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DriveWipe PXE Boot Infrastructure

Overview

This directory contains everything needed to set up a PXE boot server for DriveWipe Live. Clients network-boot directly into the DriveWipe TUI, with no USB drives required.

Directory Structure

live/pxe/
├── dnsmasq.conf          # DHCP + TFTP server configuration
├── ipxe/
│   ├── boot.ipxe         # iPXE chainload script (auto-boot)
│   └── menu.ipxe         # iPXE boot menu with options
└── README.md             # This file

Prerequisites

  • dnsmasq — DHCP + TFTP server (apt install dnsmasq / dnf install dnsmasq)
  • iPXE — Network boot firmware (optional, for HTTP boot; TFTP works without it)
  • DriveWipe Live artifacts — Built via scripts/build-live.sh:
    • vmlinuz — Linux kernel
    • initramfs.img — DriveWipe Live initramfs
    • drivewipe-live.iso — Full ISO (optional, for hybrid boot)

Quick Start

1. Build live artifacts

# From the repository root:
./scripts/build-live.sh

# Or via xtask:
cargo xtask live-build

2. Copy boot files to TFTP root

sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/tftpboot/drivewipe
sudo cp output/vmlinuz /var/lib/tftpboot/drivewipe/
sudo cp output/initramfs.img /var/lib/tftpboot/drivewipe/
sudo cp live/pxe/ipxe/boot.ipxe /var/lib/tftpboot/drivewipe/
sudo cp live/pxe/ipxe/menu.ipxe /var/lib/tftpboot/drivewipe/

3. Configure and start dnsmasq

# Edit the configuration for your network interface:
sudo cp live/pxe/dnsmasq.conf /etc/dnsmasq.d/drivewipe.conf
sudo vi /etc/dnsmasq.d/drivewipe.conf  # adjust interface, DHCP range

# Restart dnsmasq:
sudo systemctl restart dnsmasq

4. Boot a client

Set the client machine to PXE boot (usually F12 or network boot in BIOS/UEFI). The iPXE menu will appear, and the client will auto-boot into DriveWipe Live after a 10-second timeout.

Testing with QEMU

# Test PXE boot locally without hardware:
qemu-system-x86_64 \
    -m 2G \
    -boot n \
    -device virtio-net-pci,netdev=net0 \
    -netdev user,id=net0,tftp=/var/lib/tftpboot,bootfile=drivewipe/boot.ipxe

Network Requirements

  • PXE server and clients must be on the same Layer 2 network (same VLAN/subnet)
  • No other DHCP servers should be running on the same network segment
  • If using an existing DHCP server, configure it to point next-server and filename to the PXE server instead of running dnsmasq DHCP

Security Considerations

  • The PXE boot process is unencrypted over TFTP — only use on trusted networks
  • DriveWipe Live runs with root privileges for direct drive access
  • Consider using HTTPS boot (iPXE supports it) in production environments