From owner-freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG Thu Dec 11 13:08:53 2008 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 7CC24106564A for ; Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:08:53 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from jonathan+freebsd-hackers@hst.org.za) Received: from hermes.hst.org.za (onix.hst.org.za [209.203.2.133]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 8B2848FC1D for ; Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:08:52 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from jonathan+freebsd-hackers@hst.org.za) Received: from sysadmin.hst.org.za (sysadmin.int.dbn.hst.org.za [10.1.1.20]) (authenticated bits=0) by hermes.hst.org.za (8.13.8/8.13.8) with ESMTP id mBBCuYOF021255 (version=TLSv1/SSLv3 cipher=DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA bits=256 verify=NO); Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:56:35 +0200 (SAST) (envelope-from jonathan+freebsd-hackers@hst.org.za) From: Jonathan McKeown Organization: Health Systems Trust To: freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:09:18 +0200 User-Agent: KMail/1.9.7 References: <493DA269.2070805@FreeBSD.org> <200812111052.50082.jonathan@hst.org.za> <87r64eopbt.fsf@kobe.laptop> In-Reply-To: <87r64eopbt.fsf@kobe.laptop> X-Face: $@VrUx^RHy/}yu]jKf/<4T%/d|F+$j-Ol2"2J$q+%OK1]&/G_S9(=?utf-8?q?HkaQ*=60!=3FYOK=3FY!=27M=60C=0A=09aP=5C9nVPF8Q=7DCilHH8l=3B=7E!4?= =?utf-8?q?2HK6=273lg4J=7Daz?=@1Dqqh:J]M^"YPn*2IWrZON$1+G?oX3@ =?utf-8?q?k=230=0A=0954XDRg=3DYn=5FF-etwot4U=24b?=dTS{i X-Spam-Score: -4.399 () ALL_TRUSTED,BAYES_00 X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.61 on 209.203.2.133 Cc: Giorgos Keramidas , Jonathan McKeown Subject: Re: Enhancing cdboot [patch for review] X-BeenThere: freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: Technical Discussions relating to FreeBSD List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:08:53 -0000 On Thursday 11 December 2008 14:42:46 Giorgos Keramidas wrote: > On Thu, 11 Dec 2008 10:52:49 +0200, Jonathan McKeown wrote: > >> cdboot runs long after the prompt for BIOS setup. I don't think we > >> can modify cdboot to add serial console support to systems whose BIOS > >> setup doesn't support it. > > > > Sorry, of course you're right: I'm talking nonsense. > > > > It's the stage immediately after that that isn't available. I wish I > > could remember why I thought that had caused me a problem once. > > > > Certainly there's a big chunk of the boot process that is accessible > > through a serial console on a disk-based boot that's not available on > > a serial-console boot. > > I'm still not sure what sort of `serial console boot' we are talking > about here. What's the difference between a `serial console on a > disk-based boot' and a `serial console boot'? Sorry, there's been an element of ``ready - fire - aim'' about my messages today - I'm trying to do several other things at once. Let me get a serial-boot CD out and play with it - it's a while since I did a headless install so I'm working from a vague memory. I think what I'm saying is that there are several stages in the boot process; when booting from a hard drive and using a serial console, all the stages are accessible: but when booting from a CD, only the last stage is. I seem to remember that causing me a problem with a headless machine once upon a time (perhaps there was an error at an early stage, with the first hard drive failing, and I couldn't see loader(8) to tell it to boot off the second drive which was a mirror of the first?). Certainly I've taken part in a couple of discussions in -questions over the last year or two in which people want to know how to make a serial-capable install CD - which is not as straightforward as it might be if there were a serial-capable cdboot (along the same lines as putting boot0sio instead of boot0 on a hard drive). Jonathan