Subject: Re: VS3100... woo fun :/
To: Jacob Suter <jsuter@moon.intrastar.net>
From: Brian Chase <brianc@carpediem.com>
List: port-vax
Date: 10/13/1997 05:08:30
On Sun, 12 Oct 1997, Jacob Suter wrote:
> I'm booting from a Linux Slackware 3.3 box with a 2.1.57 kernel.  I've got
...

> -ESA0 
> Nboot
> : /netbsd
> le_softc.sc_r2 = 0x3a0000
> device: le0 attached to 08:00:2b:1d:9a:a4
> boot: client IP address: 206.136.25.29                (this is correct)
> bootparamd: 'whoami' clal failed
> Unknown error: code 60
> :/netbsd
> netboot: no interfaced left untried
> rtt
> (and the cursur sits....)

...

> Now, while the entire boot action is going on I get this on my bootparamd
> window:
> 
> fixed:/home/jakes# rpc.bootparamd -d
> whoami got question for 206.136.25.29
> This is host vax.intrastar.net
> Returning vax   (none)    127.0.0.1
> whoami got question for 206.136.25.29
> This is host vax.intrastar.net
> Returning vax   (none)    127.0.0.1
> whoami got question for 206.136.25.29
> This is host vax.intrastar.net
> Returning vax   (none)    127.0.0.1
> whoami got question for 206.136.25.29
> This is host vax.intrastar.net
> Returning vax   (none)    127.0.0.1
> 
> This just doesn't look right to me for some reason.

As per section 6.1 "Bootloader Fails to Load The Kernel" of the Netboot
HOWTO, this behavior is kind of common to Linux when RARP is misbehaving.  
http://www.carpediem.com/~brianc/projects/vaxen/VAXstation-netboot-HOWTO.html

You might try clearing and reloading the ARP and RARP caches by hand:

# rarp -d vax
# arp -d vax
# arp -s vax 08:00:2b:1d:9a:a4
# rarp -s vax 08:00:2b:1d:9a:a4

Then try booting up the VAXstation.

As far as other OSes to work with -- NetBSD, FreeBSD, and OpenBSD work.  
I use OpenBSD on a 386/DX40 at home for my bootserver, and then at work I
use a tag team of Linux 2.0.30 and IRIX 6.3.  Linux is by far the most
tempermental of the group.  I haven't checked out functionality with
the 2.1 kernels yet so you may be experiencing a new problem on your Linux
system, but it looks exactly like the RARP problems I've seen with 2.0.30.

-brian.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brian D. Chase         Systems Coordinator        brian.chase@carpediem.com
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