[RTnet-users] [ANNOUNCE] Real-Time EtherBoot for RTnet

[Jan Kiszka]

EtherBoot is a well-known software for downloading boot images to disk-less network clients. On the RTnet download page (http://www.rts.uni-hannover.de/rtnet/download.html), you can now find a patch which adds elementary RTnet support to EtherBoot's development branch (5.3.10+CVS, 2004-12-11). It allows EtherBoot to be used in a running real-time network without violating the timing requirements. In other words, it enables hot-plugging even of disk-less real-time nodes.

RT-EtherBoot will first search for an RTcfg server inviting the node to become part of a TDMA-managed network (revision 2.1). The RTcfg server must have been configured with both the node's IP and MAC address and has to publish the TDMA configuration in the same format the latest rtnet start script uses.

You will additionally need a standard DHCP and a TFTP server listening for incoming requests from RT-EtherBoot clients on the related VNIC interface. This means that all DHCP and image download traffic is exchanged as non-real-time data in the assigned slots over the network without delaying time-critical data.

Jan

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