In the first of a series on Windows Deployment Services, Wes Miller lays a foundation for the discussion by looking at the architecture of the Pre-boot eXecution Environment (PXE), the history of Remote Installation Services (RIS), as well as other PXE-related technologies used at Microsoft.
PXE is a relatively simple protocol that was developed by Intel and other vendors as part of the Wired for Management initiative. PXE is derived from Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), itself derived from BootP, and is typically implemented in your Network Interface Card (NIC). Simply put, here's what happens[…]
Source:→ TechNet Magazine Blog