The method of communication between the booting client and the server uses data fields (known as options) in DHCP packets. The Windows Deployment Services solution for booting over the network works well in many configurations. It works well when Windows Deployment Services is located on the same physical computer or on a different physical computer than the DHCP server. However, the default installation is that Windows Deployment Services and a DCHP server (Microsoft or non-Microsoft) are located on different physical computers. In this scenario, no additional configuration steps are required for interoperability between Windows Deployment Services and the DHCP server.

However, if you are running Windows Deployment Services and DHCP on the same computer, in addition to configuring the server to not listen on port 67, you will need to use your DHCP tools to add Option 60 to their DHCP scopes. This allows booting clients to learn about the Windows Deployment Services PXE server from the DHCP response that is generated by the DHCP server. Setting DHCP option tag 60 has one side effect: clients booting from the network are always notified that the Windows Deployment Services PXE server is available, even if the server is not operational or has stopped. For instructions on configuring these options, see the DHCP section of How to Manage Your Server.

If DHCP is installed on a server that is located in a different subnet, then you will need to do one of the following configure your IP Helper tables (recommended) or add DHCP options 66 and 67. For more information, see Managing Network Boot Programs.