khuedoan-homelab/docs/concepts/pxe-boot.md

# PXE boot

```mermaid
flowchart TD
  subgraph controller[Initial controller]
    Ansible
    dhcp[DHCP server]
    tftp[TFTP server]
    http[HTTP server]
  end

  machine[Bare metal machine]

  Ansible -. 1 .-> machine
  machine <-. 2, 3 .-> dhcp
  machine <-. 4, 5 .-> tftp
  machine <-. 6, 7 .-> http
```

1. Ansible: Hey MAC address `xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx`, wake up!
2. Machine: Hello everyone, I just woke up in network mode, could someone please show me how to boot?
3. DHCP server: I hear you, here's your IP address, proceed to the next server to obtain your bootloader.
4. Machine: Hello, could you please send me my bootloader?
5. TFTP server: Here you go. Grab your boot configuration, kernel, and initial ramdisk as well.
6. Machine: Hi, I just booted into my bootloader, and my boot parameters instructed me to get the installation instructions, packages, etc. from this site.
7. HTTP server: It's all yours.
8. Machine: Great, now I can install the OS and reboot!

Here's how it looks like in action:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/y-d7btNNAT8" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>