services, you can automatically place an image on a device, even if the device’s hard disk is blank. You do not need to use the imaging diskette, CD or DVD, or a ZENworks partition on the device.