PXE Netboot

EmptyEpsilon can be set up to boot diskless clients via PXE (Preboot eXecution Environment), loading the game over the network from a central server. This is useful for running EmptyEpsilon in a lab or arcade setting without managing individual machines.

Repository contents

The netboot/ directory in the repository contains:

• build_netboot_system.sh: A shell script that builds a PXE-bootable EmptyEpsilon system, preparing the network boot image with the game binary, resources, and required libraries.
• config_manager.py: A Python client-side script that manages connection configurations for PXE-booted clients. It can set up server connection details, including automatic connection to a specific server on boot.

See the README file in the netboot/ directory for more information.

Setup

PXE netboot allows multiple client machines to boot EmptyEpsilon from a single server over the local network. The general process:

1. Set up a PXE server (DHCP, TFTP, and NFS or HTTP) on your network.
2. Run build_netboot_system.sh to create the boot image containing EmptyEpsilon and its dependencies.
3. Configure config_manager.py to set autoconnect parameters and other client preferences.
4. Boot client machines via PXE, which then load EmptyEpsilon from the network server.

Additional resources

• Fallback content paths explains how content loading works in PXE environments, where only the binary is provided over the network and assets must be served separately.