[gPXE] DHCP Client ID in gPXE 1.0.0?

[Shao Miller]

Michael Brown wrote:
>
> ...It would definitely be useful to be able
> to modify the gPXE DHCP request...
>

I sometimes forget that something that seems obvious in my head is not 
communicated by magic to others.  You've given a crystal-clear 
description of what I had in mind, down to the last detail.  Thanks very 
much for the detailed expansion, Michael.

Before finding the resolution to a particular Nortel DHCP relay issue, I 
really could have used such functionality to quickly determine the cause 
of the failure.

In regards to your emphasis on linker tables versus #ifdef, if we ever 
get around to supporting modularization of some sort, we could offer 
various hook-/filter-points to modules...  An example would be a module 
that gets a chance to scrutinize and possibly modify a DHCP request 
packet before transmission ("Do I have anything I'd like to say to the 
DHCP server?").

It seems to me that where we currently find linker tables in the code, 
those might be good spots for runtime modules to "attach" themselves.  
It seems very natural to me, somehow.  Even a single "extension" entry 
on each table might be useful, if tables were all tables of functions 
returning data, rather than data.

But I often get stuck in "analysis paralysis" during thought processes 
regarding abstraction of code...  Where is the balance between gPXE 
being a network boot-loader and being an OS kernel itself?  Since not 
100% of users' needs can be met within the constraint space, whose needs 
get left out?  If it's going to be a kernel of sorts for features to 
plug in to, it will have to be small and fast, where usually you "pick 
one".  If it's going to be a highly optimized atomic package of 
features, it'll be an assembly...?  Ha!

Anyway, have a nice day.

- Shao Miller
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