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From: Marty C. <md...@th...> - 2001-07-01 16:48:41
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With major thanks to Peter Lister, Vasil Vasilev, and Ken Yap, I've updated http://rom-o-matic.net with Etherboot 5.0.2-mc1. This version allows one to use a PXE bootrom to load Etherboot, which in turn can load a linux kernel or anything else that has been prepared with mknbi-*. In order for this to work, you have to prepare your DHCP server to check the VCI (Vendor Class Indentifier) strings being sent by the client. What roughly happens is: - PXE ROM sends a DHCP request with VCI beginning with "PXEClient" - DHCP server sends back a filename to load which is something like "eepro100.lzpxe" (this is actually an Etherboot image wrapped in PXE clothing). - PXE ROM loads the .lzpxe file and starts it. - Etherboot starts, unloads PXE from RAM and takes over. - Etherboot sends a DHCP request with VCI beginning with "Etherboot". - DHCP server sends back the filename of a tagged image to load. - Etherboot loads the file and executes it. There is obviously a little extra work here, but there are some good reasons why you might want to do this. There are some high-end cards (Intel EEPro100 and 3Com 3C905C-TXM cards come to mind) and some motherboards (like the ThinkNIC) that have PXE loaders onboard in Flash memory. Although you can replace that code with Etherboot in some cases, you might not wish to. The above method allows you to keep your PXE loader, but allows you to still use Etherboot to load the kernel or other imagem and take advantage of all extensibility and features of Etherboot. Also, a lot of cards don't come with PXE and you might not want to pay US$15/ROM to get a PXE ROM from Bootix or LANWorks, and then, they don't support all cards, and it's closed source, and not sharable, etc. The above method lets you use an Etherboot setup for all clients, by adjusting your DHCP server to differentiate clients based on VCIs. Etherboot is GPL, Free Software, Open Source Compliant, and supported by a dedicated group of folks who want to see you succeed! ;-) Seriously though, Major thanks to Peter Lister, Vasil Vasilev, and Ken Yap for making this happen. Someone (like me :-) needs to document this better. The feature is very new, and has been discussed on the Etherboot-Users list (archives available at: http://www.geocrawler.com/redir-sf.php3?list=etherboot-users) Oh yes, the 5.0.2-mc1 version of Etherboot on http://rom-o-matic.net/ should have the patches for this PXE stuff. If you have problems, ask on Etherboot-Users. "World Domination... and Fast!" --- Try: http://rom-o-matic.net/ to make Etherboot images instantly. Name: Marty Connor US Mail: Entity Cyber, Inc.; P.O. Box 391827; Cambridge, MA 02139; USA Voice: (617) 491-6935, Fax: (617) 491-7046 Email: md...@th... Web: http://www.thinguin.org/ |
