>> It does need a console. Which can be a window on an X terminal. The
>> user can easily set IP addresses on an X terminal, as it has display
>> and keyboard (and mouse or other pointing device). The trick will
>> be to find a good way to set the IP addresses on the computer before
>> the console connection to the X terminal is established.
>>
> Yes, you have the bootstrap problem. I would think that this was solved
> by either loading data onto the HardDisk or connecting a monitor (and a
> video card if the MotherBoard didn't have one).
>
>> We can't assume that the system supports an open bios, or has a socket
>> for additional BIOS.
>
> No, we can't presume that. However, systems that can boot from the
> network do have a socket.
This is not true. I run my desktop workstation as a boot-from-network
and it has no socket.
There is a standard way to do booting from network - using PXE.
>> Most pee-cee type computers will likely need a card with a socket for
>> BIOS. Once we do that we might as well put an Ethernet port on the
>> card, and some SATA ports and maybe an RS-232 port or 2. (And
>> anything else that is inexpensive and recent computers don't have
>> enough of.) We could include a bunch of jumpers or dip switches or
>> rotary switches or whatever for the Ethernet addresses. We'd need at
>> least the computer's IPaddr, the IPaddr of the Ethervideo/X11 box
>> that will be the console. Maybe the netmask and gateway.
>>
> If the cards to hold a BIOS are already available, it would be much
> cheaper to simply use those.
>
> Does a PC with Ethernet have an IP address before it boots the OS?
It acquires one via DHCP!
The PXE (contents of the NIC's BIOS extension) runs the DHCP client and
get's an IP from the DHCP server. Also it gets few additional DHCP
options which contain:
1) the address of a TFTP server
2) filename of the bootloader
The bootloader in my case is "PXE LINUX". It then pulls its
configuration over TFTP (kernel name + kernel options) and finally pulls
the kernel and executes it.
>>
>> It isn't a video card.
>
> But, don't we need for it go be able to act as a video card?
It's an additional feature, not the basic one.
>> Yes, we need at least enough nonvolatile memory to store IP addresses,
>> and there are likely to be some configuration options to store.
> Not sure exactly why. But, yes some sort of EEPROM would probably be
> part of the design.
>
>> Might want enough to store codecs.
>>
> Couldn't they either be on a flash card or up loaded from the PC?
I would choose it to be uploaded from the PC.
If there would not be a requirement for a stand-alone box acting as a
primary video card for the PC, the box can boot from the network -
saving some flash storage and allowing greater extensibility.
But then, the box has to be significantly cheaper than the current
on-market alternatives in the form of nvidia ion based mini desktops.
Daniel
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