Network Stack
Назначение параметра: Параметр, включающий загрузку операционной системы для компьютера из сети. Загрузку компьютера из сети позволяет делать PXE (Preboot eXecution Environment) — предзагрузочная среда исполнения, которая использует сетевые протоколы IP, UDP, BOOTP и TFTP для загрузки операционной системы на компьютер клиента со специального сервера. Применение загрузки ОС из сети оправдано в масштабах больших организаций и необходимо для облегчения администрирования. Какие-либо внутренние носители информации на клиентском компьютере (HDD, SSD) не требуются.
Возможные варианты значений:
Disabled — Функция загрузки операционной системы из сети выключена.
Enabled — Функция включена и позволяет установить версию протокола IP, который будет использоваться для сетевой загрузки ОС.
Network Stack BIOS – What is it, and Should I enable it?
Most users aren’t aware, but Network Stack is an option in the BIOS menu. Upon activation, the user can boot the computer through the network without using the hard disk.
But this function is useful to a limited number of users only. If you are one of them and want to navigate through the complicated BIOS menu seamlessly, you are at the right place. Check out the following guide, where we discussed the Network Stack feature and how to enable and disable it.
What is BIOS?
BIOS stands for Basic Input/Output System. It is a program used by the microprocessor inside your computer that helps to start the system after turning it on.
- It checks the hardware before loading the OS.
- It locates the OS.
- It also locates the necessary drivers and software.
- Lastly, it plays an important role while altering hardware and system settings.
What is Network Stack in BIOS?
Network Stack is essentially an option in the BISO menu. Enabling this option means the users can load the operating system through a network card from a remote computer or a server (PXE Boot).
This option is available in the Boot options under the BIOS settings. But users can only find it if the onboard LAN Boot ROM is enabled. This option is also known as Network Boot and Internal Network Adapter.
Even if you are aware of the Network Stack option, it is not easy to enable in BIOS. Most users are not aware of the ways to operate within the BIOS menu. It is very tricky and risky. So, be sure to check out the guide below.
How Do You Enable Network Stack BIOS?
Enabling network stack BIOS is an exceptionally delicate process. BIOS is the part of the system that is only accessible to a seasoned operator.
But to execute this process, you have to open the BIOS menu or the UEFI settings on your computer. The procedure is split into two parts. The first part is to open the BIOS settings, and the second part shows how to enable the network stack BIOS.
Part 1: Opening the BIOS Settings
Windows 11
- Click the Start button and navigate to Windows Settings.
- Select System on the left side of the panel.
- Click Recovery on the right side.
- Click Restart on the Advanced Startup Tile.
- After your computer restarts, select Troubleshoot.
- Click Advanced Options.
- Then, select UEFI Firmware Settings.
- Then, click Restart.
After the restart, your system will enter BIOS.
Windows 10
- Click the Start button and navigate to Windows Settings.
- Select Update & Security.
- Click Recovery on the left side of the panel.
- Click Restart Now, under Advanced Startup, on the right side of the window.
- After Windows restarts, select Troubleshoot.
- Select Advanced Options.
- Then, click BIOS or UEFI Firmware Settings, whichever one shows up.
- Lastly, click Restart.
Part 2: Enable Network Stack BIOS
- Once you are in the BIOS, look for Advanced Boot Options. It will probably be on the top left side of the window.
- You can use the Arrow Keys on the keyboard to navigate through the BIOS menu.
- Locate the Network Stack option.
- Activate it by choosing the Enable option.
- Now, hit F10 on the keyboard to save the changes and exit BIOS.
Lastly, restart the computer, and you have successfully enabled Network Stack BIOS on your computer.
Why Should You Enable Network Stack BIOS?
Do not enable Network Stack on your home computer, which is used for general work and content consumption. It’s totally unnecessary.
Enabling Network Stack BIOS will help if your computer can’t boot from the Hard Disk Drives. It also enables PXE. It is also useful while updating and installing OS via a network. Most of the time, it’s the client-server which requires a strong internet connection.
This feature is used by people who work in a company where they have to tackle PXE booting. And, if you are not an advanced Windows user or a professional like an IT admin, stay away from it. Also, from the network security perspective, it leaves your system vulnerable.
How Do You Disable Network Stack BIOS?
We have discussed how to enable Network Stack BIOS, but ultimately, it is necessary to know whether this feature will help you. From what we have learned, this feature is only helpful to a select number of people.
So, if you have enabled network stack already, it’s best to disable it, and the steps are pretty simple.
- Open BIOS on your computer. Use the guide we have previously discussed.
- After opening the BIOS menu successfully, navigate to the Advanced Boot Options.
- Disable the Network Stack option.
- Click Apply.
- Now, press F10 and exit BIOS.
Now, reboot your computer, and Network Stack will be disabled.
Where is Network Stack in ASUS?
The location of the Network Stack option varies as there are multiple brands like ASUS, Acer, MSI, and more. Each of these brands uses a different BIOS setup configuration. So, locating the Network Stack option can be a bit tricky.
ASUS is one of the most popular computer brands in the market. Satirically, there is a large number of ASUS users globally. If you use an ASUS laptop or a motherboard on your PC, you can locate the Network Stack option under Advanced Settings in BIOS. As usual, enabling this feature will help to boot your computer via internet/network connections instead of hard disk drives.
Where is the Network Stack Setting on Ubuntu?
You can also access Network Stack settings on Ubuntu or Linux systems easily. Restart the computer and while doing so, press the F2 button. You will have access to the BIOS settings.
Now, you have to locate the Network Stack option. Look for it under the Advanced Menu. It will be there; enable it and initiate the PXE services.
How to enable Network Stack on OptiPlex 7010 BIOS?
You can easily enable Network Stack on OptiPles 7010 vis UEFI Settings or BIOS Settings. We recommend updating the drivers; if you cannot boot your computer using this method. But for best practices, refer to the official Dell website.
What is PXE Network Stack?
PXE stands for Pre Execution Environment and is also popular as Pixie (Fairy Dust) in the industry. It is a process that involves booting a computer through the network card only. It is only possible by using PXElinux NBP.
Should the Network Stack be enabled in BIOS?
Enabling Network Stack in BIOS is recommended only for specific users. There’s no need to enable Network Stack in the BIOS if you do not work in an environment where you have to deal with PXE-related tasks.
Enabling this feature will prevent you from booting the computer via the hard disk.
Find out more information about the advanced BIOS settings in the below video. It clearly explained the settings for the most famous brands every computer user must know.
If any of the above solutions did not fix the Windows PC issues, we recommend downloading the below PC repair tool to identify and solve any PC Issues.
Saurav Dey
Saurav is an electrical engineer, a Microsoft Windows enthusiast and an avid gamer. He likes tinker with old and new versions of Microsoft Windows, fixing errors, and writing tutorials.
What Is Network Stack In UEFI/BIOS
If you have ever configured your system’s BIOS or UEFI settings, you may have come across the option “Network Stack,” more specifically “Enable Network Stack.” Even though this option has been there for many years, many of home users are confused about this feature and whether it should be enabled or disabled.
To put this confusion to an end once and for all, today we are going to be discussing Network Stack; what it is, how it works, and when one should enable or disable it.
What is Network Stack
Network Stack, also referred to as Network Boot, is a feature that allows the computer to boot from the network, instead of the local hard drive or a bootable USB drive.
This feature is used by devices that usually do not have a local hard drive installed and want to boot from a device at a remote location over the network. It can also be used by IT professionals for mass operating system deployments in a corporate environment.
The Network Stack option allows booting from a Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) server. This is the server that hosts the operating system or contains the OS deployment images, depending on what it is being used for.
By default, Network Stack is enabled on most client computers. However, it has recently come to our attention that some machines now have it disabled, according to a Reddit post.
Different OEMs provide different Network Stack settings in the UEFI/BIOS settings. Normally, you see the settings given in the table below. This table lists the Network Stack settings, their values, and what each of them is used for.
Note: The highlighted value is the default value for the network setting.
Setting | Value | Description |
Network Stack | Enable Disable |
Enable or disable UEFI Network Stack. |
IPv4 PXE Support | Enable Disable |
Enable IPv4 PXE Boot Support. If this item is disabled, the IPv4 PXE boot option will not be created. |
IPv4 HTTP Support | Enable Disable |
Enable IPv4 HTTP Boot Support. If this item is disabled, the IPv4 HTTP boot option will not be created. |
IPv6 PXE Support | Enable Disable |
Enable IPv6 PXE Boot Support. If this item is disabled, the IPv6 PXE boot option will not be created. |
IPv6 HTTP Support | Enable Disable |
Enable IPv6 HTTP Boot Support. If this item is disabled, the IPv6 HTTP boot option will not be created. |
IPSEC Certificate | Enable Disable |
It is supported to enable/disable the IPSEC certificate for Ikev. |
PXE boot wait time | 0 | Set the wait time for you to press the ESC key to abort the PXE boot. Use either +/- or numeric keys to set the value, which is counted in seconds. |
Media detect count | 1 | The number of times the presence of media will be checked. Use either +/- or numeric keys to set the value. |
Network Stack settings in UEFI/BIOS
Now, let us take a look at how this technology works before determining whether it should be enabled or disabled.
How PXE Boot Works
The Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) is a client-server network interface that allows a device to boot from a remote device. If you are running an operating system over the local network, it would seem like it is running locally. However, the process is not so simple, since the client and the server first need to discover one another.
For the PXE boot to work, there are some protocols the network much support, which include Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP).
When the computer boots up, an IP address is assigned to it from the DHCP server. For that, the client computer broadcasts a “discover” packet over the network, to which the DHCP server responds with an “offer” packet. After accepting the offer, an IP address is assigned.
Now, the client PC will notify the DHCP server that it is using the PXE boot server, to which the DHCP server will reply by sending the IP address of the boot server and the boot file name to the client. Now, the client PC will make direct communication with the boot server and request the boot files.
The PXE boot server will now send over the boot files using TFTP, using which the client PC will boot the operating system.
This concludes the brief process of how PXE boot works in a closed network.
Should Network Stack be Enabled or Disabled
The purpose of explaining how PXE boot works were to give insight into the decision on whether Network Stack should be enabled or disabled in your UEFI/BIOS settings.
As you already know now, the process of booting from a PXE server requires some packets going back and forth, and some broadcasting. This makes the devices vulnerable to outside threats as an attacker can pose as a potential PXE server and feed false information to the client device.
Therefore, it is advised that Network Stack should be disabled, provided that you are not using it.
However, if your computer does not have a local hard drive and requires you to boot your operating system over the network from the PXE server, then you have no choice but to keep Network Stack enabled.
Also, if you are an IT administrator performing a mass OS deployment, then enabling the Network Stack would allow you to connect to the Windows Deployment Server (WDS) and perform the OS installations quickly.
Let us now show you how to make changes to Network Stack from system UEFI/BIOS settings.
How to Enable or Disable Network Stack
Follow these steps to enable/disable the network stack from UEFI/BIOS settings:
Start/Restart your computer and use the designated hotkey to enter BIOS.
Look for the Integrated NIC option and here you shall find the “Enable UEFI/BIOS Network Stack” option. Check or uncheck the box next to it to enable or disable Network Stack.
When done, save the changes by clicking Apply and then exit the UEFI/BIOS settings.
As you can see in the image above, the NIC can be “Disabled,” “Enabled,” or “Enabled with PXE.” When you select “Enabled with PXE,” it means that the computer can now boot from a PXE server over the network. However, for that to work, you must also enable Network Stack.
Closing Words
As we mentioned earlier, many client PCs have Network Stack enabled by default. Moreover, sometimes with the Network Stack enabled, the computer tries to boot from the network, even when the locally-installed hard drive has a perfectly running operating system on it.
This happens when the network card is on top of the other bootable devices in the boot order. You can also change the boot order from the system BIOS and still keep Network Stack enabled when needed.