First, you should decide on the servers to participate in the PXE installation. You need these servers:
- PXE server. This is a server allowing your servers to boot and install OpenVZ over the network. Any server capable of running a Linux operating system and having a network interface card (NIC) can play the role of a PXE server.
- DHCP server. This is a standard DHCP server serving computers on your network with the necessary TCP/IP settings. You can use an existing DHCP server, if you have one, or set up a DHCP server from scratch. In the latter case, you can install it on the PXE server or use a dedicated server.
- OpenVZ server. This is a server running OpenVZ. The server must meet the requirements described in the Preparing for Installation chapter of the OpenVZ Installation Guide. In addition to the requirements listed in this chapter, the server must have a NIC with PXE support to be able to boot from the PXE server.
- HTTP or FTP server. This is a server storing the OpenVZ installation files. You can use an existing HTTP server, if you have one, or set up an HTTP server from scratch. In the latter case, you can install it on the PXE server or use a dedicated server.
This guide assumes that you will store the installation files on an HTTP server and use HTTP as the installation protocol.
