pxe works!

[David A. van Leeuwen]

This is not a bug report.

But there is no other mail address on the web page.

I wanted to make a completely diskless workstation (Linux) and studied the
various HOWTOs about them for several days.  The client network card included
PXE support (it's an intel express pro).  None of the proposed alternatives
knew about this (etherboot, netboot), it seemed. 

The PXE bootrom could configure IP, download an image (max 512kb, intel 8086 
real mode stuff) but execution of that was a problem.  Let alone specify 
kernel `command line' parameters.  

After two days of frustration, i came across a reference to `GRUB'. 

I installed the Debian/GNU package, saw that pxegrub was not compiled in, 
installed the source from the Debian/GNU archive, added lines 
--enable-diskless --enable-eepro100 in the make/rules file, rebuilt the 
package, and voila.  Everything worked from the first time.  I had a command 
line in the boot loader.  That was exactly what i had been whishing for 
for days. 

The diskless workstations boot perfectly now, and even machines with a 
preinstalled commercial operation system i can `infect' with a grub menu
that allows for diskless operation of a serious operating system by activating
the bootrom PXE support throught the machines BIOS configuration. 

The only thing that i don't understand is that i had to compile in a choice for
the network card hardware (--enable-eepro100) while in fact i only wanted 
to compile pxegrub---and isn't PXE giving me a hardware-independent network 
execution environment?  That it, i would believe that my setup would have 
worked by selecting any other network card.  I haven't tested that. 

Thanks,

---david

-- 
David A. van Leeuwen            
                
TNO / Technische Menskunde              TNO Human Factors
Kampweg 5                               P.O. Box 23
                                        3769 ZG Soesterberg
address@hidden                  The Netherlands

phone: +31-3463-56235                   fax: +31-3463-53977

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