When you start, or boot, a computer, the operating system is loaded into its memory. The Windows NT Remoteboot service supports personal computers running MS-DOS, Windows 3.1, and Windows 95 (also called clients or workstations) that boot using software on the server's hard disk instead of the client's hard disk. Each of these clients has a network adapter, with a Remote Initial Program Load (RPL) ROM chip, that retrieves startup and configuration software from the server when the client starts. The client does not need a hard disk. This process is known as booting remotely or the remoteboot process.
Figure 15.1 shows a possible configuration of remoteboot clients and servers.
Figure 15.1 The remoteboot process