Bootstrapping Clients using the Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) Protocol (RFC4173) (01-Sep-2005)

Network Working Group                                          P. Sarkar
Request for Comments: 4173                                           IBM
Category: Standards Track                                    D. Missimer
                                                 Hewlett-Packard Company
                                                          C. Sapuntzakis
                                                     Stanford University
                                                          September 2005

                      Bootstrapping Clients using
     the Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) Protocol

Status of This Memo

   This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
   Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
   improvements.  Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
   Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
   and status of this protocol.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2005).

Abstract

   Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) is a proposed
   transport protocol for Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) that
   operates on top of TCP.  This memo describes a standard mechanism for
   enabling clients to bootstrap themselves using the iSCSI protocol.
   The goal of this standard is to enable iSCSI boot clients to obtain
   the information to open an iSCSI session with the iSCSI boot server.

1.  Introduction

   The Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) is a popular family of
   protocols for communicating with I/O devices, especially storage
   devices.  SCSI can be characterized as a request/response messaging
   protocol with a standard architecture and componentized command sets
   for different device classes.

   iSCSI is a proposed transport protocol for SCSI that operates on top
   of TCP.  The role of iSCSI is necessitated by the evolution of the
   system interconnect from a shared bus to a switched network.  IP
   networks meet the architectural and performance requirements of
   transporting SCSI, paving the way for the iSCSI protocol.

Sarkar, et al.              Standards Track                     [Page 1]
RFC 4173                  iSCSI Bootstrapping             September 2005

   Many diskless clients sometimes bootstrap off remote SCSI devices.
   Such diskless entities are lightweight, space efficient, and power-
   conserving and are increasingly popular in various environments.