OSD P2P PXE

Peer-to-Peer PXE uses the Assessment and Deployment Toolkit (ADK), which needs to be downloaded to the Adaptiva Server if installed on a separate server than ConfigMgr.

If necessary, download and install the latest Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK) before proceeding.

Plan Peer-to-Peer PXE

• Decide which parts of your network require PXE capabilities.

• Create one or more ConfigMgr collections that correspond to these parts of your network or check the

• Toggle All Clients to enable PXE globally.

• Enable P2P PXE in the Admin Portal.

Peer-to-Peer PXE capabilities will be enabled on each subnet within the selected parts of your network. All the necessary software components will be automatically deployed to clients, and PXE capabilities will become available for use. All computers that are part of these collections will automatically receive a small number of WAIK/ADK tools and will become capable of becoming PXE responders and TFTP servers to serve other machines on their respective subnets.

Verify P2P PXE

Peer-to-Peer PXE works silently in the background, without requiring any day to day operational supervision from the administrator. It can be reassuring to physically verify that it has actually been enabled and that the required elements are indeed in place.

On the Adaptiva server, you can verify that the WAIK /ADK tools have been published as Adaptiva content.

1. On the Adaptiva server, navigate to %AdaptivaInstallFolder%\AdaptivaServer\data\ContentLibrary.

2. The file Adaptiva\$WAIK\$.1.content contains 10 files which will be sent to clients to enable PXE capabilities.

On an Adaptiva clients, you can verify that the WAIK / ADK tools have been automatically downloaded by opening the folder: %AdaptivaClientInstallFolder%\AdaptivaClient\data\p2ppxe.

The following 10 files will be present: abortpxe.com, adaptivaboot.efi, adaptivaiboot.efi, bcdedit.exe, boot.sdi, bootmgr.exe, pxeboot.com, pxeboot.n12, wgl4_boot.ttf.

1. On an Adaptiva client's registry, you can verify that Peer-to-Peer PXE has been turned on by reviewing the following registry value:

   Path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Adaptiva\client

   Key: : p2p_pxe.pxe_enabled

   Value: true

Common Issues Peer-to-Peer PXE

Adaptiva OneSite's Peer-to-Peer PXE requires little management but here are some common issues to be aware of:

• Make sure you have advertised an appropriate task sequence to an appropriate ConfigMgr collection, including unknown computers if necessary.

• Make sure the computer you're trying to boot does not appear in the Admin Portal under OneSite Anywhere > Settings > Peer-to-Peer PXE > Unknown Devices.

For additional information on the P2P PXE Process and Troubleshooting assistance, see the Troubleshooting Guide on our Support site. If you have any questions, please contact support via the Adaptiva Support Portal or email [email protected].

Remote PXE Option

In the case where a network device is configured to disallow DHCP traffic from untrusted sources (DHCP Snooping), it is likely that DHCP/ PXE traffic on the network will be blocked. Another scenario to consider is when DHCP / PXE traffic is being routed to a remote network (using IP Helpers or DHCP Options), where a DHCP server resides. If DHCP traffic is being routed to another location, it will interfere with local Adaptiva PXE P2P responders from servicing PXE broadcast traffic. To address either scenario, a configuration option called Remote PXE is available in which Adaptiva P2P PXE clients can provide P2P PXE services to clients on another subnet.

To enable this feature, the following requirements must be met:

• The subnet hosting the DHCP server, or wherever the DHCP traffic is being routed, should host at least one Adaptiva client.

• If DHCP Snooping is enabled, an IP Helper rule must be configured to forward DHCP traffic to the remote subnet which will host the Adaptiva client.

• P2P PXE must be enabled for machines in the remote subnet where DHCP / PXE traffic is being routed to support the PXE responder.

• P2P PXE must also be enabled for machines in the location where PXE clients would be booting so that the appropriate PXE utilities are available for TFTP boot.

• A System Configuration policy with the Remote PXE setting must be applied to machines in the remote subnet where DHPC / PXE traffic is being routed.

Enable Remote PXE

The Remote PXE settings can be enabled using the System Configuration Perspective, or via a registry value, which has the same result.

To enable Remote PXE using the System Configuration Setting, follow the below process:

1. Click the gear icon > Settings > Client Settings Policies.

2. In the detail pane, click New.

3. Enter a Name of Remote PXE Clients and enter a Description or change the Priority field as needed.

4. Next to Target Groups, click Browse.

5. Navigate to and select the collection which contains Adaptiva clients that reside on the subnet in which DHCP / PXE traffic is being routed. Click OK.

6. Under Client Settings, click Add Settings.

7. Navigate to and expand the P2p Pxe folder, select Allow Remote Pxe and click OK.

8. In the Settings Details pane, under New value, enter true.

   
9. Click Save. The clients should receive the policy immediately.

This will set the following registry key on targeted client machines:

• Path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Adaptiva\Client

• Key: p2p_pxe.allow_remote_pxe

• Value: true