Using Network Boot

The following sections show you how to set up and use a network boot environment

Setting Up a Linux Network Boot Server

This section contains instructions for performing a Linux boot over a network.




	NOTE: File locations and process names in this section might vary slightly depending on your Linux distribution.

Setting Up a DHCP Server

To set up a DHCP server, create and edit a dhcpd.conf file in the /etc directory of your server. The following is an example assigning a fixed address in a dhcpd.conf file:

allow booting;
allow bootp;
ddns-update-style ad-hoc;




	NOTE: In the following, insert the your DHCP directives, IP ranges, subnet masks, and so on.

group {
    next-server IP_ADDRESS_OF_TFTP_SERVER;
    filename "bootia64.efi";
    host hostname {
        fixed-address IP;
        hardware ethernetMAC
        }
...
}

The next-server command tells the DHCP client where to send the TFTP get request. The filename command tells the DHCP client which file to get. In this example, the file is bootia64.efi. When you have finished editing the dhcpd.conf file, restart the dhcpd process, by entering the following command:

/etc/init.d/dhcpd restart

Setting Up a TFTP Server

Most Linux installations include a TFTP server and an automated method of launching the server upon receiving a TFTP request. The parent process for detecting a TFTP request and launching the TFTP server is called xinetd. However, you might have to enable the TFTP service. The TFTP file is located in the /etc/xinetd.d/ directory. The following is a sample TFTP file:

# default: off
# description: The tftp server serves files using the \
# trivial file transfer protocol. The tftp protocol is \
# often used to boot diskless workstations, download \
# configuration files to network-aware printers and to \
# start the installation process for some operating systems.
service tftp
{
    socket_type = dgram
    protocol = udp
    wait = yes
    user = root
    server = /usr/sbin/in.tftpd
    server_args = -s /tftpboot
    disable = yes
    per_source = 11
    cps = 100 2
}

In this example, disabled is the default setting, and /tftpboot is the root directory for all client access. To enable the TFTP service on your server, edit the disable line to read:

disable = no

Populating the TFTP Directory

Use the /tftpboot directory as the directory from which TFTP clients retrieve files. To populate the TFTP directory:

Create a /tftpboot directory, if needed.
Copy the necessary boot files to the /tftpboot directory:
bootia64.efi (the boot loader file)
elilo.efi (the Linux boot loader used for PXE boot)
elilo.conf (the Linux boot loader configuration file)
rootfs.gz (the Linux file system)
linux (the Linux kernel)

Verify that the tftpboot directory contains the following items:

/tftpboot/bootia64.efi
/tftpboot/elilo.efi
/tftpboot/elilo.conf
/tftpboot/rootfs.gz
/tftpboot/linux

Make sure the elilo.conf file is configured as described in Chapter 4.

Setting Up the HP Integrity Server for PXE-Enabled Boot

Make sure the HP Integrity server has a PXE-compliant NIC and is physically connected to a configured DHCP server. Set the NIC as the default boot device or select it in the EFI Boot Manager Menu, as follows:

Boot the server to EFI.
Go to EFI Boot Manager menu.
Select Boot Configuration.
Select Add Boot Entry.
Select Load File [core LAN GB A], where A represents the NIC.
Enter a name for the boot entry, and click Save.
Now “Core LAN GB A,” or the name you used, is listed as an option in EFI Boot Manager menu.
Select this option in the boot menu, and press the Enter key. Here you have the option of using the Tab key to see the mounting options of the elilo.conf file.

Booting the HP Integrity Server From a PXE-Enabled NIC

To boot your server from a PXE-Enabled NIC, use the following steps:

Enter the EFI Boot Manager and select the appropriate boot core LAN XX option.
Use the Tab key to see the boot labels defined in the elilo.conf file.
Perform one of the following actions:
- Enter readhwconfig. This creates a configuration file in the repository to save the hardware configuration of the Linux server in the repository. Reboot the server.
- Enter linux to execute the linux-setup.sh utility to install the Linux OS.
- Enter bash to go to the bash prompt, and then enter the dmesg command to determine the name of the SCSI device. Edit the linux-setup.sh script and reboot.