WDS/DHCP/PXE Boot Troubleshooting

Question

Hi,

I am trying to setup PXE boot via a setup of a DHCP server with an ip helper pointing to a virtual WDS server. The DHCP server and WDS server sit on the same subnet, and the DHCP ip helper is supposed to direct the test client that is not on the same subnet as the two servers.

I made sure the WDS service is running, images configured onto it, and I'm not sure what else to change within the WDS server properties. We've checked the DHCP server options, security options such as firewall issues, etc. Every time I boot from the test computer via ethernet, it always has the "checking media presence", "media present", "start PXE over IPV4" lines displayed.

What are some troubleshooting steps I can use for the WDS server/DHCP server? I've been searching google and haven't been able to find anything helpful as of yet. Please let me know if I can provide additional information!

Thanks

Answer 1

Hello ,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community forum.
When setting up PXE boot, if you encounter messages such as "Check for media presence", "Media presence", "Start booting PXE via IPV4", it may be due to configuration issues between the DHCP server and WDS server. Here are some troubleshooting steps that can help you solve the problem:

1. Ensure that options 66 and 67 of the DHCP server are configured correctly.
2. Ensure that the IP Helper address configured on the router or switch points to the correct WDS server IP address and there are no other configuration conflicts.
3. In the WDS management console, check if the image has been added correctly and is in a usable state.
4. Use the ping command to test the connectivity from the test computer to the DHCP server and WDS server.
5. Ensure that the firewall is not blocking the ports required for PCIe boot. Usually, DHCP uses UDP 67 and 68, while WDS uses UDP 69
6. Check the log files of the WDS server, usually located in the C: \ Windows \ Debug \ WDS \ directory, for any error messages.
7. Try using different test computers for PXE boot to troubleshoot specific computer issues.
8. Ensure that the BIOS settings of the testing computer enable network boot (PXE boot) and that the boot sequence is correct.
9. Try using Wireshark to capture network traffic and check if DHCP and TFTP requests are working properly.

I hope the information above is helpful.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to let us know.

Regards,
Jill Zhou

Answer 2

Pinging is working, but I see varying opinons on configuring option 60, 66, and 67. What are each of these options supposed to be set to? I've seen some people say to configure them, and others saying to leave them unset. I also don't have any files in \ Windows \ Debug \ WDS \ or a folder called that for that matter. I'm also still trying to confirm the images are uploaded correctly

Thanks

Answer 3

I'm very sorry that I missed your information.

Thanks for your feedback.

Regarding PXE boot configuration, there may be different opinions on the settings of DHCP options 60, 66, and 67, because the specific configuration depends on your network topology and the role of the WDS server. The following is an explanation of what these options do and how to configure them:

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DHCP Option Description:

• Option 60 (PXEClient) is used to inform the DHCP client (that is, the PXE booting device) whether there is a PXE service in the current network. If the DHCP server and WDS server are running on the same server, this option needs to be enabled.

Configuration: Set to the string value PXEClient. If DHCP and WDS are separate servers, this option usually does not need to be configured.

• Option 66 (TFTP server name) points to the address of the TFTP server, that is, the IP address of the WDS server, which is used to provide boot files.

Configuration: Set to the IP address of the WDS server, such as 192.168.1.100. If the network device (such as IP Helper) has already correctly forwarded the boot request to the WDS server, this option can be left unset.

• Option 67 (boot file name) is used to specify the boot file path that needs to be loaded when the PXE client boots.

Configuration: Usually it needs to be set to boot\x64\wdsnbp.com or boot\x64\pxeboot.com. Choose the appropriate path according to your architecture. If it is a 32-bit system, the boot file path may be boot\x86\wdsnbp.com.

If IP Helper is configured in your network and correctly points to the WDS server:

Normally, you do not need to configure options 66 and 67, because IP Helper will forward PXE requests to the WDS server.

If DHCP and WDS are on the same server, you may need to configure option 60 for PXEClient.

If IP Helper is not used or the router does not support IP Helper:

You need to configure option 66 for the WDS server IP and option 67 for the boot file path.

File directory problem:

If you cannot find the log file in the C:\Windows\Debug\WDS directory, it may be that WDS logging is not enabled. You can enable logging by following the steps below:

Open the WDS Management Console. Right-click the server and select Properties. Go to the Diagnostics tab and check Enable debug logging.

Configure the location of the log file and save the settings.

Then try to restart the WDS service and trigger a boot operation to see if the log file is generated.

Make sure the image has been uploaded correctly to the WDS server:

Open the WDS Management Console and navigate to Boot Images or Install Images.

Check if the boot image and install image are listed and make sure their status is Enabled or Available.

If the image does not exist, right-click the corresponding category, select Add Image, and follow the wizard to upload the image.