[ipxe-devel] [gPXE] Unable to get past iSCSI drive message for SAN Installation...

[Michael Brown]

On Wednesday 15 Dec 2010 20:02:50 Matthew Helton wrote:
> #!gpxe
> dhcp net0
> set keep-san 1
> set initiator-iqn iqn.1991-05.com.microsoft:mywin7box.homelab.local
> sanboot
> iscsi:myiscsitargetbox.homelab.local::::iqn.1991-05.com.microsoft:myiscsita
> rgetbox-mywin7box-target
> chain tftp://mytftpserverbox.homelab.local/boot/pxeboot.com

That script can't work in gPXE, because scripts will abort on the first command 
to encounter an error, and you are expecting your sanboot command to fail.

You need to upgrade to iPXE (http://ipxe.org), and append "||" to your sanboot 
line, as in:

  sanboot iscsi:......-mywin7box-target ||

That will cause the script to continue executing after sanboot fails.

However:

> The box boots normally:
> 
> gPXE 1.0.1 blah ~we all love gPXE and this is where we can get it ~ blah
> Features: iSCSI DNS TFTP Multiboot PXE PXEXT
> 
> DHCP (net0 00:01:02:03:04:05). ok
> Registered as BIOS Drive 0x80
> Booting from BIOS Drive 0x80
> 
> BOOTMGR is missing
> Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart
> _
> 
> Note the _Cursor... it won't Chain (I think).

It doesn't look to me as though sanboot is returning *at all* - the typical 
"Boot from BIOS Drive 0x80 failed" message is missing.

I think you're going to need a new feature, which has been pending in iPXE for 
a little while: the ability to hook a SAN target without booting from it, and 
then proceed to boot from a filename (pxeboot.com in your case).  Come and join 
#ipxe on Freenode, and it might give me the motivation to get that working 
later today.  :)

Michael