Abbreviated BOOTP. An Internet protocol that provides network configuration information to a diskless workstation.
When the workstation first boots, it sends out a BOOTP message on the network. This message is received by the server, which obtains the appropriate configuration information and returns that information to the workstation. This information includes the workstation's IP address, the IP address of the server, the host name of the server, and the IP address of a default router.
See also Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol.