Preboot Execution Environment

In computing, the Preboot eXecution Environment (PXE; often pronounced as pixie), often called PXE boot (pixie boot), is a specification describing a standardized client–server environment that boots a software assembly, retrieved from a network, on PXE-enabled clients. On the client side it requires only a PXE-capable network interface controller (NIC), and uses a small set of industry-standard network protocols such as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP).