[Netboot-developers] support for Intel 82544

[Gero K. <ge...@gk...>]

Hello,

> I am using Netboot - GRUB 0.95 - the Ethernet controller on my

First off, netboot does NOT have anything to do with grub. The network
boot code in grub is derived from etherboot, not netboot.

> embedded system is Intel 82544. I used EEPRO100 to build the pxegrub -
> I get the message "Probing ..[EEPRO100]No ethernet card found".

No wonder, the Intel EtherPro 100 series network cards all use
8255x chipsets, not the 8254x. The 8254x is a gigabit ethernet
line of chipsets.

> My question is - Intel 82544 doesn't seem to be supported - is this true?

I can't tell you anything about what grub supports and what grub does
not support. This mailing list is just for discussing netboot development.

> How does Netboot relate to Etherboot?

Etherboot is a spinoff of netboot. Both projects get developed
individually by now.

> It kind of surprises me that Intel's Ethernet controller is not
> supported by Netboot/Etherboot.

Netboot does support the 8254x chipsets by using the original
Intel NDIS2 driver, which you can find here:

http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts-df-external/T8Clearance.aspx?url=/42
39/eng/PRODOS.exe&agr=Y&ProductID=988&DwnldID=4239&lang=eng

If you want to write a direct driver for netboot (e.g. without
using the Intel binary and with public source code), please feel
free to do so. I will help you as much as I can.

gero.