Subject: Re: MOP booting Decstation 3100 from VMS cluster server?
To: Jonathan Stone <port-pmax@netbsd.org>
From: Geoff Roberts <geoffrob@stmarks.pp.catholic.edu.au>
List: port-pmax
Date: 08/19/1999 17:33:35
----- Original Message -----
From: Jonathan Stone <jonathan@DSG.Stanford.EDU>
To: Geoff Roberts <geoffrob@stmarks.pp.catholic.edu.au>
Cc: Simon Burge <simonb@netbsd.org>
Sent: Wednesday, 18 August 1999 6:04
Subject: Re: MOP booting Decstation 3100 from VMS cluster server?



> >Sounds interesting.  I have several.   Win98 anyway.  I have a tftp
server
> >on this one.  But how to BOOTP or DHCP?
>
> "find the ultrix docs for addnode?"  I know it was doable, we once did it
> here at Stanford when the FCO boot TFTP on the /240s.

Can you find out exactly how he did it with the Win95 box?  I'd be very
interested...

I have found some extensive instructions for MOP booting Ultrix Decstations
from the Vax in the Multinet Manuals.  It's fairly well explained, but it
does special/strange
things to accomodate the decstations, (I think they mean to accomodate
Ultrix, actually) I have
made 1 attempt at it but got zero response from the server. I'll exhaust the
tftp/nfs options first,
unless I can find a VMS/Multinet/BSD maestro who can make it clearer exactly
what I need and don't.

There is also a section on TFTP/NFS booting Sun boxes from the Vax, which is
radically different
to the decstation MOP.  It's similar to the way it's done by bsd, (not
surprising, Multinet is based on BSD's IP suite)
so I'm more hopeful that will work.  BOOTP is a bit of a problem since the
rf parameter doesn't exist in Multinet's bootp,
it uses only the ones shown in the example bootp-server.configuration file.
With sun boxes, they get around it with another file
called bootparams.configuration, which contains the root, swap and dump
directory paths.  It also requires that RARP be enabled and configured with
a mapping for the workstation to it's IP address. (done that bit already).

Heres an example of what the bootparams entry supposedly should look like.

freya                root=enigma:/netboot/ \
                       swap=enigma:/netboot/swap/freya.swap \
                       dump=enigma:/netboot/swap/freya.swap

It also needs a DNS or host-table entry, this might be a problem, since we
don't run our own dns, and our isp wants $50 for every change we ask them to
do.  A host table would be easy enough, but I'm not sure we can have that
AND the dns at the same time.

The Multinet manual says: Quote:
"Multinet has been demonstrated to boot Sun Microsystem and Digital
Equipment Corporation's DECstation workstations, but the
techniques described in this manual will likely work with other brands as
well."
End Quote.

I've still to figure out how to specify how the exported file system is
named etc, since vms doesn't have a common root like unix, but rather device
based roots, more like a dos box in that respect.
ie naming is on the order of
devicename:[directoryname.subdirname.subdirname]filename.extension;version-n
umber

For instance, the "root" I'm trying to setup for the decstation is actually
NETDISK:[NETBOOT] in vmsspeak,
or $1$DUA2:[NETBOOT] if using the physical devicename instead of a logical
assignment.

> I am sorry we couldn't help you with what Dave Kashtan once called
> the Vomit-Making System.

Hmm, not heard that one.  That's ok, I have similar feelings about Windows
(whatever version),
DOS, and to a lesser degree, Unix.

> I haven't used it myself since VMS 4.5.

There have been improvements, I'm told. :^) Using 6.0 here, which is oldish.

> Heck, I once took VMS internal courses,

I'm self taught on everything, so you may know more about it than I do.

> and installed an LAVC;

??  Never heard of that one!

> but time takes its toll.

True enough.

> Still, I thought sample entries for both both CMU bootptab and ISC
> dhcpd.conf entires were in the FAQ and the install guide.

Oh?  I'll have (another) look. Might give me a clue or two. Multinet doesn't
do DHCP though. BOOTP only
Multinet is seriously different to CMUIP, and we actually ran it here for
a while, (it's freeware) but we had an oldish (3.2 Rev B circa 1993) but
good Multinet (commercial product) given
to us with a scrapped machines cpus and ram, and we needed it to get the web
server to run
properly, it didn't like CMU much at all.

> If they aren't there, complain fierecely to a mailing list near you.

;^)

> But I thin the v7.01 PROM is what's All-Blacking you.

Well, that's certainly the issue with the TFTP boot of the install kernel.
It boots the smallnet.ecoff one fine, I just need to
figure out how to drive the NFS stuff to get it a root filesystem.
Unfortunately, all the unix versions and their how-to's are
of absolutely no use at all here....

I'll keep tinkering....

Cheers
Geoff Roberts
Computer Systems Manager
Saint Mark's College
Port Pirie, South Australia.
Email:  geoffrob@stmarks.pp.catholic.edu.au
           netcafe@pirie.mtx.net.au
ICQ #:  1970476