[ipxe-devel] IPXE and parallels on MAC

[Ben Hildred]

gpxelinux.0 contains a copy of gpxe an earlier version of ipxe. Multiple
copies of ipxe may produce the effects you are seeing. I recommend using
pxelinux.0 instead of gpxelinux.0 when booting from ipxe.

gpxelinux.0 consists of gpxe a config file and pxelinux.0. the advantage it
provides is that it allows pxelinux.0 to take advantage of the advanced
networking of ipxe or gpxe like http booting, but as you are already
booting from ipxe a second copy is not needed.


On Mon, Apr 7, 2014 at 8:56 AM, Patel, Kalpesh <kapatel at randomhouse.com>wrote:

> Hey everyone,
>
> I am eliciting help in solving an unusual problem.
>
> I download the IPXE iso from http://boot.ipxe.org/ipxe.iso. Using that I
> have been trying to get IPXE to boot into our PXE/TFTP menu system that we
> have in MAC's Parallels system (as a side note, I've downloaded the source
> and built the iso from it but it result in same behavior as well).
> Unfortunately the boot process halts at random point after starting
> download of gpxelinux.0 which is what the backend DHCP is setup to provide
> to client and then the menu. DNSMASQ is providing the DNS, DHCP and TFTP
> services for this entire setup. I've tested same system on VMWare's
> Workstation on Windows, Fusion on MAC, VirtualBox on both platforms, MAC
> and Windows, and on ESXi 5.x and works on all these systems flawlessly
> except in Parallels on MAC.
>
> I am suspecting that the NIC driver code (Intel 82545em which is Intel
> e1000 family card) somewhere in IPXE is mis-behaving causing it to hiccup
> and stop. The hiccup actually causes the Parallel VM to freeze hard
> requiring power off and on. I've attached a screen shot of the VM's output
> to get the conversation going.
>
> On this particular VM, there are three NICs but two are disabled in the VM
> so that it can bring only one of them up, which is where TFTP is running.
>
> Just to try, I've given DHCP server the MTU option (DHCP option # 26) to
> be of 1500 but no luck in changing the behavior. I am also forcing option
> 210 to have it switch to http protocol but it seems to ignore it as well.
> This is not that much of importance at the moment.
>
> I've also tried with gPXE 1.0.1 downloaded from rom-o-matic with which I
> have had a little better luck but no cigar. That at least consistantly
> loads menu but any subsequent loading related to selection of a menu item
> also ends up freezing at random point.
>
> I understand that you folks may not have MAC at your disposable so I am
> making my rig available if there is momentum to continue to find the
> culprit.
>
> Thanks.
>
>
>
>
>
>
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> ipxe-devel at lists.ipxe.org
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>
>


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Ben Hildred
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