Summary: network boot of a SS2

From: Alain Brossard EPFL-SIC/SII (brossard@sasun1.epfl.ch)
Date: Wed Feb 27 1991 - 04:02:02 CST


    First here is a summary of the boot process

    A diskless boot (ex: b le(,3940)) follows the following steps
rarp broadcast to find internet address for client, needs to have
        a rarpd running on local ethernet
tftp request to get boot program, this can cross routers since it
        uses its internet address combined with the value
        I gave it (3940->.57.64). My boot server then downloads
        the boot program.
rarp broadcast (again)
broadcast Pmap for a bootparamd which has to be on the local ethernet:
        it responds to use root and swap mount from my boot server.
rarp broadcast (again)
mountd request to nfs mount / and swap from the boot server.

    So we need a responder machine on the local ethernet that
will respond to the arp requests and to the boot param request. But
the tftp request can go over a bridge to get the boot program
from a boot server.

        Here is my original request:

> The SS2 doesn't use the "old" boot syntax anymore (b xx()),
> but uses only the new mode:
> boot net
>
> But I have no documentation on how to tell it to tft its
> boot from a particular server. In the old syntax, one would convert
> the 2 last ip numbers to hex and
> b le(,3940) for example.
> What is the syntax for the new mode? Sun hasn't be able
> to help me and I still haven't received my documentation of
> 4.1.1 which should include this information (?).
>
> Alain Brossard

     To quote from Dennis Sexton:

> >The ability to boot from a specified server is on the firmware group's
> >"To Do" list of RFE's. Meanwhile, here is a patch. It's a bit cumbersome,
> >but effective.
> >
   Regretfully, I tried the patch in question and it only
works for the first transmission! All the other packets are
broadcast.
>
>sicsun4: machine I'm trying to boot: SS2
>sasun1: machine who holds /tftpboot on a different network.
>
>arp sicsun4 sasun1
>arp sasun1 sicsun4
>udp sicsun4 sasun1 29795 tftp
>udp sasun1 sicsun4 3343 29795
>upd sicsun4 old-broadcast 29795 tftp
>
> The last line being repeated ad nauseam. So it does connect to my
>boot server on the first try but after it seems to forget about the
>IP number.
>

  Since I didn't understand how to make this "patch" sticky:
> >Yes. nvramrc is intended way to make anything "sticky"
I don't whether that would work or not. When that didn't work,
he send me a "new" (!) way of doing this which might work, regretfully,
the SS2 is not fully isolated and I can't test this. So I'm including
it for your information only: THIS IS NOT SUPPORTED BY SUN!!!!! AND
probably doesn't work.

----- Begin Included Message -----

Actually, I did get this from one of our instructors:

actually the syntax for the "VME" type machines was/is:
>b ie or le (0,hostid,0) name of unix kernel or default to vmunix
  ex b le(0,212,0) for a server with an internet number of 192.200.xx.212

]]] This is wrong the appropriate syntax is: convert the last (or
]]] last two numbers if needed) to hexadecimal. For example:
]]] 128.178.57.64 (me) -> b le(,3940,)
]]] A. B.
the same syntax is ok up to the SPARCstation2 although it seems to work
 most consistantly if you put the path in NVRAM boot-from.
 ex. ok setenv boot-from le(0,212,0)vmunix

The syntax that seems to work on the SPARCstation2 is:

ok boot net (0,212,0)vmunix and I think that should also be put into
   the boot-from nvram with setenv.

----- End Included Message -----

        Also thanks to:
edm@uunet.UU.NET@mdisea.UUCP (Ed Morin) (invalid e-mail address!)
mark@deltam.com

Alain Brossard, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne,
        SIC/SII, EL-Ecublens, CH-1015 Lausanne, Suisse
brossard@sasun1.epfl.ch



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