Linux in a Nutshell, Fourth Edition

Name

bootpd

Synopsis

                  bootpd [options] [configfile [dumpfile]]

TCP/IP command. Internet Boot Protocol server. bootpd normally is run by /etc/inetd by including the following line in the file /etc/inetd.conf:

                  bootps dgram udp wait root /etc/bootpd bootpd

This causes bootpd to be started only when a boot request arrives. It may also be started in standalone mode, from the command line. Upon startup, bootpd first reads its configuration file, /etc/bootptab (or the configfile listed on the command line), then begins listening for BOOTREQUEST packets.

bootpd looks in /etc/services to find the port numbers it should use. Two entries are extracted: bootps (the bootp server listening port) and bootpc (the destination port used to reply to clients).

If bootpd is compiled with the -DDEBUG option, receipt of a SIGUSR1 signal causes it to dump its memory-resident database to the file /etc/bootpd.dump or the dumpfile specified on the command line.

Options

-c directory

Force bootpd to work in directory.

-d level

Specify the debugging level. Omitting level will increment the level by 1.

-t timeout

Specify a timeout value in minutes. A timeout value of 0 means wait forever.

Configuration file

The bootpd configuration file has a format in which two-character, case-sensitive tag symbols are used to represent host parameters. These parameter declarations are separated by colons. The general format is:

                  hostname:tg
                  =
                  value:tg
                  =
                  value:tg
                  =
                  value

where hostname is the name of a bootp client and tg is a tag symbol. ...