install/43933: NetBSD-5.1_RC4 i386 isn't very helpful when it comes to pxe installs

[jasper%pointless.net@localhost]

>Number:         43933
>Category:       install
>Synopsis:       NetBSD-5.1_RC4 i386 isn't very helpful when it comes to pxe 
>installs
>Confidential:   no
>Severity:       serious
>Priority:       low
>Responsible:    install-manager
>State:          open
>Class:          doc-bug
>Submitter-Id:   net
>Arrival-Date:   Sun Oct 03 02:20:00 +0000 2010
>Originator:     Jasper Wallace
>Release:        NetBSD-5.1_RC4
>Organization:
just me
>Environment:
NetBSD net4521.pointless.net 5.1_RC4 NetBSD 5.1_RC4 (NET4521) #0: Sat Oct  2 23:
12:35 BST 2010  root@limpit:/home/jasper/develop/netbsd/netbsd-5/tree/l.i386/obj
/sys/arch/i386/compile/NET4521 i386

>Description:
The install notes for NetBSD-5.1_RC4 don't mention pxe at all, and there is no 
com0 version of pxeboot in the install sets. Since installboot is a netbsd 
program you run into a chicken and egg problem if no netbsd machine is 
available.

(On a Soekris NET4521 the non-com0 pxeboot displays messages fine, but when the 
kernel boots no console messages are displayed, so something is missing in the 
way that the kernel figures out what to use as the console).

>How-To-Repeat:
Try so install NetBSD-5.1_RC4 on a pxebooting headless box.

>Fix:
either include a pxeboot_ia32_com0.bin in i386/installation/misc or work out 
why the kernel dosn't find the console properly.

Include docs for setting up a pxe boot server for installing netbsd with the 
correct recipe for loading miniroot.kmod etc.

fwiw it's worth i'm using this in my dhcpd.conf:


host net4521 {
        hardware ethernet  00:01:02:03:04:05;
        fixed-address 10.0.0.9;
        if substring (option vendor-class-identifier, 0, 10) = "PXEClient:" {
            filename "/srv/tftp/pxeboot_ia32-com0.bin";
        } elsif option vendor-class-identifier = "NetBSD:i386:libsa" and
                filename = "netbsd" {
            filename "tftp:/srv/tftp/netbsd-5-GENERIC";
            next-server 10.0.0.1;
        } elsif option vendor-class-identifier = "NetBSD:i386:libsa" and suffix 
(filename, 4) = "kmod" {
            filename "tftp:/srv/tftp/miniroot.kmod";
            next-server 10.0.0.1;
        }
}

and entering these two commands manually at the pxeboot prompt:

load tftp:/srv/tftp/miniroot.kmod
boot tftp:/srv/tftp/netbsd-5-g

the 'suffix filename, 4) = "kmod"' is beacause telling pxeboot to "load 
tftp:/srv/tftp/miniroot.kmod" results in it requesting the file:

"/stand/i386/5.1/modules/tftp:/srv/tftp/miniroot.kmod/tftp:/srv/tftp/miniroot.kmod.kmod"

in it's next dhcp request so we force it back to using tftp.

(the /srv/tftp stuff is cos the tftp server i'm using insists on full paths)