[ipxe-devel] IPXE and parallels on MAC

[Patel, Kalpesh]

Not quite that simple — the problem is much earlier in the load process. IPXE doesn't even complete load of gpxelinux.0 before it hangs. For that fact, any thing that IPXE attempts to load hangs at some point in the process and the hang point is random after a reboot for the same download.

From: Ben Hildred <42656e at gmail.com<mailto:42656e at gmail.com>>
Date: Monday, April 7, 2014 11:29 AM
To: Microsoft Office User <kapatel at randomhouse.com<mailto:kapatel at randomhouse.com>>
Cc: "ipxe-devel at lists.ipxe.org<mailto:ipxe-devel at lists.ipxe.org>" <ipxe-devel at lists.ipxe.org<mailto:ipxe-devel at lists.ipxe.org>>
Subject: Re: [ipxe-devel] IPXE and parallels on MAC

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<mailto: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.






_______________________________________________
ipxe-devel mailing list
ipxe-devel at lists.ipxe.org<mailto:ipxe-devel at lists.ipxe.org>
https://lists.ipxe.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/ipxe-devel




--
--
Ben Hildred
Automation Support Services
303 815 6721


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.ipxe.org/pipermail/ipxe-devel/attachments/20140407/c9177302/attachment.htm>