RE: Netbooting Sparc from i386 server
> I just discovered I can netboot my Sparc IPX from the tftp 2.2.1 image.
> I installed slink onto an NFS-root filesystem. Now I can't quite figure
> out how to boot it.
You need a RARP server to provide the IP address for the sparc (on the same
subnet), a TFTP server to provide the kernel and a NFS server to serve the root
(and other) filesystem. The NFS server can be hosted on a different machine. I
did not check if the RARP and TFTP server could be on different hosts (it
should), but the most common case is to have the 3 on the same host.
> I have tftp enabled in inetd.conf, and I have a /etc/bootptab file that
> LOOKS like (according to the man page) to be set up properly. However,
> tftp boot hangs at this point, and if I comment out my machine's entry it
> boots to dbootstrap, no matter anything I try on the Sparc console.
TFTP and BOOTP are different things. I know Sun's prom handles TFTP. I don't
know if it handles BOOTP too.
The first step is to provide a RARP server. If this server is under Linux, you
need RARP in the kernel. If it's in a module, load it. Then you have to give the
Internet address for your Sparc's MAC (ethernet) address to the IP stack:
rarp -s Sparc_IP(what you like) Sparc_MAC(0800200CDC80)
The second step is to configure the TFTP server for the kernel. You should have
a line like that in your /etc/inetd.conf, uncomment it if necessary.
tftp dgram udp wait root /usr/sbin/tcpd in.tftpd
If you don't provide any further argument to the tftpd, the TFTP root will be
/tftpboot. In this directory, put the kernel for the sparc and make a link to it
named 0800200CDC80 (Sparc_MAC). This kernel must have support for NFS_ROOT
(which is available with IP_PNP).
The third step is to export a Sparc tree (Sparc_root_path). You'll have to
change a few things in this tree for netboot. Be careful not to mount any local
/ in the etc/fstab. I do it with NFS_Server_IP_addr:Sparc_root_path / nfs
defaults 1 0. You'll have to change a few things in init scripts to have a
complete and correct shutdown.
The Sun's boot command is :
boot net nfsroot=(NFS_Server_IP_addr):(Sparc_root_path)
A so configured SS4 boots in 2 minutes on a 10Mb/s lan (about 30sec for the
Sun's diags, 30sec for initial RARP and Kernel TFTP and startup, and 1 min for
the system init).
> Do I need to compile a kernel and boot that instead of the tftpboot image?
Yes
Gilles Chaumarat
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