NBD (Network Block Device) on linux can make a remote image file (or device) as a local block device by TCP. You can use the block device as the root of your linux system. Just copy 'nbd.o' and 'nbd-client' to your initrd and edit your linuxrc. GRUB still access the kernel and initrd by tftp.
My patch on https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/download.php?item_id=6690&item_file_id=880 can supports RPC now. But I don't have enough time to provide NFS support on GRUB :-(. GRUB can not use NBD directly for it is TCP based :(. An UDP or RPC version is still under developing in my lab. GRUB may support it, but I am not very sure whether it is allowed to be released by GPL :'(. Feng Shuo -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2003 11:09 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Network booting with a disk image ? Hi to everybody, I'm looking for a way of booting a server/computer with a disk image (generated for example with "cat /dev/hda > disk-image.img" or "dd if=/dev/hda of=disk-image.img") stored in a TFTP or NFS server. The procedure should be somehow like this : 1.- You power on the computer. 2.- Computer sends a dhcp request for obtaining the network config. 3.- Computer connects to tftp or NFS server. It then issues a command like "cat /nfssharedir/disk-image.img > /dev/hda" or "dd if=/nfssharedir/disk-image.img of=/dev/hda" 4.- It then continues booting using that image. 5-. You end up with a fresh system 100% identical to the one from whom you made the image. Is it possible to do this with GRUB ? Or anyother combination of tools / methods you may know ? Thanks in advance, Regards, Teresa. _______________________________________________ Bug-grub mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/bug-grub _______________________________________________ Bug-grub mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/bug-grub
