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Date:      Mon, 10 Apr 2000 02:32:59 -0400
From:      Paul Chvostek <paul@it.ca>
To:        Otter <otter@otter.cc>
Cc:        questions@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: Netbooting questions
Message-ID:  <20000410023258.A12481@flarn.it.ca>
In-Reply-To: <38F13235.9A05500@otter.cc>; from Otter on Sun, Apr 09, 2000 at 09:45:25PM -0400
References:  <38F13235.9A05500@otter.cc>

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Heya.

> I'm trying to get my FreeBSD setup to netboot a future NetBSD box
> (sparc station 10). I know there's tftpd (and maybe rarpd?) involved.
> I've got my /tftpboot dir setup and uncommented the line in
> inetd.conf, followed by a kill -HUP on inetd. I've got the ip assigned
> in my /etc/hosts and caught somewhere that it needs a /etc/ethers file
> also. I don't have one, so I'm not sure of the syntax? Could someone
> shed some light on this? Also, is the rarpd supposed to be running
> along side the tftpd? TIA.

It's been a good seven years since I had to do this sort of stuff.  If
anyone wants to correct me, feel free!  ;-)

If memory serves, the boot process goes something like this:

 - Sun powers up, sends out an ARP request to the Ethernet.
 - FreeBSD server's rarpd provides an IP address out of /etc/ethers.
 - Sun makes a tftp connection to the host that supplied its IP, and
   downloads a kernel named for the hex equivalent of its dotted-quad
   IP address.  (i.e. 206.253.214.23 becomes cefdd617)
 - Sun's new kernel makes a bootp request to the network broadcast.
 - FreeBSD server's bootparamd spits back a somehost:/path/to/root out
   of /etc/bootparams (`man bootparams`).
 - Sun NFS mounts /path/to/root from somehost, and begins its boot
   process proper.

So ... you need to follow the man pages for setup of rarpd and, tftpd
and bootparamd, and you need your NFS-mounted disk image.  That is, if
this still works the way I remember it.

I probably still have a cpio'd SunOS disk image around that used to run
on Sun 2 and Sun 3 systems, from a server that was BSD/OS version 1.1.

Yikes!

-- 
  Paul Chvostek                                            <paul@it.ca>
  Operations / Development / Abuse / Whatever      vox: +1 416 598 0000
  IT Canada                                           http://www.it.ca/



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