# FreeBSD 9.X network installation using PXE+TFTP (not NFS)



## aminos (Mar 7, 2014)

Hi everyone,
I'm trying to perform a FreeBSD 9.X network installation using PXE+TFTP (not NFS)! The problem using NFS is the need to specify the root-path in the dhcpd.conf, therefore we can't deploy multiple releases or different images of FreeBSD. So to enable TFTP instead of NFS we have to edit make.conf with these lines:

```
LOADER_TFTP_SUPPORT=YES 
LOADER_NFS_SUPPORT=NO
```
and rebuild the pxeboot file 

1st question is: Is this modification going to allow the install of different FreeBSD images? 

Note that I'm using an automated OS deployment solution, and I am using MAC adresses to deploy FreeBSD depending on policies, so for example two clients with different MAC adresses will have two different FreeBSD images.

Thanks in advance for your help!


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## SirDice (Mar 7, 2014)

*Re: FreeBSD 9.X network installation using PXE+TFTP (not NFS*

I may be mistaken but as far as I know you can only load the loader and perhaps the kernel over TFTP. The root filesystem has to come from somewhere and it can't be TFTP. Even the installation media have a root filesystem. 

http://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/net ... kless.html


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## wblock@ (Mar 7, 2014)

*Re: FreeBSD 9.X network installation using PXE+TFTP (not NFS*

Rather than FreeBSD's pxeboot(8), use a different boot system like Syslinux to load customize FreeBSD memstick or ISO images.  The image is copied to the client and runs from memory.


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