PXE network boot server - Revision history

195.135.199.45: /* Installing and Configuring tftp-hpa (in.tftpd) for serving your network boot files */

2013-03-07T15:28:05Z

‎Installing and Configuring tftp-hpa (in.tftpd) for serving your network boot files

Godmachine81: /* Adding more operating systems / installations to your working PXE setup */

2012-03-14T09:02:14Z

‎Adding more operating systems / installations to your working PXE setup

Godmachine81 at 08:55, 14 March 2012

2012-03-14T08:55:45Z

Godmachine81 at 08:55, 14 March 2012

2012-03-14T08:55:08Z

Godmachine81: /* Understanding the PXE/Network Boot process */

2012-03-14T06:51:34Z

‎Understanding the PXE/Network Boot process

Godmachine81 at 04:32, 14 March 2012

2012-03-14T04:32:32Z

Show changes

Godmachine81: Blanked the page

2012-03-14T04:32:18Z

Blanked the page

Oleg at 04:31, 14 March 2012

2012-03-14T04:31:48Z

Mmatk: /* Prolog */

2012-03-14T01:07:28Z

‎Prolog

Mmatk: /* Prolog */

2012-03-14T01:04:57Z

‎Prolog

@@ Line 42: / Line 42: @@
 Edit your PXE configuration:
 Set the path to /tftproot or your preferred directory created above. We are going to also go ahead and add a remapping file just in case you intend to use it later it will be ${INTFTPD_PATH}tftpd.remap:
-<pre># /etc/init.d/in.tftpd
+<pre># /etc/conf.d/in.tftpd
 # Path to server files from
@@ Line 62: / Line 62: @@
 <pre>touch /tftproot/tftpd.remap </pre>
 == Installing and Configuring DNSMasq for DHCP / PXE Booting ==

@@ Line 151: / Line 151: @@
 == Adding more operating systems / installations to your working PXE setup ==
-I know that by example, a lot of people probably want to use something other than the System Rescue CD. The main things have been outlined above for most linux distributions. MS Windows is quiet a bit more difficult than any linux install. I will try to cover the most important steps to serving a Windows Installation from the network soon.
+I know that by example, a lot of people probably want to use something other than the System Rescue CD. The main things have been outlined above for most linux distributions. MS Windows, see [http://www.funtoo.org/wiki/PXE_Network_Windows_Installation PXE Network Windows Installation] is quiet a bit more difficult than any linux install. I will try to cover the most important steps to serving a Windows Installation from the network soon.
 If you are wondering how you go about hosting a different Linux install other than the System Rescue CD, the main things to look at are the pxelinux.cfg/default file to edit the kernel and initrd lines. You also need to be sure that those files are accessible by the PXE loader, and if your initrd requires a compressed filesystem, be sure that you have a working ftp/http server hosting the compressed filesystem (Remember once boot process has been handed over to your kernel that you are no longer accessing the network via tftp but instead by the core services provided by the initrd + drivers provided by your kernel) I will add that you may use the fetch=tftp:// protocol in the kernel cmdline, however it doesn't seem to work as stable as using http/ftp method.  Each distro is different you may need to consult the documentation for the specific  distro's needed boot cmdline.  For the most part you will find it to be very similar(i.e. kernel+initrd+compressed-filesystem) Ubuntu doesn't even use a compressed filesystem on their ISO's it basically just uses a kernel and an initrd.  I am currently working on getting a Funtoo netboot image developed, tested, and providing information on how to host a Funtoo Base system over the network via your Funtoo PXE Netboot Server.
   [[Category:HOWTO]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:55, 14 March 2012
Line 154:		Line 154:

	If you are wondering how you go about hosting a different Linux install other than the System Rescue CD, the main things to look at are the pxelinux.cfg/default file to edit the kernel and initrd lines. You also need to be sure that those files are accessible by the PXE loader, and if your initrd requires a compressed filesystem, be sure that you have a working ftp/http server hosting the compressed filesystem (Remember once boot process has been handed over to your kernel that you are no longer accessing the network via tftp but instead by the core services provided by the initrd + drivers provided by your kernel) I will add that you may use the fetch=tftp:// protocol in the kernel cmdline, however it doesn't seem to work as stable as using http/ftp method. Each distro is different you may need to consult the documentation for the specific distro's needed boot cmdline. For the most part you will find it to be very similar(i.e. kernel+initrd+compressed-filesystem) Ubuntu doesn't even use a compressed filesystem on their ISO's it basically just uses a kernel and an initrd. I am currently working on getting a Funtoo netboot image developed, tested, and providing information on how to host a Funtoo Base system over the network via your Funtoo PXE Netboot Server.		If you are wondering how you go about hosting a different Linux install other than the System Rescue CD, the main things to look at are the pxelinux.cfg/default file to edit the kernel and initrd lines. You also need to be sure that those files are accessible by the PXE loader, and if your initrd requires a compressed filesystem, be sure that you have a working ftp/http server hosting the compressed filesystem (Remember once boot process has been handed over to your kernel that you are no longer accessing the network via tftp but instead by the core services provided by the initrd + drivers provided by your kernel) I will add that you may use the fetch=tftp:// protocol in the kernel cmdline, however it doesn't seem to work as stable as using http/ftp method. Each distro is different you may need to consult the documentation for the specific distro's needed boot cmdline. For the most part you will find it to be very similar(i.e. kernel+initrd+compressed-filesystem) Ubuntu doesn't even use a compressed filesystem on their ISO's it basically just uses a kernel and an initrd. I am currently working on getting a Funtoo netboot image developed, tested, and providing information on how to host a Funtoo Base system over the network via your Funtoo PXE Netboot Server.
−	[[Category:~~HOWTOs~~]]	+	[[Category:HOWTO]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:55, 14 March 2012
Line 154:		Line 154:

	If you are wondering how you go about hosting a different Linux install other than the System Rescue CD, the main things to look at are the pxelinux.cfg/default file to edit the kernel and initrd lines. You also need to be sure that those files are accessible by the PXE loader, and if your initrd requires a compressed filesystem, be sure that you have a working ftp/http server hosting the compressed filesystem (Remember once boot process has been handed over to your kernel that you are no longer accessing the network via tftp but instead by the core services provided by the initrd + drivers provided by your kernel) I will add that you may use the fetch=tftp:// protocol in the kernel cmdline, however it doesn't seem to work as stable as using http/ftp method. Each distro is different you may need to consult the documentation for the specific distro's needed boot cmdline. For the most part you will find it to be very similar(i.e. kernel+initrd+compressed-filesystem) Ubuntu doesn't even use a compressed filesystem on their ISO's it basically just uses a kernel and an initrd. I am currently working on getting a Funtoo netboot image developed, tested, and providing information on how to host a Funtoo Base system over the network via your Funtoo PXE Netboot Server.		If you are wondering how you go about hosting a different Linux install other than the System Rescue CD, the main things to look at are the pxelinux.cfg/default file to edit the kernel and initrd lines. You also need to be sure that those files are accessible by the PXE loader, and if your initrd requires a compressed filesystem, be sure that you have a working ftp/http server hosting the compressed filesystem (Remember once boot process has been handed over to your kernel that you are no longer accessing the network via tftp but instead by the core services provided by the initrd + drivers provided by your kernel) I will add that you may use the fetch=tftp:// protocol in the kernel cmdline, however it doesn't seem to work as stable as using http/ftp method. Each distro is different you may need to consult the documentation for the specific distro's needed boot cmdline. For the most part you will find it to be very similar(i.e. kernel+initrd+compressed-filesystem) Ubuntu doesn't even use a compressed filesystem on their ISO's it basically just uses a kernel and an initrd. I am currently working on getting a Funtoo netboot image developed, tested, and providing information on how to host a Funtoo Base system over the network via your Funtoo PXE Netboot Server.
		+	[[Category:HOWTOs]]

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 A PXE Network boot isn't much different than a traditional boot from your hard drive, in fact you will probably find the boot loader to be very similar to what you are already familiar with!  In a nut shell here is what happens:  You set your BIOS / Boot options to boot from Network. The client will obtain an IP address from the PXE server (via DNSMasq), after the IP address is obtained it simply looks for the tftp daemon running on the server (tftp-hpa). The DHCP Server sends the PXE information to the NIC and it loads up a menu that you define in your pxelinux configuration (syslinux), or depending on your configuration it may go straight into the OS / Installation that you configure.
-Sounds easy huh? For the most part it is very simple to set up. However if you plan to set up a MS Windows install via the network, it gets a bit more tricky, mainly due to MS not using a case sensitive file system, and requiring files to be located using drive letters and back slashes "\" instead of slashes "/"   What this requires is a remapping file. The tftp daemon will remap the characters, symbols, and/or drive letters to suit the needs. This is why I recommend tftp-hpa in this guide.
+Sounds easy huh? For the most part it is very simple to set up. However if you plan to set up a MS Windows install via the network, it gets a bit more tricky, mainly due to MS not using a case sensitive file system, and requiring files to be located using drive letters and back slashes "\" instead of slashes "/"   What this requires is a remapping file. With a remapping file, tftp daemon will remap the characters, symbols, and/or drive letters to suit the needs. This is why I recommend tftp-hpa in this guide.
 DNSMasq actually provides a tftp server if you want to use it, however I recommend the use of tftp-hpa as it allows remapping in the event you ever intend to boot a Windows environment over your network.
@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 In the event that you want to install Microsoft Windows over the network, you will have your server already configured, and you will only need to do some minor config changes, host your Windows installation files / Preinstallation Environment and set your tftp remapping configuration. (This can become a headache if you plan to host several releases of MS Windows over the network - due to conflicting remappings)
 It is also very important to understand that the PXE network is only responsible for giving you network access up until the operating system is loaded. What this means is that your kernel you are loading will need to have support for the network card on your client(s). You may want to consider a generic kernel that supports several different NICs.  For Windows, this means you will probably want to include all NIC drivers in your installation files and ensure that they are loaded during installation.
 == Installing and Configuring tftp-hpa (in.tftpd) for serving your network boot files ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:32, 14 March 2012
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	~~== ''Prolog'' ==~~
−	~~This guide helps explain how to set up a PXE server using in.tftpd and dnsmasq.~~
−	~~This may be useful for installing an operating system on a machine that has no optical drive and/or an older BIOS which doesn't support booting from USB. <br>~~
−	This guide will cover the basics of getting your server set up to allow clients to boot from the network to a pxelinux/syslinux menu and choose an option of installing / running your preferred distribution or installing a MS Windows operating system - the possibilities are endless and you are free to use it as you wish!! The funtoo way!

−	~~== Understanding the PXE/Network Boot process ==~~
−	~~to be completed~~
−
−	~~== Installing and Configuring in.tftpd for serving your network boot files ==~~
−	~~to be completed~~
−
−	~~== Installing and Configuring DNSMasq for DHCP / PXE Booting ==~~
−	~~to be completed~~
−
−	~~== Configuring PXELinux (based on syslinux) ==~~
−	~~to be completed~~
−
−	~~== Choosing a post PXE file sharing system (NFS, Samba, etc) ==~~
−	~~to be completed~~
−
−	~~== Editing your pxelinux.cfg/default file (network boot menu) ==~~
−	~~to be completed~~
−	~~netboot=http://192.168.0.1/sysrcd.dat~~
−	~~fetch=tftp://~~
−
−	~~== Testing your first network boot ==~~
−	~~to be completed~~
−
−	~~== Adding more operating systems / installations to your working PXE setup ==~~
−	~~to be completed~~

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 == Editing your pxelinux.cfg/default file (network boot menu) ==
 to be completed
 == Testing your first network boot ==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 == ''Prolog'' ==
 This guide helps explain how to set up a PXE server using in.tftpd and dnsmasq.
-This may be useful for installing an operating system on a machine that has no optical drive and/or an older BIOS which doesn't support booting from USB. </br>
+This may be useful for installing an operating system on a machine that has no optical drive and/or an older BIOS which doesn't support booting from USB. <br>
 This guide will cover the basics of getting your server set up to allow clients to boot from the network to a pxelinux/syslinux menu and choose an option of installing / running your preferred distribution or installing a MS Windows operating system - the possibilities are endless and you are free to use it as you wish!! The funtoo way!
 == Understanding the PXE/Network Boot process ==