Subject: Re: (OT) Installing Solaris using a NetBSD install server
To: None <port-sparc64@netbsd.org>
From: Sean Davis <dive-nb@endersgame.net>
List: port-sparc64
Date: 07/17/2005 13:56:44
(Sorry to screw up threading by posting this via fwd... typo'd netbsd.org
:P)
----- Forwarded message from Sean Davis <dive@endersgame.net> -----

Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2005 13:55:21 -0400
From: Sean Davis <dive@endersgame.net>
To: "Volker A. Brandt" <vab@bb-c.de>
Cc: port-sparc64@netbsd.ogr
Subject: Re: (OT) Installing Solaris using a NetBSD install server
In-Reply-To: <17114.24831.166773.582839@morgoth.bb-c.de>
User-Agent: Mutt/1.4.2.1i

On Sun, Jul 17, 2005 at 03:45:35PM +0200, Volker A. Brandt wrote:
> Sean Davis writes:
> > On Sun, Jul 17, 2005 at 05:47:26PM +1000, Daniel Carosone wrote:
> > > On Sat, Jul 16, 2005 at 09:07:01PM -0400, Sean Davis wrote:
> > > > I realize that this is a NetBSD list, not a Solaris list, but I've been told
> > > > that it is doable (I can't remember who said it...), and can't figure
> > out
> 
> That was me :-)
> 
> > > > how.
> > >
> > > I did it years ago, it works fine. IIRC, I had run the
> > > solaris-specific "copy everything off the CD and lay out the install
> > > dirs" script already on a solaris box, and jsut copied that and some
> > > bootparams (etc) files across to netbsd.
> 
> Just listen to the man, Dan!  He does not have Solaris-related problems
> *AT ALL*!
> 
> He has a chicken-and-egg problem that the Solaris install CD has
> *several* (in this case, two) slices needed for the installation (or
> the install server setup).  Yes, this was different "years ago".
> 
> In particular, the Solaris_<N>/Tools/Boot directory on slice 0 is now
> a symlink to slice 1.

Do you know offhand whether or not Solaris 2.5.1/2.6 were this way? I used
to have legal copies of both, and a co-worker of mine offered to get me
either (he has tons of old solaris stuff laying around)... if they're
single-slice cdroms, I expect hacking them into letting me install from a
non-solaris box would be much easier.

> Sean, you need to do one of three things:
> 
>  - find a Sparc machine running Solaris, then use dd or something
>    similar to rip the install image apart, and mount the two slices
>    separately using lofi

This is the least doable, since the only machine I have that I know Solaris
will install on is an Ultra 1, which isn't supported anymore. If my
co-worker can get me a copy of Solaris 2.5.1 (Old, I know, but I really liked
that version, and it'll run on a U1..) I may put that on my U1 after I
migrate it's current tasks (DNS, NAT, IPF, DHCP) off of it. The alternative,
of course, is to toss an IDE drive in the U5, but that's not my favorite
option since the U5 is under the U1, Kalpana EPS-1500, Netra t1 105, IBM
8271, two netgear switches... you get the idea ;)

>  - find a Sparc machine with a CD-ROM drive, then boot the install
>    CD into single user, then copy the two slices to the install
>    server across the network

Got a sparc with a cd-rom, unfortunately it's either the U1 or the U5, and
the U1 was rather... painful... when I tried solaris 9 on it. IIRC it's not
even supported in solaris 10.

>  - find a Solaris installation *DVD*, since the DVD has a copy of
>    slice 1 in  Solaris_<N>/Tools/Boot.

Hmm. Do you think the solaris install dvd image be mounted like the cds with:
vnconfig vnd0 /path/to/dvd.iso
mount -t cd9660 /dev/vnd0a /mnt/foo
?

If so, I'm inclined to think that this is the simplest option.

> > > Is the NetBSD machine not a sparc? In this case, you'll likely need to
> > > use sunlabel(8) to read the label off the CD and adjust the in-core
> > > label to suit.  "dkctl ... keeplabel yes" is handy between invocations
> > > here :)
> 
> Now *that* sounds interesting, Daniel!  Does that mean that you
> can expose the two slices separately, and then mount them?

That's what I was hoping, but I couldn't find a way to do it.

> > sunlabel doesn't find a valid label on the cd image (mounted
> > via vnd) I'll give it a shot on the burned cd, but I expect the same
> > results.
> 
> You will get the same results.

Yup. Did.

> > Also, I can't install Solaris on the Ultra 5 (my original plan) because
> > Solaris apparently refuses to detect non-IDE drives in Ultra 5's. The
> > machine is setup with an Adaptec 2940UW-OFW + Seagate Cheetah in it, which
> > OpenBoot sees just fine, but Solaris' installer does not.
> 
> The OBP can see the card since it is a PCI card.  Have you checked
> if you *really* have the Sun OFW version of the card?  You can do
> this by entering "show-disks" at the OBP prompt.  If a path to the
> controller appears there, the OBP knows it's a disk controller.

Sun Ultra 5/10 UPA/PCI (UltraSPARC-IIi 333MHz), No Keyboard
OpenBoot 3.31, 256 MB (60 ns) memory installed, Serial #10389508.
Ethernet address 8:0:20:9e:88:4, Host ID: 809e8804.

ok show-disks
a) /pci@1f,0/pci@1/scsi@1/disk
b) /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/ide@3/cdrom
c) /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/ide@3/disk
d) /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/ebus@1/fdthree@14,3023f0
q) NO SELECTION

<etc>

And the best evidence I have that OBP sees it just fine:
ok boot
Boot device: /pci@1f,0/pci@1/scsi@1/disk@0,0:a  File and args: netbsd
NetBSD IEEE 1275 Bootblock
..>> NetBSD/sparc64 OpenFirmware Boot, Revision 1.7
>> (builds@works.netbsd.org, Wed Mar 23 01:17:12 UTC 2005)
loadfile: reading header
elf64_exec: Booting /pci@1f,0/pci@1/scsi@1/disk@0,0:a/netbsd
1389848@0x1000000+68464@0x1800000+4125840@0x1810b70
symbols @ 0xfff38400 149+131376+75010 start=0x1000000
chain: calling OF_chain(800000, cbc0, 1000000, fffa9a80, 18)
console is /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/ebus@1/se@14,400000:a
Copyright (c) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
    The NetBSD Foundation, Inc.  All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 1982, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993
    The Regents of the University of California.  All rights reserved.
<yadda yadda>

Thanks for the help.

-Sean



----- End forwarded message -----