Network boot for Amiga?

[freqmax]

Did any of the Ethernet network cards A2065, Ariadne Z-II, A4066, X-Surf support booting from the network out of the box?, or if the Amiga could support that at all?

Preferably per file style, but simulated block-disc may work too.

[the_leander]

Did any of the Ethernet network cards A2065, Ariadne Z-II, A4066, X-Surf support booting from the network out of the box?, or if the Amiga could support that at all?

Preferably per file style, but simulated block-disc may work too.

I'm not sure that the Amiga could, I mean maybe, possibly using NetBSD as your OS and it pre rigged to run that way.

But it'd be a hell of a job to get it going even if the hardware is physically capable.

[hardlink]

A module for that would have to be added to Kickstart - sounds like a great project for a talented programmer!

The closest you could get right now might be using an X-surf card and putting a Compact Flash card on the IDE port with the drivers and the StartupSequence. It would really be booting off the CF, but would then pull all other files from the network (assuming the X-surf IDE is bootable, which it may not be).

[kolla]

Look here and here

[Thomas]

I've modified the OS 3.9 emergency disk to boot from a network drive. Actually it mounts an ISO image of the OS 3.9 CD stored on the network drive instead of the real CD. But it could as well be made to boot from a directory on the net drive.

It's similar to the CF card approach above with the difference that my solution works while hardlink's doesn't because the X-Surf cannot boot from its IDE port. You'd have to connect the CF card to the motherboard IDE port instead.

[hardlink]

Look here and here

and even Here: http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=30853

I didn't know anyone made such a beast. From reading those pages, I'm not sure who made them or where. Are they still available (

Seriously though, does the software run using non-QuickNet ethernet boards?

[freqmax]

So the concept seems to be the same as for PC. EEPROM on the network card that is enabled during boot and redirects the boot process to network. I don't remember what minimal files is essential to get the Amiga machine up however. And then a network interface chip that does the actual networking.

Those QuickNet cards seems to consist of EEPROM to the left + MB86950B interface chip.

To make something network bootable it has to get some core loaded first. And then some driver that enables per-file awareness. But someone with more knowledge on the actual boot process of Amiga might possible enlighten?

[Tumbleweed]

What about using the flashrom on a Deneb USB card?

Weed

[freqmax]

i was more interested how much support and/or what's needed to make the Amiga + AmigaOS support diskless setup.