Many network cards have an empty socket for a Boot Prom chip. The BOOTP protocol is hard wired into this so that it starts when the machine is switched on. This loads an Operating System (OS) into the computer from a Network Server instead of a Disk Drive. The physical address of the network card is used along with Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP) to find the computer’s Internet Protocol (IP) address. The Operating System requirements of the computer are stored on the Network Server referenced to the correct Internet Protocol (IP) address.