Getting started netbooting a NeXTcube

[David Ross <randomdross00%gmail.com@localhost>]

Hey port-next68k,

I've managed to acquire a NeXTcube and I'm playing around with getting
the old netbsd port up and running on it.  Since it was only ever set
up to netboot, I'm starting there.  Unfortunately I'm seeing some
really weird behavior...

The ethernet network connection seems to work fine.  When I boot up
via the hard drive, I see it recognizes when it's plugged in and
attempts to retrieve network configuration.  Sniffing on the network I
see BOOTP packets.

However, when I attempt to netboot from the ROM monitor, I'm seeing
that the network only comes up for a brief period of time, if at all.
During that time, in some cases a BOOTP packet manages to make it out.
I haven't gone any further to try to respond to the BOOTP packet yet.

Any idea what might be causing this behavior, or how it might be
fixed?  Can anyone attest to what the normal behavior is when
netbooting?  (I'd expect the network comes up & stays up, and BOOTP
packets continue to get sent on some interval until there's a
response.)

David Ross
dross%pobox.com@localhost