Network boot/install
Please, do not reply off-list. If you do, I won't see your reply.
I have an etherboot floppy that drives my NIC just fine and contacts my DHCP
server (running on Red Hat Linux).
It correctly discovers the filename to download, and correctly gets it from my
TFTP server, also running on Red Hat Linux.
The boot image is created from Woody's tftpboot.img thus:
gw:/debian/dists/woody/main/disks-i386/3.0.23-2002-05-21/bf2.4# mknbi-linux tftpboot.img --output=tftpboot.nbi --ip=192.168.0.102:192.168.0.1:192.168.0.1:255.255.0.0:wombat --append='console=0,9600' && vidmode tftpboot.nbi 6
gw:/debian/dists/woody/main/disks-i386/3.0.23-2002-05-21/bf2.4#
Now, I _have_ tried many incantations like this, starting with:
mknbi-linux tftpboot.img --output=tftpboot.nbi
and so far all my efforts proceed like this:
mtrr: detected mtrr type: Intel
PCI: PCI BIOS revision 2.10 entry at 0xfda18, last bus=1
PCI: Using configuration type 1
PCI: Probing PCI hardware
PCI: Using IRQ router PIIX [8086/7110] at 00:07.0
Limiting direct PCI/PCI transfers.
Linux NET4.0 for Linux 2.4
Based upon Swansea University Computer Society NET3.039
Initializing RT netlink socket
Starting kswapd
VFS: Diskquotas version dquot_6.4.0 initialized
Journalled Block Device driver loaded
vga16fb: mapped to 0xc00a0000
Console: switching to colour frame buffer device 80x30
fb0: VGA16 VGA frame buffer device
pty: 256 Unix98 ptys configured
Serial driver version 5.05c (2001-07-08) with MANY_PORTS SHARE_IRQ SERIAL_PCI ed
ttyS00 at 0x03f8 (irq = 4) is a 16550A
ttyS01 at 0x02f8 (irq = 3) is a 16550A
Real Time Clock Driver v1.10e
block: 128 slots per queue, batch=32
RAMDISK driver initialized: 16 RAM disks of 4096K size 1024 blocksize
Uniform Multi-Platform E-IDE driver Revision: 6.31
ide: Assuming 33MHz system bus speed for PIO modes; override with idebus=xx
PIIX4: IDE controller on PCI bus 00 dev 39
PIIX4: chipset revision 1
PIIX4: not 100% native mode: will probe irqs later
ide0: BM-DMA at 0xffa0-0xffa7, BIOS settings: hda:DMA, hdb:pio
ide1: BM-DMA at 0xffa8-0xffaf, BIOS settings: hdc:pio, hdd:pio
hda: QUANTUM FIREBALL SE3.2A, ATA DISK drive
ide0 at 0x1f0-0x1f7,0x3f6 on irq 14
hda: 6306048 sectors (3229 MB) w/80KiB Cache, CHS=782/128/63
ide-floppy driver 0.97.sv
Partition check:
hda: hda1 hda2
Floppy drive(s): fd0 is 1.44M
FDC 0 is a National Semiconductor PC87306
Loading I2O Core - (c) Copyright 1999 Red Hat Software
I2O configuration manager v 0.04.
(C) Copyright 1999 Red Hat Software
loop: loaded (max 8 devices)
Compaq CISS Driver (v 2.4.5)
HDLC support module revision 1.02 for Linux 2.4
Cronyx Ltd, Synchronous PPP and CISCO HDLC (c) 1994
Linux port (c) 1998 Building Number Three Ltd & Jan "Yenya" Kasprzak.
ide-floppy driver 0.97.sv
Highpoint HPT370 Softwareraid driver for linux version 0.01
No raid array found
SCSI subsystem driver Revision: 1.00
Red Hat/Adaptec aacraid driver, Apr 14 2002
DC390: 0 adapters found
3ware Storage Controller device driver for Linux v1.02.00.016.
3w-xxxx: No cards with valid units found.
request_module[scsi_hostadapter]: Root fs not mounted
request_module[scsi_hostadapter]: Root fs not mounted
i2o_scsi.c: Version 0.0.1
chain_pool: 0 bytes @ c113fb60
(512 byte buffers X 4 can_queue X 0 i2o controllers)
NET4: Linux TCP/IP 1.0 for NET4.0
IP Protocols: ICMP, UDP, TCP, IGMP
IP: routing cache hash table of 512 buckets, 4Kbytes
TCP: Hash tables configured (established 4096 bind 4096)
NET4: Unix domain sockets 1.0/SMP for Linux NET4.0.
VFS: Cannot open root device "nfs" or 00:ff
Please append a correct "root=" boot option
Kernel panic: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on 00:ff
Now, I'm not surprised that it doesn't work. When I did something like this
some years ago (2.2 kernel I think), the driver for the NIC had to be built
into the kernel, and I am pretty sure that only _one_ could be present.
THere's nothing amongst the kernel messages to say there is _any_ NIC driver
built in.
Now, it's pretty clear that it is possible to do it another way - I can insert
a floppy disk with a Linux kernel, initrd and very little else and install Red
Hat Linux off my LAN in 15 minutes, depending on the target machine's speed
and my software selection.
It fiddles round with modules and DHCP to configure the NIC and off it goes.
I'm looking at the Woody install guide,
4.5 Preparing Files for TFTP Net Booting
4.5.5 Move TFTP Images Into Place
This refers me to Description of Installation System Files, Section 11.2.3,
and _that offers a choice of three files and I've chosen the 2.4 kernel.
Then there's a little more (and I'm comfortable with that) and then:
NOT YET WRITTEN
What now? I figure there should be an accompanying initrd for this to work,
but I don't see one and I don't see any mention of one.
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