3Com 4210 9-Port - Introduction to BOOTP Client

5-3
An intermediate file maintains the IP address-to-host name mappings which are created using the ip
host hostname ip-address command.
When you use this command:
z The hostname argument is a character string consisting of letters, digits, “.” and “_” only, which
cannot start with “.”.
z You can enter the ip host hostname ip-address command multiple times to create multiple
mappings; however, you should press Enter after entering the last command to make it effective.
z If still no configuration file is obtained through the above two methods, the switch uses the
configuration file name in Option 67 of the DHCP response to get the configuration file. If no name
is found in Option 67, the switch requests the default configuration file named device.cfg from the
TFTP server.
4) After obtaining the configuration file, the switch executes it to complete automatic configuration.
If the switch does not get any response from the DHCP server or from the TFTP server, it keeps
sending the request. You can press Enter to terminate automatic configuration.
z In different network environments, after you press Enter, it may take a certain period of time (1 to 6
minutes) before the automatic configuration terminates. During this period, the command line input
is disabled in case of deletion of commands mistakenly. After the automatic configuration
terminates, the command line input is enabled again.
z If the switch obtains the configuration file before you press Enter, the configuration file will not be
executed.
Introduction to BOOTP Client
After you specify an interface as a bootstrap protocol (BOOTP) client, the interface can use BOOTP to
get information (such as IP address) from the BOOTP server, which simplifies your configuration.
Before using BOOTP, an administrator needs to configure a BOOTP parameter file for each BOOTP
client on the BOOTP server. The parameter file contains information such as MAC address and IP
address of a BOOTP client. When a BOOTP client sends a request to the BOOTP server, the BOOTP
server will search for the BOOTP parameter file and return it to the client.
A BOOTP client dynamically obtains an IP address from a BOOTP server in the following way:
1) The BOOTP client broadcasts a BOOTP request, which contains its own MAC address.
2) The BOOTP server receives the request and searches for the corresponding IP address according
to the MAC address of the BOOTP client and sends the information in a BOOTP response to the
BOOTP client.
3) The BOOTP client obtains the IP address from the received response.