[et-mgmt-tools] cobbler-1.0.1-2 - build problem using koan

[Adam Rosenwald]

Tom Brown wrote:
>
>>
>>     * What does /tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg/xxxxxxx look like (where
>>       xxxxxxxx corresponds to your system)?
>>           o Is xinetd (or standalone tftpd) running?
>>     * What does the host entry (corresponding to your system) in
>>       /etc/dhcpd.conf look like?
>>           o Is dhcpd running?
>>     * Are you 100% positive that there is an ethernet link on eth0 and
>>       not on some other NIC? (you may want to try setting
>>       ksdevice=link in your tftp boot file)?
>>     * Do you observe dhcp-related noise on the cobbler server
>>       (tcpdump, etc.) indicating that the provisioned system is
>>       communicating properly?  Are there any f/w's, vlan issues (you
>>       may need a dhcp helper address if your system is on a separate
>>       vlan than the cobbler server), etc. that might interfere with
>>       the boot process?
>>     * Can you provide a more detailed list of what shows up on the
>>       console during the boot process?
>>
>
> in addition to not using DHCP the box that i am trying to get cobbler 
> running already provisions machines using kickstart over http using a 
> bit of a home brew system. I am trying to get rid of this system and 
> use cobbler like we do in other environments so from a network level 
> there should be no issues getting the install tree over http as it 
> already does that and i can get the kickstart etc over http to the 
> client with a wget and it looks correct so i am a little stumped.
Please explain how your home brew system talks to booting systems.  When 
your provisioned systems boot, how do they communicate with the server 
hosting the kickstart files? 

As I understand it, at network boot time, they need to have IP 
addresses, netmasks assigned to them.  PXE starts by the NIC(s) 
broadcasting its MAC address.  Some daemon on the LAN segment (typically 
dhcp) will respond to the broadcast by assigning the NIC an IP address 
and subnet mask.

Unless you have an ability to assign IPs/netmasks to NICs through BIOS 
(which I've never seen and which would be a pain to do for a 'lot' of 
servers) or have some other mechanism (i.e. other than DHCP) which 
assigns IPs/netmasks by responding to MAC broadcasts, you will have to 
use DHCP somewhere during a network install.

-A.
>
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