imported>GreenC bot: Move 1 url. Wayback Medic 2.5 per WP:URLREQ#citeftp

2025-05-27T10:11:36Z

Move 1 url. Wayback Medic 2.5 per WP:URLREQ#citeftp

New page

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019|cs1-dates=y}}
{{Use list-defined references|date=December 2021}}
'''Remote Initial Program Load''' ('''RIPL''' or '''RPL''') is a protocol for starting a computer and [[network booting|loading]] its [[operating system]] from a [[Server (computing)|server]] via a [[network (computing)|network]]. Such a server runs a [[network operating system]] such as [[LAN Manager]], [[IBM LAN Server|LAN Server]], [[Windows NT]] Server, [[Novell]] [[NetWare]], [[LANtastic]], [[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]] or [[Linux]].<ref name="RPLD"/>

RIPL is similar to [[Preboot Execution Environment]] (PXE), but it uses the Novell NetWare-based [[booting|boot]] method. It was originally developed by [[IBM]].

== {{anchor|PCDOSRPL}}IBM LAN Server ==
IBM LAN Server enables clients (RIPL requesters) to load the operating systems [[DOS]] or [[OS/2]] via the [[IEEE 802.2|802.2]]/[[Data Link Control|DLC]]-protocol from the [[LAN]] (often [[Token Ring]]). Therefore, the server compares the clients' requests with entries in its RPL.MAP table. Remote booting DOS workstations via [[boot image]]s was supported as early as 1990 by IBM LAN Server 1.2 via its PCDOSRPL protocol. IBM LAN Server 2.0 introduced remote booting of OS/2 stations (since OS/2 1.30.1) in 1992.

== {{anchor|RPL|Novell}}RPL and DOS ==
For DOS remote boot to work, the RPL boot loader is loaded into the client's memory over the network before the operating system starts. Without special precautions the operating system could easily overwrite the RPL code during boot, since the RPL code resides in unallocated memory (typically at the top of the available [[conventional memory]]).<ref name="Paul_1997_OD-A3"/><ref name="Brown_RBIL_2F4A06"/><ref name="Paul_2002_RPL"/> The RPL code hides and thereby protects itself from being overwritten by hooking [[INT 12h]]<ref name="Brown_RBIL_12"/><ref name="Paul_2002_RPL"/> and reducing the memory reported by this BIOS service by its own size. INT 12h is used by DOS to query the amount of available memory when initializing its own real-mode memory allocation scheme.<ref name="Brown_RBIL_12"/><ref name="Paul_2002_RPL"/> This causes problems on more modern DOS systems, where free real-mode address ranges may be utilized by the operating system in order to [[Self-relocation|relocate]] parts of itself and [[LOADHIGH|load drivers high]], so that the amount of available conventional memory is maximized. Typically, various operating system vendor and version specific "dirty tricks" had to be used by the RPL code in order to survive this very dynamic boot process<ref name="Paul_1997_OD-A3"/> and let DOS regain control over the memory occupied by RPL once the boot is complete in a seamless manner.

Since [[MS-DOS 5.0|MS-DOS]]/[[PC DOS 5.0]] and [[DR DOS 6.0]], the operating system checks if the RPL has hooked [[INT 2Fh]] by looking for a "<code>RPL</code>" signature at the code pointed to by INT 2Fh. If present, DOS calls INT 2Fh/AX=4A06h<ref name="Brown_RBIL_2F4A06"/><ref name="Paul_2002_RPL"/><ref name="Chappell_1994_DOS-Internals"/> to retrieve the amount of memory from the RPL and integrate it into its own memory allocation, thereby protecting the RPL code from being overwritten by other programs.<ref name="Brown_RBIL_2F4A06"/><ref name="Paul_2002_RPL"/> Still, it remained the RPL's difficult responsibility to cleanly remove itself from memory at the end of the boot phase, if possible.

== {{anchor|RPLOADER}}RPLOADER and DR-DOS ==
In addition to this "<code>RPL</code>" interface, DR DOS 6.0 and higher since 1991 support a more flexible extension named "<code>RPLOADER</code>".<ref name="Brown_RBIL_2F12FF"/><ref name="Paul_2002_RPL"/> If DR DOS detects the presence of RPLOADER rather than RPL only, it starts to issue INT 2F/AX=12FFh/BX=0005h<ref name="Brown_RBIL_2F4A06"/><ref name="Brown_RBIL_2F12FF"/><ref name="Paul_2002_RPL"/> broadcasts at certain critical stages in the boot process.<ref name="Brown_RBIL_2F4A06"/><ref name="Brown_RBIL_2F12FF"/><ref name="Paul_2002_RPL"/> The RPL code can use them to relocate itself in memory (in order to avoid conflicts with other resident software or to avoid [[memory fragmentation]] when the RPL memory is freed later on), or to hook into and better integrate with the operating system in order to perform its final cleanup tasks in a well-defined and coordinated manner through a robust and supported [[backend interface]] rather than mere hacks.<ref name="Brown_RBIL_2F4A06"/><ref name="Brown_RBIL_2F12FF"/><ref name="Paul_2002_RPL"/> This helps to improve compatibility without having to adapt the RPL code with each new version of the operating system, and it avoids unnecessary memory fragmentation and thereby increases available memory for DOS programs to run. The interface can also be utilized to run DR DOS as a task under a host operating system such as [[Concurrent DOS]].<ref name="Chappell_1994_DOS-Internals"/>

Since 2018, [[RxDOS]] 7.24 supports the "<code>RPLOADER</code>" broadcasts as well.<ref name="RxDOS724"/>

==See also==
* [[Initial Program Load]]
* [[Network booting]]
* [[PROTMAN$]] (Protocol Manager from Microsoft LAN Manager)<ref name="Chappell_1994_DOS-Internals"/>
* [[Self-relocation]]
* [[Self-replication]]
* [[NetWare DOS Requester]]
* [[NetWare Client 32 for DOS/Windows]]

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="RPLD">{{cite web |author-first1=James |author-last1=McKenzie |author-first2=Chris |author-last2=Lightfoot |date=1999 |url=http://gimel.esc.cam.ac.uk/james/rpld/ |title=RPLD - an RPL/RIPL remote boot server |access-date=2009-06-11 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823010404/http://gimel.esc.cam.ac.uk/james/rpld/ |archive-date=2017-08-23}}</ref>
<ref name="Brown_RBIL_12">{{cite web |editor-first=Ralf D. |editor-last=Brown |editor-link=Ralf D. Brown |work=[[Ralf Brown's Interrupt List]] |title=12: INT 12 - BIOS - GET MEMORY SIZE |url=http://www.delorie.com/djgpp/doc/rbinter/id/04/6.html |access-date=2017-08-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822232045/http://www.delorie.com/djgpp/doc/rbinter/id/04/6.html |archive-date=2017-08-22}}</ref>
<ref name="Brown_RBIL_2F4A06">{{cite web |author-first=Matthias R. |author-last=Paul |editor-first=Ralf D. |editor-last=Brown |editor-link=Ralf D. Brown |date=2000-07-17 |work=[[Ralf Brown's Interrupt List]] 61 |title=2F4A06: INT 2F - DOS 5+ - DOS SUPERVISOR "REBOOT PANEL" - ADJUST MEMORY SIZE |url=http://www.delorie.com/djgpp/doc/rbinter/id/37/48.html |access-date=2017-08-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822230812/http://www.delorie.com/djgpp/doc/rbinter/id/37/48.html |archive-date=2017-08-22}}</ref>
<ref name="Brown_RBIL_2F12FF">{{cite web |author-first=Matthias R. |author-last=Paul |editor-first=Ralf D. |editor-last=Brown |editor-link=Ralf D. Brown |date=2000-07-17 |work=[[Ralf Brown's Interrupt List]] 61 |title=2F12FFBX0005: INT 2F - DR DOS 6.0+ - BOOT PHASE BROADCASTS FOR MEMORYMAX/RPLOADER/SECURITY |url=http://www.delorie.com/djgpp/doc/rbinter/id/58/44.html |access-date=2017-08-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822231503/http://www.delorie.com/djgpp/doc/rbinter/id/58/44.html |archive-date=2017-08-22}} (NB. Additional information is pending for release 62.)</ref>
<ref name="Paul_2002_RPL">{{cite newsgroup |title=Suche freien Speicherbereich unterhalb von 1 MB, der nicht von OS überschrieben wird |author-first=Matthias R. |author-last=Paul |date=2002-08-13 |newsgroup=de.comp.lang.assembler.x86 |language=de |url=https://groups.google.com/d/msg/de.comp.lang.assembler.x86/boKnIpqPl-Q/ZLDFDX9E1e0J |access-date=2017-09-03 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170904001428/https://groups.google.com/forum/%23!msg/de.comp.lang.assembler.x86/boKnIpqPl-Q/ZLDFDX9E1e0J |archive-date=2017-09-04}}</ref>
<ref name="Paul_1997_OD-A3">{{cite web |author-first=Matthias R. |author-last=Paul |title=Caldera OpenDOS 7.01/7.02 Update Alpha 3 IBMBIO.COM BOOT.TXT - A short description of how OpenDOS is booted |url=http://www.uni-bonn.de/~uzs180/download/ibmbioa3.zip |date=1997-10-02 |orig-year=1997-09-29 |access-date=2009-03-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031004074600/http://www-student.informatik.uni-bonn.de/~frinke/ibmbioa3.zip |archive-date=2003-10-04}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20181225154705/http://mirror.macintosharchive.org/max1zzz.co.uk/+Windows%20&%20DOS/DOS/System/Novell/Support/Bins/Op702src.zip]</ref>
<ref name="Chappell_1994_DOS-Internals">{{cite book |title=DOS Internals |author-first=Geoff |author-last=Chappell |editor-first1=Andrew |editor-last1=Schulman |editor-first2=Amorette |editor-last2=Pedersen |date=January 1994 |edition=1st printing, 1st |series=The Andrew Schulman Programming Series |publisher=[[Addison Wesley Publishing Company]] |isbn=978-0-201-60835-9 |id={{ISBN|0-201-60835-9}} |pages=134, 140–143}} (xxvi+738+iv pages, 3.5"-floppy [https://web.archive.org/web/20190421200111/https://gopher.tildeverse.org/gopher.viste.fr/9/programming/PC/DOS/DOS%2520Internals/DOS_Internals.zip][https://web.archive.org/web/20200222111608/https://www.pcjs.org/pubs/pc/programming/DOS_Internals/]) Errata: [https://web.archive.org/web/20200222111742/http://www.geoffchappell.com/notes/dos/internals/][https://web.archive.org/web/20200222111853/https://gopher.tildeverse.org/gopher.viste.fr/1/programming/PC/DOS/DOS%2520Internals/crtdrvr][https://web.archive.org/web/20200222111945/https://gopher.tildeverse.org/gopher.viste.fr/1/programming/PC/DOS/DOS%2520Internals/xmswatch]</ref>
<ref name="RxDOS724">{{cite web |author=ecm |title=RxDOS 7.24 release |date=2018-10-08 |website=bttr-software.de |series=DOS ain't dead |url=http://www.bttr-software.de/forum/board_entry.php?id=15627 |access-date=2020-01-27 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215010804/http://www.bttr-software.de/forum/board_entry.php?id=15627 |archive-date=2018-12-15}}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite web |title=Novell Boot ROM Developer's Guide for DOS Workstations |date=1992-07-09 |version=1.0 |id=Part Number 107-000026-001 |publisher=[[Novell, Inc.]] |url=http://zigamorph.net/ibm8227/rpl.pdf |access-date=2009-06-11 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822232642/https://www.zigamorph.net/ibm8227/rpl.pdf |archive-date=2017-08-22}}
* {{cite web |title=Remote Booting With DOS/Win Client 32 |publisher=[[Novell, Inc.]] |date=2002-02-07 |orig-year=1999-10-05 |id=Document ID: 10018195, Solution ID: 1.0.33044120.2349387 |url=https://support.novell.com/docs/Tids/Solutions/10018195.html |access-date=2018-09-16 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20180916173031/https://support.novell.com/docs/Tids/Solutions/10018195.html |archive-date=2018-09-16}}
* {{cite web |title=RPL Support Setup Instructions |date=1998-04-27 |id=14933 |publisher=[[Novell]] |url=https://support.novell.com/docs/Tids/InfoDocument/14933.html |access-date=2018-09-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20180922085721/https://support.novell.com/docs/Tids/InfoDocument/14933.html |archive-date=2018-09-22}}
* {{cite web |title=RPLKT5.EXE |id=2942958 |url=https://support.novell.com/subscriptions/readmes/2942958.html |access-date=2019-04-08 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922135909/https://support.novell.com/subscriptions/readmes/2942958.html |archive-date=2018-09-22}}
* {{Cite FTP |title=Microsoft LAN Manager 2.1 RPL Tools and Specification |url=ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/developr/drg/RPL/ |server=FTP server |url-status=dead |access-date=2009-06-11 }}
* GG24-3671-00: IBM Personal System/2 Advanced Server Planning Guide ''(IBM Redbook)''

[[Category:Network booting]]

Remote Initial Program Load - Revision history

imported>GreenC bot: Move 1 url. Wayback Medic 2.5 per WP:URLREQ#citeftp