Table of Contents
You can get the rpm : pxe-1.2.0-2mdk and pxe-sample-1.2.0-2mdk on the Mandrake Linux cooker repositery [5] This rpm is based on pxe.1.2.tar.gz. found on : http://www.kano.org.uk/projects/pxe/.
File pxe.conf is read by the pxe server to get its informations. You can specify the config file to the pxe server with the -c option. The default pxe.conf is in /etc directory with the vanilla RPM.
Which interface the PXE server binds itself to. If no interface is specified, PXE server will bind itself to all interfaces.
Syntax of the service option:
service=CSA,min layer,max layer,basename,menu entry
CSA : the Client System Architecture, typicaly X86PC or I64EFI. The min layers and max layers are the starting and finishing layers in the boot protocol, those are:
So, if you just want to use the bootstrap, the service line should be :
service=X86PC,0,0,local,Local boot # When basename is set to local, layers will be ignored.
if you want : bootstrap + kernel, the service line should be :
service=X86PC,0,1,linux,install Mandrake Linux
if you want : bootstrap + kernel + initrd, the service line should be :
service=X86PC,0,2,linux, install Mandrake Linux
Files requested in this case are :
Here is just an example of the pxe.conf :
interface=eth0
default_address=192.168.200.1
multicast_address=224.0.1.2
mtftp_address=192.168.200.1
mtftp_client_port=1758
mtftp_server_port=1759
listen_port=4011
use_multicast=1
use_broadcast=0
prompt=Press F8 to view menu ..
prompt_timeout=2
service=X86PC,0,0,local,Local boot
service=X86PC,0,2,linux,PXE Linux
service=IA64EFI,0,2,linux, Install IA64
service=IA32EFI,0,2,linux, Install IA32
tftpdbase=/
domain=cluster.com
Check you have those lines in /etc/services :
altserviceboot 4011/udp #Alternate Service Boot
launch the server :
/etc/rc.d/init.d/pxe start
In the /etc/rc.d/init.d/pxe init script there are 2 lines that add a route to the broadcast address and a route to the multicast address.
route add -host 255.255.255.255 $INTERFACE
route add -net 224.0.0.0 netmask 224.0.0.0 $INTERFACE
where $INTERFACE is the name of the network interface used.
You can check if your server is runnning on port 4011 with :
netstat -na | grep 4011
That command should produce the following output :
udp 0 0 0.0.0.0:4011 0.0.0.0:*
udp 0 0 192.168.200.1:4011 0.0.0.0:*