Subject: Re: Two-stage netboot
To: Simon Burge <simonb@NetBSD.ORG>
From: Gregory McGarry <g.mcgarry@qut.edu.au>
List: port-pmax
Date: 06/28/1999 11:05:44
Simon Burge wrote:
 
> I'm wary of the first stage loader probing memory looking for the info
> the PROM received.  Unless there's a documented interface (I don't care
> where the documentation comes from :-), we have to be sure we can handle
> _all_ PROMs - from the early machines like 5400's and 3100's right up to
> the last turbochannel machines like 5000/2xx's.

I know it isn't documented, but that doesn't mean that it isn't reliable.
It didn't turn out that way though.

> I also wonder if the PROM throws out the "rp" entry and just keeps the
> "bf" entry - after all it doesn't need to know this to load the boot file.

Yep, that appears to be the case.

> Can I ask what's wrong with three bootp requests going out?

Nothing.  The less the better.  However, it isn't really worth
mucking around with nfs_mountroot.

Have you been able to send packets using the PROM?  I might tinker
with this a little.  Shouldn't be too hard.

Regards,
Greg