Turns out the two PXE servers I built do totally different things and really should be called PXE based Install Servers AND I can imagine a third which might more properly be described as a PXE Boot Server.  BTW, for those who do not know, PXE stands for Pre-eXecution Environment and really does let you boot a machine from the network.  Anyway, here are the three types I mentioned:<br>
<ol><li>from <a href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PXEInstallMultiDistro">https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PXEInstallMultiDistro</a> I built a server that does PXE boots from files stored entirely on the PXE server.  Those files came from .iso files that had been previously mounted and the necessary material extracted when the server is set up.  The .iso files need not be kept since they are not used during a PXE boot.  The booting is generally into a Live environment with the option of installing.<br>
</li><li>from <a href="http://www.howtoforge.com/install-multiple-linux-distributions-via-pxe-the-easy-way">http://www.howtoforge.com/install-multiple-linux-distributions-via-pxe-the-easy-way</a> I built a PXE server that does PXE boots using only a few files resident on the PXE server and retrieves most of the material from the internet EVERY TIME a client uses the PXE based boot.  These all seem to boot directly to an installer (no live environment).</li>
<li>I have not seen any article for this but I can imagine PXE booting being used simply to boot a system where the OS and Application files only live on the PXE server.  Configuration and user files could live locally or on the server.  I suspect PXE is never used this way but do not know.</li>
</ol>BTW, the server I built for #2 only works for some of the distributions it purports to.  Both the Fedora and CentOS installs fail because the install procedures ask for information that the client doing the booting cannot provide.  Ubuntu Karmic and Mandriva seem to work fine.  The single entry for Karmic appears able to install all the core distributions (i.e. Ubuntu, Kubuntu, etc).  The Mandriva install lets you choose KDE, GNOME, or CUSTOM (whatever that means).<br>
<br>It seems to me that method 1 is superior for speed and bandwidth considerations.  Method 2 seems better for the ability to install variations of configuration or distro builds.  I suspect it would be possible to do both in a single PXE server though it would be more work.<br>
<br>What I would like to see for method #1 is that the .iso files were retained for use in burning discs either on the PXE server or a client on the net (not a PXE function) AND might be mounted by the PXE server function rather than having to extract files when building the server.  Since all three uses only require reading the .iso&#39;s I would think they could be shared.<br>
<br>Opinions?  And is anyone interested in this?<br><br>-- <br>Dazed_75 a.k.a. Larry<br><br>The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it always to be kept alive.<br>  - Thomas Jefferson<br>