Enable MAC address pass-through

Last modified by Sabrina V. on 2025/08/14 06:00

If ACMP OS Deployment does not run properly via the Network Boot Service (PXE Boot) and the client does not load a boot image despite the assigned rollout, there may be several reasons for this:

The Network Boot Service service is not configured correctly. Check this using the settings.
The client that is to be assigned the rollout is not in the same network as the Network Boot Service itself.
There are other boot services in the network that respond to DHCP options 66/67.

Check the above possibilities one by one. If the rollout still does not start or the client has stored an incorrect MAC address, check whether MAC address pass-through is enabled on the client. This is particularly relevant if the client is connected to a docking station. As a rule, if the client's MAC address pass-through is active, the device's own MAC address (not that of the adapter) should always be used for communication. If this is not the case, the following problems may occur:

1. PXE Boot with the Clients MAC address and the adapters MAC address is used in the Boot Image

The client boots via PXE with its own MAC address and is assigned the Boot Image because a rollout is stored for this MAC address. It starts the Boot Image and from then on, the MAC address of the adapter is used instead of its own. However, no rollout is stored for this and the Windows setup cannot therefore be assigned to the client and does not start.

2. Missing Rollout for the MAC address of the adapter

Another reason could be that the client reports with the MAC address of the adapter for which no rollout is stored during PXE boot. Since no boot image can be assigned to the client and it does not receive one, the rollout fails initially during PXE boot.

It is also conceivable that a combination of both variants only affects the MAC addresses in reverse, but the problem remains the same: Two addresses report, but only one rollout job exists. However, the ACMP Server can only assign the job to the address where it was stored. You must therefore either store the same job for both addresses or, if in doubt, deactivate MAC address pass-through in the BIOS on the client. In this case, the MAC address of the docking station will most likely be used.

Follow the individual steps and notes to enable a successful rollout in OS Deployment.