idiot's guide to booting from LAN ?

[rbutcher]

Greetings from sunny Sydney. I have a Asus mobo with builtin option to boot from lan in its bios.. I would like to boot from a Linux image on my main box, and use the disk on the main box for working space etc.. i.e. no hard disk on the Asus box and preferably no cdrom either.
I understand I need to run some kind of network boot server on the main box.. the Asus board has a builtin lan chip, so I assume that its rom/bios whatever is already programmed with all it needs to boot via the bootup server, correct ?
I have seen a few articles which say I need LTSP and / or PXE without saying why, or how they fit into the picture.. It also seems I need TFTP. same problem.
Is there any prebuilt Linux bootup image I can download on the main box ? Or do I just point TFTP / whatever to the /boot I already use ?
Likewise, any pointers to simple instructions on how to get this working ? All the slave box is going to be used for is crunching from the command line, no X required, just a kernel and the basic commands.
Thanks
Rod

[IronBits]

Start with the two extensive sticky notes in this 'networking discussion' threads and you will be good to go ;)
We've had several folks go down that road already and you can learn a lot from both of those threads and probably get er done :)

[Shish]

Your board may have built in lan but it doesn`t have any idea what to do with it hence the boot rom common to all server based network systems and thin clients.
That`s basically what the boot rom/PXE etc is....a set of instructions to tell the board as it goes through the bios boot sequence where to find it`s boot partition/hard drive on a server on the network which is stored in rom ( Read Only Memory) so it doesn`t disappear when it`s powered down or it may use a flash eprom which is the same idea.
Normally, a built in lan doesn`t have the capability (or many don`t) so a cheapie old card which will take one of the many boot roms freely available on the net is used and then the option in bios is set to "boot from lan" which accesses the boot rom.
Once you get that, the rest of it is as IB said, in the stickies on networking.

[rbutcher]

Thanks guys, I can follow instructions but I'm a total noob in this.. Can you tell me briefly what
LTSP
TFTP
PXE
provide in this scenario - what functionality do they give me ? the threads on this just say install them, and their websites seem to assume I already know what they're for.
thanks
Rod

[IronBits]

Linux Terminal Server Project
http://www.ltsp.org/

TFTP - Abbreviation of Trivial File Transfer Protocol, a simple form of the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). TFTP uses the User Datagram Protocol (UDP)and provides no security features. It is often used by servers to boot diskless workstations, X-terminals, and routers.

PXE - Short for Pre-Boot Execution Environment. Pronounced pixie, PXE is one of the components of Intel's WfM specification. It allows a workstation to boot from a server on a network prior to booting the operating system on the local hard drive. A PXE-enabled workstation connects its NIC to the LAN via a jumper, which keeps the workstation connected to the network even when the power is off. Because a network administrator does not have to physically visit the specific workstation and manually boot it, operating systems and other software, such as diagnostic programs, can be loaded onto the device from a server over the network.

PXE is a mandatory element of the WfM specification. To be considered compliant, the PXE must be supported by the computer's BIOS and its NIC.

-------------------------------
You have to build a Linux Server and have the LTSP package installed, as it is the Server for the clients to get their IP and software via the network.
TFTP protocol has to be installed on the Server so it can talk to the Workstations and vice-versa.
PXE is the hardware (NIC) that can be configured to seek out a Server using the TFTP protocol.

[rbutcher]

Many thanks IB and Shish, looks like I now have all the info I need, I'll go away and do it. thanks again.

[PCZ]

Check this thread (http://www.free-dc.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8435) as well.

[Shish]

If you need anything just shout.
TFTP servers are used a lot by network servers to back up routers and such and if you need one or the code and info, Dlinks software store is a place to get `em free.
Sorry, brains gone dead with too much wine...got a shipment today of Chateau Neuf and a couple bottles of whatchamacallit from my fav Count.

Look here for loadsa good free progs. (ftp://ftp.dlink.com/TFTP/)



Edit:-
Argmanac was what I was trying to think of and as you may guess, I`ve sampled or more quite a bit.
The Armagnac is the first from my private apples and has to be brewed/distilled by the local count as i own the house/orchard but don`t have a license and it has to be fifteen years old before you can get at it which is why I`m celebrating, a bit, tonite :D :cheers:

[rbutcher]

Ok, I installed LTSP 4.1 & TFTP on the server. Got my boot images in /tftpboot/lts.
Got my iso Etherboot image for rtl8029 from http://rom-o-matic.net/ & burned it onto a CD.

Boot my diskless box from the cd and :-
Probing PCI NIC [RTL8029] NE2000 Base
Searching for server (DHCP)....
Me: 192.168.0.1 DHCP 192.. TFTP: 192... Gateway: 192...
No filename

Back on the Server :-
The following comes in the /var/log/daemons.info (looks like from the diskless box) :-
Nov 25 17:23:32 localhost dhcpd: DHCPDISCOVER from 00:00:e8:64:93:02 via eth0
Nov 25 17:23:32 localhost dhcpd: DHCPOFFER on 192.168.0.101 to 00:00:e8:64:93:02 via eth0
Nov 25 17:23:35 localhost dhcpd: DHCPREQUEST for 192.168.0.101 (192.168.0.1) from 00:00:e8:64:93:02 via eth0
Nov 25 17:23:35 localhost dhcpd: DHCPACK on 192.168.0.101 to 00:00:e8:64:93:02 via eth0

does this mean that TFTP is not serving up a boot image ? Doesn't even seem to be running.
I have xinet.d running on the server, but no in.tftpd
I have the following tftpd startup script (/etc/xinetd.d/tftp) :-
service tftp
{
disable = no
socket_type = dgram
protocol = udp
wait = yes
user = root
server = /usr/sbin/in.tftpd
server_args = -s /var/lib/tftpboot
per_source = 11
cps = 100 2
flags = IPv4
}

when I run in.tftpd -l I get the following in /var/log/daemons :-
Nov 25 16:18:56 localhost in.tftpd[17119]: cannot bind to local socket: Address already in use

Then I ran the followeing to restart it :-
service -f /etc/xinetd.d/tftp
tftp is a xinetd service
Stopping xinetd: [ OK ]
Starting xinetd: [ OK ]

Still no difference.

so - looks like I'm not running the tftp daemon correctly ? Or something else ?

Any info greatly appreciated !

[rbutcher]

OK, I cleaned up my dhcpd.conf and hosts files, now it's found the kernel and is trying to boot it.
I'll go away and concentrate a bit more on the details.
Rod

[Shish]

You`re doing OK.
Good idea to do this kind of stuff yourself even if the learning curve us a bit steep.
Solving all the problems with a practical application helps you fix the theory stuff you will find useful in other areas such as a job or suchlike.
Even if you`re just on a support desk, all this kind of knowledge is better obtained practically and you never know when it may come in useful.