Anaconda kickstart options and lowlevel netboot.img input options.

[Coe, Colin C.]

If you know the MAC addr, could you use a DHCP server with an entry for
each LPAR you want to install?  Something like:
 
allow booting;
allow bootp;
 
...
 
group {
        subnet 9.3.22.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
                option domain-name "ibm.com";
                option subnet-mask 255.255.255.0;
                option broadcast-address 9.3.22.255;
                option domain-name-servers 9.0..7.1;
                option routers 9.3.22.1;
        }
        # PXE-specific configuration directives...
        next-server 9.3.22.253;
        filename "pxelinux.0";

...
 
       host lpar02 {
                hardware ethernet 2A:CA:30:00:40:02;
                fixed-address 9.3.22.202;
                option host-name "lpar02";
        }
 
...
}
 
Just a thought.
 
Also, if you're using EL4, beware that sometimes the NIC that the
installer decides is eth0 is not what the installed kernel thinks is
eth0.
 
CC

	-----Original Message-----
	From: kickstart-list-bounces at redhat.com
[mailto:kickstart-list-bounces at redhat.com] On Behalf Of Tom Miller
	Sent: Tuesday, 22 August 2006 3:06 AM
	To: kickstart-list at redhat.com
	Subject: Anaconda kickstart options and lowlevel netboot.img
input options. 
	
	
	 
	I am using a kickstart.cfg file to load power 5 lpars via
network install. I use a bootp server
	to deliver the RedHat netboot.img to the victim machine, I set
the boot-file SMS env variable to pass boot image parms to netboot.img.
Here's what I pass:
	 
	 text ip=9.3.22.104 netmask=255.255.255.128 gateway=9.3.22.1
nameserver=9.0.7.1 ksdevice=eth0 ks=nfs:9.3.80.16:/lpars/sift22104.cfg
	This lets the netboot.img config eth0 to access the ks file on
the server. 
	 
	I have this network line in the /lpars/sift22104.cfg kickstart
file: 
	 
	network --device eth0 --bootproto static --ip 9.3.22.104
--netmask 255.255.255.128 --gateway 9.3.22.1 --nameserver 9.0.7.1
--hostname sift22104.austin.ibm.com
	 
	This works just fine and the install completes. 
	 
	I need to make this work on lpars that have never been loaded
before and these lpars can have several eth adapters so the user will
not know what order the adatpers will be configured so he can't specify
eth0 or eth1 in the options above.  I have expect code that goes thru
the SMS menus and attempts to ping the server on each eth adatper until
it finds one that is connected: I can pull the mac address for that card
and could at that point create the netboot.img boot parms line that
includes the mac address, but there is no way I can know what ethX
redhat will confgure this card as.  I tried changing the netboot.img
parms line to:
	
	 text ip=9.3.22.104 netmask=255.255.255.128 gateway=9.3.22.1
nameserver=9.0.7.1 ksdevice=eth-id-2a:ca:30:00:40:02
ks=nfs:9.3.80.16:/lpars/sift22104.cfg
	 
	and the kickstart network line to this: 
	network --device eth-id-2a:ca:30:00:40:02 --bootproto static
--ip 9.3.22.104 --netmask 255.255.255.128 --gateway 9.3.22.1
--nameserver 9.0.7.1 --hostname sift22104.austin.ibm.com
	 
	But it did not work.. I got a syntax error back from anaconda
complaining about this: 

	    self.setNetwork(id, bootProto, ip, netmask, ethtool,
device=device, onboot=onboot, dhcpclass=dhcpclass, essid=essid,
wepkey=wepkey)
	  File "/usr/lib/anaconda/installclass.py", line 332, in
setNetwork
	    dev = devices[device]
	KeyError: 'eth-id-2a:ca:30:00:40:02'
	 
	I have searched thru doc's till I am blue and can't find out if
there is some way (any correct syntax) to pass the mac address to
netboot.img and anaconda instead of the ethX name.
	 
	Dose anyone know how this can be done, is it even in the
netboot.img/anaconda code to all this and deal with the mac address? 
	This is the last thing I need to fully automate these installs
for my users with kickstart instead of using expect to fill out all
those changing install menus in text mode. 
	 
	thanks
	tom miller   IBM.
	 
	 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listman.redhat.com/archives/kickstart-list/attachments/20060822/3fd6b7b2/attachment.htm>