[ipxe-devel] [PATCH] make iPXE run the string from the bootloader

[Dave Hansen]

I always forget to compile in a custom embedded script image into iPXE,
and I also don't have full control over my DHCP server in some cases so
I can't set $file.

If you are booting ipxe.lkrn, this _effectively_ lets you do is pass in
a tiny script via the boot command-line.  I use iPXE to compile kernels
on one system and then boot them elsewhere.  The reboot cycles are
*SLOW*, and I like to speed them up.  This should let me do something
like the following in GRUB's menu.lst:

title		iPXE
kernel		/boot/ipxe.lkrn dhcp && kernel http://1.2.3.4/~vmlinuz root=UUID=ce4190bb-bdee-48e0-8e47-7e71d167c4ac ro profile=2 single

Previously, I would either have a custom copy of ipxe for each system,
or a custom script on a server, indexed by the system's MAC.  It's
*MUCH* nicer to just keep all of the root= or serial console arguments
all in one file (menu.lst).

This could also be used to anything that the embedded scripts were, like
setting static IPs.

I'm still a bit shaky on whether the assembly here is "right" or whether
it just happens to be cobbled together enough to happen to work.
Michael, thanks for basically writing this for me.  :)  I'm happy to
clean it up some more.

-- Dave
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