iPXE + WDS + EFI Boot Menu

This is useful to have a netboot delivered menu so that logic can be added for certain types of machines (i.e. I always want a Dell Optiplex 3050 to use WDS vs a Dell R430 to netboot the Linux installer) as well as provide admins the ability to choose the OS or debugging utilities etc whilst still providing zero touch WDS provisioning.

• With the actual content of the files in the repository as well as the instructions; removed the references to PXELinux and Grub2 as neither works well with netboot + EFI at the current time.

• Repository copy of this Gist

A pre-boot menu for EFI that allows WDS by default and selection of others manually; delivered entirely from WDS

This has the advantage that if you already have a WDS infrastructure for deploying windows (which presumably you do, if you're installing Windows desktops) then you don't require a separate/additional TFTP setup for deploying linux etc.

1. Create a folder under REMINST\Boot for iPXE like: REMINST\Boot\iPXE
2. Download snmponly.efi for iPXE from http://boot.ipxe.org/snponly.efi and store as REMINST\Boot\iPXE\snponly.efi
3. It's critically important that in WDS -> Server Properties -> Boot -> Unknown Clients is set to Always continue the PXE boot

Windows DHCP Configuration

1. Create User Class for iPXE (right click ipv4; click define user classes and name it iPXE and add iPXE as the ASCII value
2. Create Vendor Class for EFI x64 (right click ipv4; click Vendor classes, name it PXEClient:Arch:00007 and add PXEClient:Arch:00007 as the ASCII value
3. Add policy to deliver snponly.efi as the boot filename for EFI clients :: Either at the Scope or IPv4 level; right-click policies, click add, Call it "Deliver iPXE", add a Vendor Class filter to PXEClient:Arch:00007 with appended wildcard and set Boofile name to Boot\iPXE\snponly.efi
4. Add policy to deliver the iPXE configuration when iPXE requests it :: At the same level as above, add a new Policy called "iPXE Configuration", add the condition the Vendor Class is PXEClient:Arch:00007 with appended wildcard, change the radio to AND and User Class is iPXE. Set Bootfile name to the path to the iPXE configuration Boot\iPXE\iPXE.conf.
5. Change the Policy Order so that "iPXE Configuration" is Processing Order 1 and Deliver iPXE is Processing Order 2
6. Remove the PXEClient Option 60 from being set by any of the DHCP server settings (either Server Options or Scope Options) as this causes WDS to hijack the DHCP request

Configure iPXE menu

1. Create the REMIST\Boot\iPXE\iPXE.conf file with the following content:

#!ipxe
chain --autofree Boot\iPXE\boot.ipxe.cfg

2. Create the actual boot menu file REMIST\Boot\iPXE\boot.ipxe.cfg with the following content:

#!ipxe

# Figure out if client is 64-bit capable
cpuid --ext 29 && set arch x64 || set arch x86
cpuid --ext 29 && set archl amd64 || set archl i386

###################### MAIN MENU ####################################

:start
menu iPXE boot menu
item --gap --             -------------------------------Installation ------------------------------
item --key w wds          WDS
item --key l linux        Linux
item --gap --             ------------------------- Advanced options -------------------------------
item --key c config       Configure settings
item shell                Drop to iPXE shell
item reboot               Reboot computer
item
item --key x exit         Exit iPXE and continue BIOS boot
choose --timeout 5000 --default wds selected || goto cancel
set menu-timeout 0
goto ${selected}

:cancel
echo You cancelled the menu, dropping you to a shell

:shell
echo Type 'exit' to get the back to the menu
shell
set menu-timeout 0
set submenu-timeout 0
goto start

:failed
echo Booting failed, dropping to shell
goto shell

:reboot
reboot

:exit
exit

:config
config
goto start

:back
set submenu-timeout 0
clear submenu-default
goto start

############ MAIN MENU ITEMS ############

:wds
chain Boot\x64\wdsmgfw.efi || goto failed
goto start

:linux
kernel Boot\iPXE\debian-installer\linux initrd=Boot\iPXE\debian-installer\initrd.gz auto=true url=http://path/to/preseed/file.cfg
initrd Boot\iPXE\debian-installer\initrd.gz
boot
goto start

This is assuming that you have downloaded the Debian netboot.tar.gz (i.e. http://ftp.nl.debian.org/debian/dists/stretch/main/installer-amd64/current/images/netboot/netboot.tar.gz) and extracted the content to REMINST\Boot\iPXE\debian-installer.