netboot preview release

[Gero Kuhlmann <gero@gkminix.han.de>]

Hello,

today I've released the first preview release of netboot version 0.9. Be
careful: it really is a preview release and not meant for production ROMs.

The most important changes are:
  -  Further modularization of the bootrom: between the bootrom kernel and
     the network driver there is now a new layer, the network driver
     interface level. The bootrom internally uses the Universal Network Driver
     Interface (UNDI) which has been defined by Intel and is part of their
     PXE specification (but netboot is not fully PXE-compliant yet). The
     new network driver interface level adjusts UNDI to the actually used
     network driver. In addition to the well-known packet driver interface,
     this release also contains an interface for NDIS2 drivers. Almost
     every network should be delivered with such drivers, as it's the
     interface standard under DOS and Windows-3.1. I'm presently working
     on another network driver interface which allows the use of Linux
     kernel network drivers. If anyone feels in the mood to write another
     driver interface (like ODI for example) please get in touch with me.
     It's farily simple to write such a new interface level with enough
     knowledge of the actual network driver standard.
  -  In addition to the changes in the network driver interface of the
     bootrom kernel, many changes have been implemented for the existing
     packet driver interface. For example, it is now possible to use larger
     drivers, if they reduce their size after installation.
  -  Full support for BIOS Boot Specification (BBS). Unfortunately, I don't
     have a system for testing BBS, so please let me know if this works
     correctly.

This preview release has so many changes, that the HISTORY file alomst
doubled in size...

WARNING: As said above, this is a preview release. Certain things might
not work yet, and documentation is still on the old 0.8.1 level. Therefore,
you have to work without documentation when using this new release. If you
are unfamiliar with network booting, please use the current 0.8.1 version,
or wait until the final release of 0.9. Please, do not write to me if you
have problems using this preview release due to inexperience. However, if
you find a bug or even if you have a bug fix, I would be more than happy
if you could let me know.

This preview release can be downloaded from:

http://www.han.de/~gero/netboot/files/netboot-0.9.0a.tar.gz

It will not be avaiable through the normal netboot home page.

Please, try this version out and let me know how it works. At present, I
know that it works within my personal setup.

gero.

-- 
Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love.
  - Albert Einstein
--
Gero Kuhlmann, Hannover     0511/6497525 (Voice)        gero@gkminix.han.de
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