Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Wed, 19 Sep 2012 00:53:17 -0500
From:      dweimer <dweimer@dweimer.net>
To:        FreeBSD Questions <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org>
Subject:   Anyone Tried to use iPXE to boot with iSCSI?
Message-ID:  <cfb526db98bc6085c6747103ca6cd611@dweimer.net>

next in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
I was just trying some proof of concept testing to see if I could get a 
system booting with no local disk using iSCSI running from my FreeNAS 
box.

I got started, by first booting a 9.1-RC1 CD, into live CD, created a 
/tmp/iscsi.conf used kldload to load the iscsi initiator, connected to 
the target, created a gpt boot partition, swap partition and just a 
single / volume using remianing space.  Copied the bootcode, created the 
file system, extracted the system etc.  Created a loader.conf file, 
added the iscsi_initiator_load="YES" option, copied my /tmp/iscsi.conf 
file to the new file system at /etc/iscsi.conf created a /etc/fstab file 
using the gpart labels to mount / and swap partitions.

Booted the system from the iPXE.iso, ran the necessary configuration 
options, connected to the iscsi volume, and booted from it.  It does 
launch the bootcode, as expected, and then breaks failing to mount root.

Whoch I actually expected, I have proved I can install to an iSCSI 
volume, I can connect to that iSCSI volume prior to loading the kernel, 
and load the kernel from it.

What I can't seem to find any information on is how to mount iSCSI 
volumes at boot on FreeBSD, so that the kernel can mount the root 
partition.  Does anyone have any idea how to do this, or if its even 
possible?

-- 
Thanks,
    Dean E. Weimer
    http://www.dweimer.net/



Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?cfb526db98bc6085c6747103ca6cd611>