Re: help with serial console Dell 860 NetBSD/pxe install

[George Michaelson <ggm%pobox.com@localhost>]

On Wed, 07 Dec 2011 07:47:46 -0500, matthew sporleder wrote:

> On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 10:00 PM, George Michaelson <ggm%pobox.com@localhost>
> wrote:
>> Trying a headless lights-out install of NetBSD 5.1 on a Dell 860.
>>
>> I get pxeboot working, and have done a variety of installboot diddles
>> to set com0, speed etc. I have successfully interrupted pxeboot, set
>> console=auto and other twiddles, but once I do boot tftp:netbsd-INSTALL
>> I get the basic spandrel plus the memory sizes, and then silence.
>>
>> nada. niet, null points. nothing.
>>
>> grub is confusing. I have got pxelinux working and installed ubuntu and
>> debian this way, and FreeBSD. Love to do a NetBSD, want to try xen
>> stuff,
>> but this is a major roadblock right now.
>>
>> Any clues? kick me now moments? clue sticks of any size?
>>
>> -G
>>
>>
> Do you have an install kernel named "netbsd" in your tftp boot dir?

no. my dhcpd.conf puts files into subdir netbsd/ and I used a direct 
manual reference at the boot> prompt to tftp:netbsd-INSTALL which appears 
to be found and loaded.

Should I make a hard-link from netbsd-INSTALL to netbsd? 

> 
> It also sounds like your pxeboot.bin might not be using the serial port.

Odd. Because I can interact with it over serial console and can talk to 
it and i've tried both the one off 5.1 (and used installboot) and the old 
pre-4.0 one (which btw, failed to load the kernel).

It may be 'just me' but how can I get interactive IO on pxeboot prompt 
and it not be using serial? is there some pre-boot state where BIOS i/o 
goes to serial but then post boot the kernel forgets how to talk to it?

> 
> Can you include some screenshots of how far you get?

Sure. Here is the screenshot, and the tftp log. I notice the ERROR lines, 
but I can't account for them yet. Maybe this image isn't happy?


>> NetBSD/x86 PXE Boot, Revision 5.1 (from NetBSD 5.1)
>> Memory: 555/3668736 k
Press return to boot now, any other key for boot menu
Starting in 0 seconds.
type "?" or "help" for help.
> boot tftp:netbsd-INSTALL
PXE BIOS Version 2.1
Using PCI device at bus 4 device 0 function 0
Ethernet address 00:1d:09:f1:a6:f9
10123216+5691904+783264=0x10d52a0 [hangs]


-------------

Dec  8 00:18:38 ponzu tftpd[74266]: Filename: 'netbsd/
pxeboot_ia32_com0.bin'
Dec  8 00:18:38 ponzu tftpd[74266]: Mode: 'octet'
Dec  8 00:18:38 ponzu tftpd[74266]: Got ERROR packet: TFTP Aborted
Dec  8 00:18:38 ponzu tftpd[74268]: Filename: 'netbsd/
pxeboot_ia32_com0.bin'
Dec  8 00:18:38 ponzu tftpd[74268]: Mode: 'octet'
Dec  8 00:18:38 ponzu tftpd[74268]: 203.133.248.10: read request for //
netbsd/pxeboot_ia32_com0.bin: success
Dec  8 00:18:48 ponzu tftpd[74270]: Filename: 'netbsd-INSTALL'
Dec  8 00:18:48 ponzu tftpd[74270]: Mode: 'octet'
Dec  8 00:18:48 ponzu tftpd[74270]: 203.133.248.10: read request for //
netbsd-INSTALL: success
Dec  8 00:18:48 ponzu tftpd[74270]: Got ERROR packet:
Dec  8 00:18:48 ponzu tftpd[74272]: Filename: 'netbsd-INSTALL'
Dec  8 00:18:48 ponzu tftpd[74272]: Mode: 'octet'
Dec  8 00:18:48 ponzu tftpd[74272]: 203.133.248.10: read request for //
netbsd-INSTALL: success
Dec  8 00:18:54 ponzu tftpd[74274]: Filename: 'netbsd-INSTALL'
Dec  8 00:18:54 ponzu tftpd[74274]: Mode: 'octet'
Dec  8 00:18:54 ponzu tftpd[74274]: 203.133.248.10: read request for //
netbsd-INSTALL: success
Dec  8 00:18:59 ponzu tftpd[74274]: Got ERROR packet: