[Oscar-users] Imaging successful but image doesn't work

[Jason Hlady]

OK, I fixed my previous problems by using Frank Crawford's initrd.img and kernel IN CONJUNCTION with placing the boel_binaries.tar.gz in the /usr/share/systemimager/boot/i386/standard/ directory. Without the boel_binaries there, it wasn't functioning correctly.

So, I was able to image a test node, and in fact, this imaging went VERY quickly--probably less than a minute over Gb Ethernet.

Herein lies my problem: the image that I've created doesn't work. I successfully created the image a few days ago. Once the node is imaged, and then rebooted, I get the following error on the freshly imaged node:

Swsusp 1.0.3: Missing or invalid swap partition location (resume =
parameter). Disabled.
VFS: Cannot open root device "801" or 08:01
Please append a correct "root=" boot option
Kernel panic: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on 08:01

And then it hangs. This makes me think instinctively that I erred in my construction of the partition table file, but I certainly don't know that for sure. The one I believe that I am using is:

/dev/sda1 2048 ext3 / defaults
/dev/sda5 2048 swap
/dev/sda6 2048 ext3 /usr defaults
/dev/sda7 * ext3 /biobits defaults
nfs_oscar:/home - nfs /home rw

I am writing the list not so much to have someone diagnose why this error is occurring (although that would be great as well--this installation is starting to take quite a lot of time) but rather how precisely to begin to build and test a variety of images.

I guess right now, I don't have a good handle on what I need to do to try and change one of these configurations "on the fly" (say, change the partition file, build a new image, and then try and image the machines with that new image, all using the OSCAR package to do so.)

I've already gone through the process of assigning MACs to nodes, and it seems that is where you decide which image you are going to use. However, if I want to try changing images to try and get one that works, what is the correct procedure? Am I correct that the partition configuration file (as shown above) is ONLY consulted during the "build image" portion of imaging? What should I do to try and build a variety of images and try each of them until I get the one that works? What should I do to check precisely which image (with what partition table, etc.) got sent to the node (particularly when it's broken in kernel panic mode)?

Thanks for all the help so far, and hoping you guys can help me unsnarl this too,

Jason

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Jason Hlady, B. Sc., M. Sc. (Chem), Adv. Cert. (Comp. Sci.)
Programmer/Analyst (Bioinformatics Specialist)
U of Saskatchewan, Bioinformatics Research Laboratory (BIRL)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (306) 966-2075