Re: status of grub netboot in GRUB2

Re: status of grub netboot in GRUB2

[John Lumby]

Thanks for the numerous replies.    Some comments interspersed and one question at the end.

Lennart Sorensen wrote:

|  What is the point of having a bootloader that needs to sit on a disk on
|  a box, when then network boots?  With PXE and the like you don't need
|  any disk and means you are really net booting.

There are various situations where PXE is not an answer.   Examples -
   no PXE in the NIC
   The system BIOS can't or won't communicate with my tftp network server -
         e.g. maybe this is an Apple IMac which refuses to tftp to my server
   and other posters mentioned other reasons.
Basically,   I am hoping for what GRUB1 offered -
fetch a linux kernel over the network using tftp under control of GRUB.

Ian Turner wrote:
|  But I suspect you can boot GRUB from physical media
|  and then still activate the PXE module afterwards.
    ...
|  Netboot works in grub2, but only using the PXE protocol. 

Very interesting  -  but how?   see my question below.

Vladimir Serbinenko wrote:
|  Manoelo Abranches is working on this feature:
|  http://bzr.savannah.gnu.org/r/grub/people/mrabran/grub_net/

I looked and don't see any content anywhere under that page
or the neighbouring http://bzr.savannah.gnu.org/r/grub/people/phcoder/net/.bzr/

Lennart Sorensen wrote:

|  Well a neat program for booting over the internet would be gPXE:
|  http://boot.kernel.org/

Yes and no.   It can fetch a kernel over the network,  but it's not GRUB!
   -  when run in boot program mode, can't be embedded on hard disk (I think),
      has to reside on floppy or CDRom
   -  I think this mode of use was never its primary intention -  it's designed to be
      burned into a eeprom and operate automatically  - hence ...
   -  ... really ugly user interface as compared to GRUB
          (no command recall, useless help, no completion, etc)
   -  strange and apparently sometimes unsuccessful method for building a version with support
      for my NIC  -  I have to go to some site and "order" it,   rather than configure / make etc.

Question:   is the current (1.98) netboot/PXE functionality documented somewhere?
I did try reading the 1.98 info but the node for "Network" is empty -
and it seems nothing there in the .texi.   Sorry if this is all covered back in the archives
but I don't see it or it's out of date.

John
 		 	   		  

Re: status of grub netboot in GRUB2

[Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko]

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> Vladimir Serbinenko wrote:
> |  Manoelo Abranches is working on this feature:
> |  http://bzr.savannah.gnu.org/r/grub/people/mrabran/grub_net/
>
> I looked and don't see any content anywhere under that page
> or the neighbouring http://bzr.savannah.gnu.org/r/grub/people/phcoder/net/.bzr/
>
>   
It's bzr branch
> Question:   is the current (1.98) netboot/PXE functionality documented somewhere?
> I did try reading the 1.98 info but the node for "Network" is empty -
> and it seems nothing there in the .texi.   Sorry if this is all covered back in the archives
> but I don't see it or it's out of date.
>
>   
Doesn't look empty to me:
http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/html_node/Network.html#Network
> John
>  		 	   		  
> _______________________________________________
> Grub-devel mailing list
> Grub-devel@gnu.org
> http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/grub-devel
>
>   


-- 
Regards
Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko



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RE: status of grub netboot in GRUB2

[John Lumby]

Ian Turner wrote:

> What happens when you load GRUB from media and then load the pxe module?

Well,  I don't yet know,  as I've not been able to build a bootable floppy image.
This is 1.98,  installed with --prefix=/usr/grub2 to avoid 
clashing with my production grub1 and I try this

 /usr/grub2/sbin/grub-install --root-directory=/mnt/dkt fd0

where I created a device map:

cat /mnt/dkt/boot/device.map
(fd0)     /dev/sdc

but the grub_install fails and a bash -x of it reveals,  near the end,

/usr/grub2/sbin/grub-setup --directory=/mnt/dkt/boot/grub --device-map=/mnt/dkt/boot/grub/device.map fd0
Invalid device `fd0'.

I copied my grub_install command exactly (other than the explicit path of the script) from the one shown in

http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/html_node/Installing-GRUB-using-grub_002dinstall.html#Installing-GRUB-using-grub_002dinstall

In particular the device name of fd0.

Also the bash -x trace shows that elsewhere in the grub_install script, it did use my devicemap and did map fd0 to /dev/sdc (and in fact built a lot of files on the diskette).  But not bootable!

Can anyone help me build the bootable floppy?    Or does it have to be a CD?   Or is there some other way I can try out your suggestion?

> Do you get access to the PXE filesystem?
> I think you can even specify the tftp server to use by ...

 John

 		 	   		  

Re: status of grub netboot in GRUB2

[Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko]

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On 09/05/2010 03:46 AM, John Lumby wrote:
> Ian Turner wrote:
>
>   
>> What happens when you load GRUB from media and then load the pxe module?
>>     
> Well,  I don't yet know,  as I've not been able to build a bootable floppy image.
> This is 1.98,  installed with --prefix=/usr/grub2 to avoid 
> clashing with my production grub1 and I try this
>
>  /usr/grub2/sbin/grub-install --root-directory=/mnt/dkt fd0
>
> where I created a device map:
>
> cat /mnt/dkt/boot/device.map
> (fd0)     /dev/sdc
>
> but the grub_install fails and a bash -x of it reveals,  near the end,
>
> /usr/grub2/sbin/grub-setup --directory=/mnt/dkt/boot/grub --device-map=/mnt/dkt/boot/grub/device.map fd0
> Invalid device `fd0'.
>   
Well your problem is obvious:

/mnt/dkt/boot/device.map != /mnt/dkt/boot/grub/device.map

And also it's not recommended to specify GRUB device on command line. Just remove all device.map and do:

 /usr/grub2/sbin/grub-install --root-directory=/mnt/dkt /dev/sdc

> I copied my grub_install command exactly (other than the explicit path of the script) from the one shown in
>
> http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/html_node/Installing-GRUB-using-grub_002dinstall.html#Installing-GRUB-using-grub_002dinstall
>
> In particular the device name of fd0.
>
> Also the bash -x trace shows that elsewhere in the grub_install script, it did use my devicemap and did map fd0 to /dev/sdc (and in fact built a lot of files on the diskette).  But not bootable!
>
> Can anyone help me build the bootable floppy?    Or does it have to be a CD?   Or is there some other way I can try out your suggestion?
>
>   
>> Do you get access to the PXE filesystem?
>> I think you can even specify the tftp server to use by ...
>>     
>  John
>
>  		 	   		  
> _______________________________________________
> Grub-devel mailing list
> Grub-devel@gnu.org
> http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/grub-devel
>
>   


-- 
Regards
Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko



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Re: status of grub netboot in GRUB2

[John Lumby]

Vladimir Serbinenko wrote:
>>
>> but the grub_install fails and a bash -x of it reveals,  near the end,
>>
>> /usr/grub2/sbin/grub-setup --directory=/mnt/dkt/boot/grub 
>> --device-map=/mnt/dkt/boot/grub/device.map fd0
>> Invalid device `fd0'.
>>   
> Well your problem is obvious:
> 
> /mnt/dkt/boot/device.map != /mnt/dkt/boot/grub/device.map

Sorry,  it really was located in /mnt/dkt/boot/grub/device.map for that run -
I had moved it there but cut'n'pasted the wrong cat command

> 
> And also it's not recommended to specify GRUB device on command line. Just 
> remove all device.map and do:
> 
>  /usr/grub2/sbin/grub-install --root-directory=/mnt/dkt /dev/sdc
> 

Thanks Vladimir;  I tried that and it told me (in the bash -x trace)

350+ /usr/grub2/sbin/grub-setup --directory=/mnt/dkt/boot/grub --device-map=/mnt/dkt/boot/grub/device.map /dev/sdc
/usr/grub2/sbin/grub-setup: warn: Attempting to install GRUB to a partitionless disk.  This is a BAD idea..
/usr/grub2/sbin/grub-setup: warn: Embedding is not possible.  GRUB can only be installed in this setup by using blocklists. ...
/usr/grub2/sbin/grub-setup: error: if you really want blocklists, use --force.

so I ran it with --force
     /usr/grub2/sbin/grub-install --root-directory=/mnt/dkt --force /dev/sdc
and finally I have a bootable grub-1.98 floppy.
(I think the info on making a boot floppy needs to be updated)

So now I am trying Ian's suggestion :
insmod pxe
     [ grub prompt - no error - successful ]
root (pxe:192.168.3.4)
     error:  no such disk
root (pxe)
     error:  no such disk

Maybe I am not using the pxe function correctly?
Ian had written
>> I think you can even specify the tftp server to use by setting some variables.
I don't see any mentioned  -  I used the (pxe:192.168.3.4) syntax as described in the info.

Anyone suggest anything I might try?

John

 		 	   		  

Re: status of grub netboot in GRUB2

[Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko]

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On 09/01/2010 10:40 PM, Turner, Ian wrote:
> John,
>
> What happens when you load GRUB from media and then load the pxe module? 
Nothing
> Do you get access to the PXE filesystem?
No
>  I think you can even specify the tftp server to use by setting some variables.
>
>   
AFAIK PXE rom simply isn't designed to be executed without causing it to
attempt netboot. It may be possible with some black magic to make it do
so, but the resulting code will be very unstable.
> --Ian
>
> (Apologies for the HTML mail - this mail client doesn't support composing plain text messages)
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: grub-devel-bounces+ian.turner=deshaw.com@gnu.org <grub-devel-bounces+ian.turner=deshaw.com@gnu.org>
> To: grub-devel maillist <grub-devel@gnu.org>
> Sent: Wed Sep 01 11:12:26 2010
> Subject: Re: status of grub netboot in GRUB2
>
>
> Thanks for the numerous replies.    Some comments interspersed and one question at the end.
>
> Lennart Sorensen wrote:
>
> |  What is the point of having a bootloader that needs to sit on a disk on
> |  a box, when then network boots?  With PXE and the like you don't need
> |  any disk and means you are really net booting.
>
> There are various situations where PXE is not an answer.   Examples -
>    no PXE in the NIC
>    The system BIOS can't or won't communicate with my tftp network server -
>          e.g. maybe this is an Apple IMac which refuses to tftp to my server
>    and other posters mentioned other reasons.
> Basically,   I am hoping for what GRUB1 offered -
> fetch a linux kernel over the network using tftp under control of GRUB.
>
> Ian Turner wrote:
> |  But I suspect you can boot GRUB from physical media
> |  and then still activate the PXE module afterwards.
>     ...
> |  Netboot works in grub2, but only using the PXE protocol. 
>
> Very interesting  -  but how?   see my question below.
>
> Vladimir Serbinenko wrote:
> |  Manoelo Abranches is working on this feature:
> |  http://bzr.savannah.gnu.org/r/grub/people/mrabran/grub_net/
>
> I looked and don't see any content anywhere under that page
> or the neighbouring http://bzr.savannah.gnu.org/r/grub/people/phcoder/net/.bzr/
>
> Lennart Sorensen wrote:
>
> |  Well a neat program for booting over the internet would be gPXE:
> |  http://boot.kernel.org/
>
> Yes and no.   It can fetch a kernel over the network,  but it's not GRUB!
>    -  when run in boot program mode, can't be embedded on hard disk (I think),
>       has to reside on floppy or CDRom
>    -  I think this mode of use was never its primary intention -  it's designed to be
>       burned into a eeprom and operate automatically  - hence ...
>    -  ... really ugly user interface as compared to GRUB
>           (no command recall, useless help, no completion, etc)
>    -  strange and apparently sometimes unsuccessful method for building a version with support
>       for my NIC  -  I have to go to some site and "order" it,   rather than configure / make etc.
>
> Question:   is the current (1.98) netboot/PXE functionality documented somewhere?
> I did try reading the 1.98 info but the node for "Network" is empty -
> and it seems nothing there in the .texi.   Sorry if this is all covered back in the archives
> but I don't see it or it's out of date.
>
> John
>  		 	   		  
> _______________________________________________
> Grub-devel mailing list
> Grub-devel@gnu.org
> http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/grub-devel
>   
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Grub-devel mailing list
> Grub-devel@gnu.org
> http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/grub-devel
>   


-- 
Regards
Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko



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Re: status of grub netboot in GRUB2

[Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko]

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On 09/02/2010 06:38 AM, Manoel Rebelo Abraches wrote:
> That branch is a bit outdated, I'll update id until next week at most.
> We have so far the tftp protocol and a pseudo driver for open firmware.
> It worked grate in our tests so far. 
Sounds interesting.
> Though it is aimed only for
> sequential transfer at the moment, I'll talk with vladimir next week
> some about some changes I thought to make parallelism easier( but isn't
> parallelism too much for a bootloader?).
>   
Hardware drivers are always useful to be parallelisable even if we
currently don't tak full advantage of it. A simple example is that of
running console through network and in the same time downloading files.
In this case you require 2 simultaneous transfers.

I've also found out that pxe driver is currently attached all wrong. In
branch net I transformed it into a network protocol 'pxe' using
interface 'pxe' on dummy card 'pxe'. With UNDI the 'pxe' card will
become a card capable of sending and receiving packets.
This pushed me to remove some overkill in previous templates. I hope
that helps writing drivers.
@Manoel: even if you just put your current work without cleaning it up
it will already help. I can take care of integration.
> On Tue, 2010-08-31 at 21:31 +0200, Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko
> wrote:
>   
>> On 08/31/2010 09:05 PM, John Lumby wrote:
>> First of all please avoid sending HTML-formatted mails to this list.
>>     
>>> Anyone know if any work is being done on implementing a netboot
>>> function into GRUB2 similar to what is available in GRUB1?    I.e.,  
>>>    .   supports current network hardware with self-contained drivers
>>>    .  does not require PXE hardware
>>>    .  does not require any other software
>>>
>>>       
>> This is useful functionality for e.g. OS recovery over internet, system
>> where firmware supports netboot but provides only pretty unusable
>> functions to bootloader or when GRUB itself is a firmware
>> Manoelo Abranches is working on this feature:
>> http://bzr.savannah.gnu.org/r/grub/people/mrabran/grub_net/ . One of the
>> tasks in my TODO list is to assess how much can be merged into 1.99.
>>     
>>> I see this article in this forum talking about some plans
>>> http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/grub-devel/2006-05/msg00058.html
>>>
>>> and this one more recently
>>> http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/grub-devel/2008-01/msg00640.html
>>>
>>> -  but they are all years ago ...
>>>
>>> Or -  is there any kind of netboot functionality in GRUB2 or being
>>> worked on by anyone?
>>>
>>> John Lumby
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Grub-devel mailing list
>>> Grub-devel@gnu.org
>>> http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/grub-devel
>>>   
>>>       
>>
>>     
>   


-- 
Regards
Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko



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Re: status of grub netboot in GRUB2

[Manoel Rebelo Abraches]

That branch is a bit outdated, I'll update id until next week at most.
We have so far the tftp protocol and a pseudo driver for open firmware.
It worked grate in our tests so far. Though it is aimed only for
sequential transfer at the moment, I'll talk with vladimir next week
some about some changes I thought to make parallelism easier( but isn't
parallelism too much for a bootloader?).
We can soon port the drivers from gpxe (Vladimir has already started
it).Next week I'll update the branch and post our progress so far with
more details.


On Tue, 2010-08-31 at 21:31 +0200, Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko
wrote:
> On 08/31/2010 09:05 PM, John Lumby wrote:
> First of all please avoid sending HTML-formatted mails to this list.
> > Anyone know if any work is being done on implementing a netboot
> > function into GRUB2 similar to what is available in GRUB1?    I.e.,  
> >    .   supports current network hardware with self-contained drivers
> >    .  does not require PXE hardware
> >    .  does not require any other software
> >
> This is useful functionality for e.g. OS recovery over internet, system
> where firmware supports netboot but provides only pretty unusable
> functions to bootloader or when GRUB itself is a firmware
> Manoelo Abranches is working on this feature:
> http://bzr.savannah.gnu.org/r/grub/people/mrabran/grub_net/ . One of the
> tasks in my TODO list is to assess how much can be merged into 1.99.
> > I see this article in this forum talking about some plans
> > http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/grub-devel/2006-05/msg00058.html
> >
> > and this one more recently
> > http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/grub-devel/2008-01/msg00640.html
> >
> > -  but they are all years ago ...
> >
> > Or -  is there any kind of netboot functionality in GRUB2 or being
> > worked on by anyone?
> >
> > John Lumby
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Grub-devel mailing list
> > Grub-devel@gnu.org
> > http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/grub-devel
> >   
> 
> 

-- 
Best Regards,

Manoel Rebelo Abranches
Software engineer
IBM - Linux Technology Center - Brazil

Re: status of grub netboot in GRUB2

[Turner, Ian]

John,

What happens when you load GRUB from media and then load the pxe module? Do you get access to the PXE filesystem? I think you can even specify the tftp server to use by setting some variables.

--Ian

(Apologies for the HTML mail - this mail client doesn't support composing plain text messages)

----- Original Message -----
From: grub-devel-bounces+ian.turner=deshaw.com@gnu.org <grub-devel-bounces+ian.turner=deshaw.com@gnu.org>
To: grub-devel maillist <grub-devel@gnu.org>
Sent: Wed Sep 01 11:12:26 2010
Subject: Re: status of grub netboot in GRUB2


Thanks for the numerous replies.    Some comments interspersed and one question at the end.

Lennart Sorensen wrote:

|  What is the point of having a bootloader that needs to sit on a disk on
|  a box, when then network boots?  With PXE and the like you don't need
|  any disk and means you are really net booting.

There are various situations where PXE is not an answer.   Examples -
   no PXE in the NIC
   The system BIOS can't or won't communicate with my tftp network server -
         e.g. maybe this is an Apple IMac which refuses to tftp to my server
   and other posters mentioned other reasons.
Basically,   I am hoping for what GRUB1 offered -
fetch a linux kernel over the network using tftp under control of GRUB.

Ian Turner wrote:
|  But I suspect you can boot GRUB from physical media
|  and then still activate the PXE module afterwards.
    ...
|  Netboot works in grub2, but only using the PXE protocol. 

Very interesting  -  but how?   see my question below.

Vladimir Serbinenko wrote:
|  Manoelo Abranches is working on this feature:
|  http://bzr.savannah.gnu.org/r/grub/people/mrabran/grub_net/

I looked and don't see any content anywhere under that page
or the neighbouring http://bzr.savannah.gnu.org/r/grub/people/phcoder/net/.bzr/

Lennart Sorensen wrote:

|  Well a neat program for booting over the internet would be gPXE:
|  http://boot.kernel.org/

Yes and no.   It can fetch a kernel over the network,  but it's not GRUB!
   -  when run in boot program mode, can't be embedded on hard disk (I think),
      has to reside on floppy or CDRom
   -  I think this mode of use was never its primary intention -  it's designed to be
      burned into a eeprom and operate automatically  - hence ...
   -  ... really ugly user interface as compared to GRUB
          (no command recall, useless help, no completion, etc)
   -  strange and apparently sometimes unsuccessful method for building a version with support
      for my NIC  -  I have to go to some site and "order" it,   rather than configure / make etc.

Question:   is the current (1.98) netboot/PXE functionality documented somewhere?
I did try reading the 1.98 info but the node for "Network" is empty -
and it seems nothing there in the .texi.   Sorry if this is all covered back in the archives
but I don't see it or it's out of date.

John
 		 	   		  
_______________________________________________
Grub-devel mailing list
Grub-devel@gnu.org
http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/grub-devel

Re: status of grub netboot in GRUB2

[Lennart Sorensen]

On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 09:31:13PM +0200, Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko wrote:
> On 08/31/2010 09:05 PM, John Lumby wrote:
> First of all please avoid sending HTML-formatted mails to this list.
> > Anyone know if any work is being done on implementing a netboot
> > function into GRUB2 similar to what is available in GRUB1?    I.e.,  
> >    .   supports current network hardware with self-contained drivers
> >    .  does not require PXE hardware
> >    .  does not require any other software
> >
> This is useful functionality for e.g. OS recovery over internet, system
> where firmware supports netboot but provides only pretty unusable
> functions to bootloader or when GRUB itself is a firmware
> Manoelo Abranches is working on this feature:
> http://bzr.savannah.gnu.org/r/grub/people/mrabran/grub_net/ . One of the
> tasks in my TODO list is to assess how much can be merged into 1.99.

Well a neat program for booting over the internet would be gPXE:
http://boot.kernel.org/

Maybe that does what needed already.

-- 
Len Sorensen

Re: status of grub netboot in GRUB2

[Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko]

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On 08/31/2010 09:05 PM, John Lumby wrote:
First of all please avoid sending HTML-formatted mails to this list.
> Anyone know if any work is being done on implementing a netboot
> function into GRUB2 similar to what is available in GRUB1?    I.e.,  
>    .   supports current network hardware with self-contained drivers
>    .  does not require PXE hardware
>    .  does not require any other software
>
This is useful functionality for e.g. OS recovery over internet, system
where firmware supports netboot but provides only pretty unusable
functions to bootloader or when GRUB itself is a firmware
Manoelo Abranches is working on this feature:
http://bzr.savannah.gnu.org/r/grub/people/mrabran/grub_net/ . One of the
tasks in my TODO list is to assess how much can be merged into 1.99.
> I see this article in this forum talking about some plans
> http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/grub-devel/2006-05/msg00058.html
>
> and this one more recently
> http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/grub-devel/2008-01/msg00640.html
>
> -  but they are all years ago ...
>
> Or -  is there any kind of netboot functionality in GRUB2 or being
> worked on by anyone?
>
> John Lumby
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Grub-devel mailing list
> Grub-devel@gnu.org
> http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/grub-devel
>   


-- 
Regards
Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko



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RE: status of grub netboot in GRUB2

[Turner, Ian]

> What is the point of having a bootloader that needs to sit on a disk on
> a box, when then network boots?  With PXE and the like you don't need
> any disk and means you are really net booting.

In all fairness, this is useful if you want to network-boot a box for OS installation but do not control the DHCP servers on the network. But I suspect you can boot GRUB from physical media and then still activate the PXE module afterwards.

--Ian

RE: status of grub netboot in GRUB2

[Turner, Ian]

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Netboot works in grub2, but only using the PXE protocol. If you don't have a PXE BIOS on your NIC then you are out of luck.

--Ian

From: grub-devel-bounces+ian.turner=deshaw.com@gnu.org [mailto:grub-devel-bounces+ian.turner=deshaw.com@gnu.org] On Behalf Of John Lumby
Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 3:06 PM
To: grub-devel@gnu.org
Subject: status of grub netboot in GRUB2

Anyone know if any work is being done on implementing a netboot function into GRUB2 similar to what is available in GRUB1?    I.e.,
   .   supports current network hardware with self-contained drivers
   .  does not require PXE hardware
   .  does not require any other software

I see this article in this forum talking about some plans
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/grub-devel/2006-05/msg00058.html

and this one more recently
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/grub-devel/2008-01/msg00640.html

-  but they are all years ago ...

Or -  is there any kind of netboot functionality in GRUB2 or being worked on by anyone?

John Lumby

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Re: status of grub netboot in GRUB2

[Lennart Sorensen]

On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 03:05:43PM -0400, John Lumby wrote:
> Anyone know if any work is being done on implementing a netboot function into GRUB2 similar to what is available in GRUB1?    I.e.,   
>    .   supports current network hardware with self-contained drivers
>    .  does not require PXE hardware
>    .  does not require any other software

What is the point of having a bootloader that needs to sit on a disk on
a box, when then network boots?  With PXE and the like you don't need
any disk and means you are really net booting.

Of course I am just a user, so what do I know.  I just don't see the use.

> I see this article in this forum talking about some plans 
> http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/grub-devel/2006-05/msg00058.html
> 
> and this one more recently
> http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/grub-devel/2008-01/msg00640.html
> 
>  -  but they are all years ago ...
> 
> Or -  is there any kind of netboot functionality in GRUB2 or being worked on by anyone?

Pretty sure it supports PXE, which is useful.  Most modern PCs support
PXE.

-- 
Len Sorensen

status of grub netboot in GRUB2

[John Lumby]

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Anyone know if any work is being done on implementing a netboot function into GRUB2 similar to what is available in GRUB1?    I.e.,   
   .   supports current network hardware with self-contained drivers
   .  does not require PXE hardware
   .  does not require any other software

I see this article in this forum talking about some plans 
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/grub-devel/2006-05/msg00058.html

and this one more recently
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/grub-devel/2008-01/msg00640.html

 -  but they are all years ago ...

Or -  is there any kind of netboot functionality in GRUB2 or being worked on by anyone?

John Lumby
 		 	   		  

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