[Ltsp-developer] NBI and ELF images in Fedora

[Jim McQuillan]

Warren Togami wrote:
> I did some testing of mkelfimage, mknbi and wraplinux.
> 
> Etherboot-5.0.5 in NSC Geode GX1 (DisklessWorkstations.com Jammin-125)
> Failed to boot with mknbi.
> Boots with wraplinux --nbi.
> 
> Etherboot-5.4 with real BIOS (qemu-kvm)
> Failed to boot with mknbi.
> Boots with wraplinux --nbi.
> Boots with mkelfimage with ram base detection patch.
> 
> Etherboot-5.4 with coreboot (ArtecGroup ThinCan DBE61)
> Fails to boot wraplinux --elf.
> Fails to boot mknbi ELF or NBI.
> Boots with mkelfimage with ram base detection patch.
> 
> Based upon these findings, I am dropping mknbi entirely from Fedora. 
> mkelfimage will be for ELF images, coreboot and Etherboot-5.4. 
> wraplinux --nbi will be for NBI images.
> 
>       # Etherboot ELF (only 5.4), should work with Coreboot
>       elsif substring (option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 13) = 
> "Etherboot-5.4"
>       {
>          filename      "/ltsp/i386/elf.ltsp";
>       }
>       # Etherboot NBI (older clients)
>       elsif substring (option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 9) = "Etherboot"
>       {
>          filename      "/ltsp/i386/wraplinux-nbi.ltsp";
>       }
>       # PXE
>       elsif substring (option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 9) = "PXEClient"
>       {
>          # NOTE: kernels are specified in /tftpboot/ltsp/i386/pxelinux.cfg/
>          filename      "/ltsp/i386/pxelinux.0";
>       }
>       # default to an i386 BOOTP image
>       else
>       {
>          filename      "/ltsp/i386/vmlinuz.ltsp";
>       }
> 
> We are using this in Fedora's default dhcpd.conf.  I totally have not 
> tested any BOOTP clients in like 7 years now.  I inherited this from 
> Eric Harrison's default dhcpd.conf.  I can't see how it could possibly 
> work?  How could it find the initrd image?


Back in the old days, we'd prepare an LTSP boot image using mknbi to 
combine the kernel and the initrd. the result was a single large file.


Jim McQuillan
jam at Ltsp.org


> 
> Warren Togami
> wtogami at redhat.com
> 
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