David wrote:
> Trying to figure out how to do network installs of Solaris x86 without the
> use of PXE. Many companies do not allow the use of PXE and limit the use of
> DHCP. This is obviously problematic for building Solaris x86 systems. One
> thought was to use the process described in some Sun BluePrint docs to create
> a DVD boot image but I tried this and it still seems to fall short of what I
> need. So here is what I thought at a high-level could work(happen).
>
> - add client to the jumpstart "infrastructure" with add_install_client
> - boot cdrom - install
> - installer asks for the necessary network identity information information
> (ip address, default route, netmask)
> - installer configures running mini-root to "be" the networked system and
> starts network process
> - installer sends out a request (maybe via bpgetfile) to find out who the
> profile and install server is for this client
> - rest of the jumpstart build (magic) happens ....
>
> So, essentially I want to boot from cdrom/dvd and give just enough info to
> get the jumpstart install process moving without the use of dhcp and PXE.
> COmpanies are doing similar things now with Linux/Kickstart Boot cd's.
>
> Has anyone tackled this yet?
>
> Ideas?
>
Assuming we're talking about a Solaris release that uses GRUB, you can
probably accomplish this with just a modified GRUB menu. The GRUB menu
entry for a CD/DVD install looks like:
title Solaris Express
kernel /boot/platform/i86pc/kernel/unix -B install_media=cdrom
module /boot/x86.miniroot
Whereas for a Jumpstart it's along the lines of
title Solaris_11 Latest, Jumpstart
kernel /I86PC.Solaris_11/platform/i86pc/kernel/unix -B
install_config=10.8.57.1:/export/install/js,sysid_config=10.8.57.1:/export/install/nvid,install_media=10.8.57.1:/export/install/nv/x/latest
module /I86PC.Solaris_11/x86.miniroot
The trick is to merge the above and get GRUB to configure the network
interface, with the "dhcp" or "ifconfig" commands within GRUB - see the
GRUB web site for info on them:
http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub.html
So something like the following on a CD would be pretty close to
working, though I haven't tried it; substitute your addresses of course:
title Network install without PXE
ifconfig --server=10.8.57.1 --gateway=10.8.57.248 --mask=255.255.255.0
--address=10.8.57.2
kernel /boot/platform/i86pc/kernel/unix
-Bnstall_config=10.8.57.1:/export/install/js,sysid_config=10.8.57.1:/export/install/nvid,install_media=10.8.57.1:/export/install/nv/x/latest
module /boot/x86.miniroot
You can just boot from the standard CD or DVD and use the GRUB command
line interactively to test until you get something working.
Dave
