Re: pxe boot: computers old and new kernel problem
Hi Fabrizio,
Fabrizio Capurro - Yddu schreef op vr 31-01-2020 om 11:18 [+0100]:
> Good morning
>
> My name is Fabrizio Capurro and I am the (voluntary) administrator of
> the computer lab of a school in Italy.
How generous, helping out a school with its computer infrastructure on
a voluntary basis.
I don't now if you are aware that there exists good Italian
documentation on Debian Edu. See
https://jenkins.debian.net/userContent/debian-edu-doc/debian-edu-doc-it/
. You could also want to install the debian-edu-doc-it package for
that.
>
> With the principal we decided to configure the network with Debian
> Edu so that we can take advantage of all 23 PCs, some of which dated
> (unfortunately)
>
> The network is structured as follows:
>
> 1) Main server (AMD Ryzen 7, 32 Gb ram, 1 SSD 500 Gb, 2 network
> cards, Debian Edu 10 64 bit)
> 2) 12 PCs with 64 bit processor (thin clients e workstations)
> 3) 11 old PCs wth 32 bit processor (thin clients)
>
> At the moment all these PCs are connected to a Main server and to a
> router (10.0.0.1/255.0.0.0) via a switch in the 10.0.X.X network
>
> All the PCs are configured to start via the LAN (PXE) and the
> selection screen is displayed for all the PCs:
>
> Boot from local harddrive
>
> LTSP diskless workstation (1)
> LTSP thin client (2)
>
> For the 12 best performing PCs (64 bit) I can easily select the
> option (1) or (2) because the computers start perfectly and work
> correctly
>
> For the less performing 11 (32 bit) if I select the option (1) or (2)
> the following error appears:
>
> PXELINUX 6.04 PXE 20190226 Copyright © 1994-2015 H. Peter Anvin et al
> This Kirnel requires an x86-64 CPU, but only detected an i686 CPU.
> Unable to boot – please use a kernel appropriate for you CPU
>
> Would it be possible in some way to make dated PCs boot with an
> appropriate kernel?
You have to set up support for older (32 bit) computers. See section
17.2.6. of the manual (Add LTSP chroot to support 32-bit-PC clients).
It is the same section number in the Italian manual.
It's not just a matter of an appropriate kernel but rather a matter of
an appropriate image for the 32 bit clients.
>
> Is the Debian Edu server able to recognize the hardware that needs to
> boot (or even manually set it pc by pc) by "sending" the right
> kernel?
Yes, this is perfectly possible. See for detailed information Section
17.4 of the manual in general, and more specifically section 17.4.1.
LTSP client configuration in LDAP (and lts.conf).
>
> I thank everyone for any help
> regards
>
> Fabrizio Capurro
>
>
--
Kind regards,
Frans Spiesschaert
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