Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems since 7.3

[Gordon Messmer]

I tracked this down, eventually.  Under RHEL/CentOS 7.2, the rootfs was 
limited to the size of available memory.  Under 7.3, there's an 
artificial restriction of 50% of total system memory.  The default size 
of a VM under "virt-manager" is 1G, which creates a ~500MB rootfs in the 
installer.  That filesystem is too small to run the installation in most 
cases.


The documented minimum is still 1GB of RAM, but that's no longer 
sufficient to complete the installation of 7.3:

https://access.redhat.com/articles/rhel-limits

I'm going to file a bug and ask Red Hat to document the new minimums.
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
https://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems since 7.3

[Joseph L. Casale]

> I just tried a kickstart setup for the first time since 7.3 and got an 
> error similar to the error in this unresolved Fedora bug report:
>
> https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1278260
>
> Has anyone successfully done a kickstart setup using 7.3 on x86_64?

I have with an http based ks file however my 7.2 based file had a sight
partition blunder that went unnoticed and worked only in 7.2 whereas
the 7.3 installation actually behaved as documented and paused.

> I'm not sure where to start debugging this.

When you do get a procedure down for that, please share it:)

jlc
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
https://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

[CentOS] kickstart problems since 7.3

[Gordon Messmer]

I just tried a kickstart setup for the first time since 7.3 and got an 
error similar to the error in this unresolved Fedora bug report:


https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1278260

Has anyone successfully done a kickstart setup using 7.3 on x86_64?  I'd 
imagine this is part of QA, so the answer is almost certainly "yes," but 
I'm not sure where to start debugging this. I got a working system by 
supplying the URL to the 7.2 release instead of the current URL.


___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
https://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems...

[John Doe]

From: John Doe 
> 4. OT: fs corruption ont he USB keys...
>I copy the iso file on the key (no error message), then compare it to the 
>   original and some random differences appear.

I have corruption problems with both the i386 (3.7GB) and x86_64 (4.2GB) DVD 
iso files.
But I tried the CDROM iso files instead and I don't have any corruption (even 
though they use almost the same disk space)...
Looks like there is a "big files" problem.

JD


  

___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems...

[John Doe]

From: John Doe 
> 4. OT: fs corruption ont he USB keys...
>I copy the iso file on the key (no error message), then compare it to the 
>   original and 
>some random differences appear. I noticed in the logs:
>"ext2_new_block: Allocating block in system zone - block = 65536"
>"ext2_free_blocks: bit already cleared for block 88678"
>"ext2_free_blocks: Freeing blocks not in datazone - block = 3003818537, 
>count = 1"

About the corruption problems, I noticed:
kernel: attempt to access beyond end of device
kernel: sdg2: rw=0, want=27039680368, limit=15746760
kernel: attempt to access beyond end of device
kernel: sdg2: rw=0, want=7948148456, limit=15746760
kernel: attempt to access beyond end of device
kernel: sdg2: rw=0, want=7948148456, limit=15746760
kernel: attempt to access beyond end of device
kernel: sdg2: rw=0, want=10942330464, limit=15746760
kernel: attempt to access beyond end of device
kernel: sdg2: rw=0, want=10942330464, limit=15746760
etc...

The limit would look correct: 15746760*512=8062341120=8GB
The usb-storage seems to have a little problem with the keys geometry...
I am not even entirely filling the key; I fill it up to 60%
It happens with 2 different (but same model) keys.

# fdisk -l /dev/sdg

Disk /dev/sdg: 8086 MB, 8086618112 bytes
249 heads, 62 sectors/track, 1023 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 15438 * 512 = 7904256 bytes

   Device Boot  Start End  Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdg1   *   1   3   231266  FAT16
/dev/sdg2   41023 7873380   83  Linux

Do USB keys need special geometries (not a boot problem)?
Or could it be the corruption problem that was reported on the list with the 
new kernel...?

Thx,
JD


  

___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems...

[John Doe]

From: Fabian Arrotin 
> John Doe wrote:
> > I am creating CentOS install usb keys and, apart from a few problems, it 
> mostly works...
> > 1. OT: My server HP does not seem to want to boot on it if I set the write 
> protection on.
> > 2. Anaconda tries to fetch the ks.cfg too early...  It detects sda, then 
> detects the 
> >RAID adapter, then re-detects sda with a "waiting for device to settle 
> before scanning".
> >Anaconda tries to access the ks.cfg file in the middle of this waiting.
> >If, once the detection is over (just 2-3 seconds later), I retry, it 
> > works.
> > 3. Error message "cannot mount read/write, will mount read-only" (I like to 
> write protect)
> > 4. OT: fs corruption ont he USB keys...
> >I copy the iso file on the key (no error message), then compare it to 
> > the 
> original and 
> >some random differences appear. I noticed in the logs:
> >"ext2_new_block: Allocating block in system zone - block = 65536"
> >"ext2_free_blocks: bit already cleared for block 88678"
> >"ext2_free_blocks: Freeing blocks not in datazone - block = 3003818537, 
> count = 1"
> > Any idea how to fix 2. and 3. ?
> Is there a particular reason why you don't/can't use pxe boot and 
> fetching the ks files over the network ?

I like to have everything on the key and not have to deal with network at setup 
time.
Do you imply that fetching the ks.cfg from usb is not supposed to work?

JD


  

___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems...

[Fabian Arrotin]

John Doe wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I am creating CentOS install usb keys and, apart from a few problems, it 
> mostly works...
> 1. OT: My server HP does not seem to want to boot on it if I set the write 
> protection on.
> 2. Anaconda tries to fetch the ks.cfg too early...  It detects sda, then 
> detects the 
>RAID adapter, then re-detects sda with a "waiting for device to settle 
> before scanning".
>Anaconda tries to access the ks.cfg file in the middle of this waiting.
>If, once the detection is over (just 2-3 seconds later), I retry, it works.
> 3. Error message "cannot mount read/write, will mount read-only" (I like to 
> write protect)
> 4. OT: fs corruption ont he USB keys...
>I copy the iso file on the key (no error message), then compare it to the 
> original and 
>some random differences appear. I noticed in the logs:
>"ext2_new_block: Allocating block in system zone - block = 65536"
>"ext2_free_blocks: bit already cleared for block 88678"
>"ext2_free_blocks: Freeing blocks not in datazone - block = 3003818537, 
> count = 1"
> Any idea how to fix 2. and 3. ?
> 

Is there a particular reason why you don't/can't use pxe boot and 
fetching the ks files over the network ?

-- 
--
Fabian Arrotin
  idea=`grep -i clue /dev/brain`
  test -z "$idea" && echo "sorry, init 6 in progress" || sh ./answer.sh
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

[CentOS] kickstart problems...

[John Doe]

Hi,

I am creating CentOS install usb keys and, apart from a few problems, it mostly 
works...
1. OT: My server HP does not seem to want to boot on it if I set the write 
protection on.
2. Anaconda tries to fetch the ks.cfg too early...  It detects sda, then 
detects the 
   RAID adapter, then re-detects sda with a "waiting for device to settle 
before scanning".
   Anaconda tries to access the ks.cfg file in the middle of this waiting.
   If, once the detection is over (just 2-3 seconds later), I retry, it works.
3. Error message "cannot mount read/write, will mount read-only" (I like to 
write protect)
4. OT: fs corruption ont he USB keys...
   I copy the iso file on the key (no error message), then compare it to the 
original and 
   some random differences appear. I noticed in the logs:
   "ext2_new_block: Allocating block in system zone - block = 65536"
   "ext2_free_blocks: bit already cleared for block 88678"
   "ext2_free_blocks: Freeing blocks not in datazone - block = 3003818537, 
count = 1"
Any idea how to fix 2. and 3. ?

Thx,
JD


  

___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Anne Wilson]

On Thursday 04 September 2008 20:02:25 William L. Maltby wrote:
> On Thu, 2008-09-04 at 18:51 +0100, Anne Wilson wrote:
> > In addition, if you use kmail highlighting the section that you want
> > to reply
> > to will give you a clean start with only the appropriate bit copied,
> > like
> > this :-)  It doesn't work if you need to intersperse many comments,
> > but where
> > only one section is relevant it's a huge help.
>
> And Evolution does the same. I suspect many do.
>
I thought that was probably so, but didn't have the experience to state it :-)  
It's a very useful tip, as is using the space bar for scrolling down.

Anne




signature.asc
Description: This is a digitally signed message part.
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[William L. Maltby]

On Thu, 2008-09-04 at 18:51 +0100, Anne Wilson wrote:
> In addition, if you use kmail highlighting the section that you want
> to reply 
> to will give you a clean start with only the appropriate bit copied,
> like 
> this :-)  It doesn't work if you need to intersperse many comments,
> but where 
> only one section is relevant it's a huge help.

And Evolution does the same. I suspect many do.

> 
> Anne
> 

-- 
Bill (the other one  :-)

___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Anne Wilson]

On Thursday 04 September 2008 18:04:49 MHR wrote:
> If you can take the time to scroll down to the bottom of an email to
> answer it properly (i.e., bottom post), then you can trim it on the
> way down.  If your email automatically bottom-posts, then I guess you
> just need to do some courtesy up-scrolling.

In addition, if you use kmail highlighting the section that you want to reply 
to will give you a clean start with only the appropriate bit copied, like 
this :-)  It doesn't work if you need to intersperse many comments, but where 
only one section is relevant it's a huge help.

Anne


signature.asc
Description: This is a digitally signed message part.
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[MHR]

On Thu, Sep 4, 2008 at 12:51 AM, John R Pierce <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Paolo Supino wrote:
>>
>>  On the other hand if you were right about it than RHEL/CentOS/Fedora
>> installation would be unsuitable in any multihome configuration because it
>> would map ETH devices differently (albeit once in a while) which means one
>> whould have to swtich the cables because of network device remapping!!! and
>> that isn't something users and corporations that use REHL (and there are
>> many of those) would be willing to live with :-)
>
>
> (please PLEASE trim quoted articles to just what you're commenting on, like
> I have above).
>

DITTO!

If you can take the time to scroll down to the bottom of an email to
answer it properly (i.e., bottom post), then you can trim it on the
way down.  If your email automatically bottom-posts, then I guess you
just need to do some courtesy up-scrolling.

Thank you for reading (and, hopefully, your active follow-through).

mhr
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Les Mikesell]

John R Pierce wrote:

Paolo Supino wrote:
  On the other hand if you were right about it than RHEL/CentOS/Fedora 
installation would be unsuitable in any multihome configuration 
because it would map ETH devices differently (albeit once in a while) 
which means one whould have to swtich the cables because of network 
device remapping!!! and that isn't something users and corporations 
that use REHL (and there are many of those) would be willing to live 
with :-)



(please PLEASE trim quoted articles to just what you're commenting on, 
like I have above).



I've /never/ seen RHEL/CentOS or any of its predecessors renumber 
ethernet ports on a working system..   I've seen it number them 
backwards, such that eth0 was the port labeled '1' outside the chassis 
and eth1 was port '0', but it was extremely consistent about this (one 
specific case of this I remember is  RHEL2.1 or 3 on a Intel SE7501WV2 
dual xeon board).   I've had a pile of different RH linux configurations 
running on various servers for 10 or more years.


The behavior changed when the system started using udev.  Devices are 
detected in parallel in more or less random order now.  However, the MAC 
address of each NIC is normally stored in the corresponding 
/etc/sysconfig/network.scripts/ifcfg-ethxx file and they are renamed to 
match the device specified in the files as they are activated. 
Kickstarting is a special case since these files don't exist yet, but 
you can specify ksdevice either by mac address or as bootif, meaning the 
interface where the pxe boot happened, according to:

http://kbase.redhat.com/faq/FAQ_80_531.shtm

--
  Les Mikesell
   [EMAIL PROTECTED]

___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

RE: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Joseph L. Casale]

>I've /never/ seen RHEL/CentOS or any of its predecessors renumber
>ethernet ports on a working system..

Yeah, I have never seen it "re"number either?

>I've seen it number them
>backwards, such that eth0 was the port labeled '1' outside the chassis
>and eth1 was port '0', but it was extremely consistent about this (one
>specific case of this I remember is  RHEL2.1 or 3 on a Intel SE7501WV2
>dual xeon board).   I've had a pile of different RH linux configurations
>running on various servers for 10 or more years.

Here is a good explanation about this:

http://h2.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&taskId=115&prodSeriesId=254896&prodTypeId=15351&objectID=c01430330

jlc
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Romeo Ninov]

Paolo Supino  wrote / napísal(a):



On Thu, Sep 4, 2008 at 9:52 AM, Romeo Ninov <[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
> wrote:


Paolo, this problem occur only in RHEL/CentOS/other RH based
distros and not in Slack, SuSE, Debian, etc. I was not going
deeper in the problem, but that is the reality. BTW: You can play
with MAC address in incfg files, but this is applicable only on
already installed machine.About Your remarc for corporations and
RH - you are right, but how often servers are restarted? :-)

___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org 
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos


Hi Romeo

  Not often :-) but I know of thousand of multihomed systems that are 
installed via kickstart and never heard of issues like the ones you 
describe and if it was a problem Red Hat would have fixed it a long 
time ago because it would have seriously heart their bottom line ...





Hi, Paolo,

It's depend of many details, you should have identical NICs for 
example.When you have time play with one virtual machine under VMware, 
add 2 NICs and watch the problem

___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Paolo Supino]

On Thu, Sep 4, 2008 at 9:52 AM, Romeo Ninov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

Paolo, this problem occur only in RHEL/CentOS/other RH based distros and not
> in Slack, SuSE, Debian, etc. I was not going deeper in the problem, but that
> is the reality. BTW: You can play with MAC address in incfg files, but this
> is applicable only on already installed machine.About Your remarc for
> corporations and RH - you are right, but how often servers are restarted?
> :-)
>
> ___
> CentOS mailing list
> CentOS@centos.org
> http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>

Hi Romeo

  Not often :-) but I know of thousand of multihomed systems that are
installed via kickstart and never heard of issues like the ones you describe
and if it was a problem Red Hat would have fixed it a long time ago because
it would have seriously heart their bottom line ...




--
ttyl
Paolo
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[John R Pierce]

Paolo Supino wrote:
  On the other hand if you were right about it than RHEL/CentOS/Fedora 
installation would be unsuitable in any multihome configuration 
because it would map ETH devices differently (albeit once in a while) 
which means one whould have to swtich the cables because of network 
device remapping!!! and that isn't something users and corporations 
that use REHL (and there are many of those) would be willing to live 
with :-)



(please PLEASE trim quoted articles to just what you're commenting on, 
like I have above).



I've /never/ seen RHEL/CentOS or any of its predecessors renumber 
ethernet ports on a working system..   I've seen it number them 
backwards, such that eth0 was the port labeled '1' outside the chassis 
and eth1 was port '0', but it was extremely consistent about this (one 
specific case of this I remember is  RHEL2.1 or 3 on a Intel SE7501WV2 
dual xeon board).   I've had a pile of different RH linux configurations 
running on various servers for 10 or more years.



___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Romeo Ninov]

Paolo Supino  wrote / napísal(a):


On Thu, Sep 4, 2008 at 8:27 AM, Romeo Ninov <[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
> wrote:




Paolo Supino  wrote / napísal(a):



On Wed, Sep 3, 2008 at 5:52 PM, Marco Fretz
<[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
>> wrote:

   hi,

   we had the same problem with newer HP pcs and servers
(broadcom nics).
   pxe works well on broadcom, the install not. doesn't matter
if you're
   using kickstart or manual install.

   the problem was in centos 4.2. after updating the install
   environment to
   4.5 the problem was gone... so it was a driver issue! the
install
   kernel
   is not exactly the normal linux kernel i think.

   if anaconda just says that it cannot find install image,
etc. the
   system
   has no connectivity at this time.

   hope this is helpful...

   bests
marco

   Paolo Supino wrote:
   >
   >
   > On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 3:07 PM, Romeo Ninov
<[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
   >
   > 

   >
   >
   > Paolo Supino  wrote / napísal(a):
   >
   >
   >
   > On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 2:17 PM, Romeo Ninov
   <[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
>
   >  >>
   
>
   >   wrote:
   >
   >
   >
   >Paolo Supino  wrote / napísal(a):
   >
   >
   >
   >On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 8:14 AM, nate
   > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]

   >

   >>
   >
   >
   > 
   
   >
   > 
   >>
   >
   >
   >
   > 
   > wrote:
   >
   >   Paolo Supino wrote:
   >   > Hi Nate
   >   >
   >
   >   > 3: After the error comes up I get the
HTTP setup
   >configuration
   >   screen with
   >   > the source website (in IP) and CentOS
   directory as I
   > entered
   >   them in the
   >   > pxeconfiguration file and as it
appears in
   the kickstart
   >   configuration file
   >   > and all I have to do is press the
'OK' button to
   > continue the
   >   installation
   >   > to a successful completion.
   >
   >   If that's the case the next most likely
culprit is
   >
   >   > url --url http://192.168.11.1/source
   >
   >
   >   Just because the PXE boot loader can
download the
   > kickstart
   >   config does not mean that the
installation process
   > will work
   >

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Paolo Supino]

On Thu, Sep 4, 2008 at 8:27 AM, Romeo Ninov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

>
>
> Paolo Supino  wrote / napísal(a):
>
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Sep 3, 2008 at 5:52 PM, Marco Fretz <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > [EMAIL PROTECTED]>> wrote:
>>
>>hi,
>>
>>we had the same problem with newer HP pcs and servers (broadcom nics).
>>pxe works well on broadcom, the install not. doesn't matter if you're
>>using kickstart or manual install.
>>
>>the problem was in centos 4.2. after updating the install
>>environment to
>>4.5 the problem was gone... so it was a driver issue! the install
>>kernel
>>is not exactly the normal linux kernel i think.
>>
>>if anaconda just says that it cannot find install image, etc. the
>>system
>>has no connectivity at this time.
>>
>>hope this is helpful...
>>
>>bests
>> marco
>>
>>Paolo Supino wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 3:07 PM, Romeo Ninov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
>>> >> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Paolo Supino  wrote / napísal(a):
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 2:17 PM, Romeo Ninov
>><[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
>>> >
>>
>>> >>
>>>
>>>
>>>Paolo Supino  wrote / napísal(a):
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 8:14 AM, nate
>>> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> >>
>>>>
>>> >>>
>>>>
>>> >>
>>>
>>>>
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>   Paolo Supino wrote:
>>>   > Hi Nate
>>>   >
>>>
>>>   > 3: After the error comes up I get the HTTP setup
>>>configuration
>>>   screen with
>>>   > the source website (in IP) and CentOS
>>directory as I
>>> entered
>>>   them in the
>>>   > pxeconfiguration file and as it appears in
>>the kickstart
>>>   configuration file
>>>   > and all I have to do is press the 'OK' button to
>>> continue the
>>>   installation
>>>   > to a successful completion.
>>>
>>>   If that's the case the next most likely culprit is
>>>
>>>   > url --url http://192.168.11.1/source
>>>
>>>
>>>   Just because the PXE boot loader can download the
>>> kickstart
>>>   config does not mean that the installation process
>>> will work
>>>   with that NIC.
>>>
>>>   Also I've had lots of broadcom systems not
>>work with
>>>kickstart over
>>>   the years, it's not uncommon for newer systems
>>to have
>>> newer
>>>   revs of the chipsets and those revs not being
>>> supported by the
>>>   installer.
>>>
>>>   But it sounds like in your case it does work, so I
>>> would look
>>>   at the url above, as it likely is the cause of the
>>> problem.
>>>Check
>>>   the http access logs on the server for 404s and
>>> similar errors.
>>>
>>>   nate
>>>
>>>   ___
>>>   CentOS mailing list
>>>   CentOS@centos.org 
>>>
>>> 
>>>>
>>>> >>
>>> 
>>>>
>>>
>>>   http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>  

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Romeo Ninov]

Paolo Supino  wrote / napísal(a):



On Wed, Sep 3, 2008 at 5:52 PM, Marco Fretz <[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
> wrote:


hi,

we had the same problem with newer HP pcs and servers (broadcom nics).
pxe works well on broadcom, the install not. doesn't matter if you're
using kickstart or manual install.

the problem was in centos 4.2. after updating the install
environment to
4.5 the problem was gone... so it was a driver issue! the install
kernel
is not exactly the normal linux kernel i think.

if anaconda just says that it cannot find install image, etc. the
system
has no connectivity at this time.

hope this is helpful...

bests
 marco

Paolo Supino wrote:
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 3:07 PM, Romeo Ninov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]

> >> wrote:
>
>
>
> Paolo Supino  wrote / napísal(a):
>
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 2:17 PM, Romeo Ninov
<[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
> >

> 
>
>
>Paolo Supino  wrote / napísal(a):
>
>
>
>On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 8:14 AM, nate
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 >
>
> >>
>
> >
>
>
>  wrote:
>
>   Paolo Supino wrote:
>   > Hi Nate
>   >
>
>   > 3: After the error comes up I get the HTTP setup
>configuration
>   screen with
>   > the source website (in IP) and CentOS
directory as I
> entered
>   them in the
>   > pxeconfiguration file and as it appears in
the kickstart
>   configuration file
>   > and all I have to do is press the 'OK' button to
> continue the
>   installation
>   > to a successful completion.
>
>   If that's the case the next most likely culprit is
>
>   > url --url http://192.168.11.1/source
>
>
>   Just because the PXE boot loader can download the
> kickstart
>   config does not mean that the installation process
> will work
>   with that NIC.
>
>   Also I've had lots of broadcom systems not
work with
>kickstart over
>   the years, it's not uncommon for newer systems
to have
> newer
>   revs of the chipsets and those revs not being
> supported by the
>   installer.
>
>   But it sounds like in your case it does work, so I
> would look
>   at the url above, as it likely is the cause of the
> problem.
>Check
>   the http access logs on the server for 404s and
> similar errors.
>
>   nate
>
>   ___
>   CentOS mailing list
>   CentOS@centos.org 
>
> 
>>
> >
> 

>
>   http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>
>
>
>Hi Nate
>
> After figuring what I was doing wrong (see
previous reply
>...) I started going through each of my systems
in order to
>boot them and install CentOS 5.2 on each. For the
most
> part it
>works, but only for the m

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Paolo Supino]

On Wed, Sep 3, 2008 at 11:49 PM, Joseph L. Casale <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:

> >This is a VERY common problem. I see it all the time.
>
> I also can confirm this *very* typical behavior.
>
> Paolo,
> Remind me what the issue is that prevents you from working through
> this based on the known existence? Its been muddied somewhere through
> the thread...
>
> jlc
>
> ___
> CentOS mailing list
> CentOS@centos.org
> http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>

  Hi Joseph

  Here is my original post:
  I'm having a problem with setting up a kickstart environment based on
CentOS 5.2 x86_64, on a Sun X2200 M2 server (both the server and the client
in the kickstart environment are Sun X2200 M2 systems): the first attempt to
load stage2.img fails with the error screen: "unable to retrieve
http://192.168.11.1/source/images/stage2.img".
Pressing the "OK" button brings up the "HTTP Setup"  screen with "Website
name: 192.168.11.1 " and "CentOS directory: /source"
if I press OK it successfully loads stage2.img file and continues with the
kickstart installation to a successful completion.
I checked the apache logs on 192.168.11.1  and there
is no attempt by the client to even load stage2.img before it prompts for
the error.
  Has anyone encounter this problem and has a solution for it?

  A few more things I learned since the post: sniffing the network showed
that no traffic is received on the server from the requesting client prior
to me pressing the 'OK' button in the HTTP setup window. What more I don't
think that Linux (or in this case anaconda) will remap ETH devices to NICs
on the same run (which is what is described above).
2 more things I found working on the problem during the thread exchange: 1 -
eth0 network statement didn't have '--onboot yes' directive. 2 - While PXE
was Telling the kernel to autoconfigure eth0. The kickstart configuration
file was telling it configure eth0 statically. These 2 issues have been
fixed but I still see this happening sporadically. In one of my attempts I
did instruct PXE to pass static IP configuration to the kernel, but that
worsened the problem and the clients failed to get the kickstart file
altogether.

My configuration files are as follows:
pxe (for node3):
default ks
prompt 0
label ks
kernel vmlinuz
append initrd=initrd.img ramdisk_size=9216 ksdevice=bootif noapic
acpi=off ks=http://192.168.11.1/kickstart/n03.ks
ipappend 2

kickstart file (for node3):
# Kickstart file automatically generated by anaconda.

install
lang en_US.UTF-8
keyboard us
network --device eth0 --onboot yes --bootproto dhcp --hostname
n003.example.com
network --device eth1 --onboot no --bootproto dhcp --hostname
n003.example.com
network --device eth2 --onboot no --bootproto dhcp --hostname
n003.example.com
network --device eth3 --onboot no --bootproto dhcp --hostname
n003.example.com
url --url http://192.168.11.1/source
rootpw --iscrypted ?
firewall --disabled
authconfig --enableshadow --enablemd5
selinux --disabled
timezone --utc Asia/Jerusalem
bootloader --location=mbr --driveorder=sda --append="noapic acpi=off"
# The following is the partition information you requested
# Note that any partitions you deleted are not expressed
# here so unless you clear all partitions first, this is
# not guaranteed to work
zerombr
clearpart --all --drives=sda
part /boot --fstype ext3 --size=100 --ondisk=sda
part pv.2 --size=0 --grow --ondisk=sda
volgroup VolGroup00 --pesize=32768 pv.2
.
.
.



--
ttyl
Paolo
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Paolo Supino]

On Wed, Sep 3, 2008 at 11:47 PM, nate <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> Paolo Supino wrote:
> >
> >   The situation got me so aggravated that I was contemplating
> resurrecting
> > my old private distro (not going to do that) that does things in a much
> > simpler way.
>
> I'm virtually certain it's not using the NIC you think it is,
> try the other NICs, and find out which NIC maps to which ethernet
> device and adjust your configs accordingly.
>
> This is a VERY common problem. I see it all the time.
>
> But if you want to make things hard on yourself that's your
> choice...
>
> nate
>
> ___
> CentOS mailing list
> CentOS@centos.org
> http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>


Hi Nate

  I will check this out (I don't like to leave things hanging in the air)
...
I still disagree with what your saying: if this was the case than Linux
would (potentially) map ETH devices differently every time a multi NIC
system boots. While I've been away from managing Linux systems for a good
few years I'm sure this kind of unpredictable behavior would have caused
Linux to be thrown out of the window on all multihomed configuration (i.e.
firewalls, routers etc ...), and Microsoft to publisize and abuse it against
Linux in any of their smear capaigns to the point that it would have been
picked up by the leading tech media for me to hear about it. In addtion it
would have been a known issue for developers to find work arounds to
overcome this debilitating issue.
  Please don't get angry with me or my point of view. It's not anything
personal. If I wrote anything that sounded offensive or personally directed
in your direction I apologize. There was definitely no pun from my side.





--
TIA
Paolo
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

RE: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Joseph L. Casale]

>This is a VERY common problem. I see it all the time.

I also can confirm this *very* typical behavior.

Paolo,
Remind me what the issue is that prevents you from working through
this based on the known existence? Its been muddied somewhere through
the thread...

jlc

___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[nate]

Paolo Supino wrote:
>
>   The situation got me so aggravated that I was contemplating resurrecting
> my old private distro (not going to do that) that does things in a much
> simpler way.

I'm virtually certain it's not using the NIC you think it is,
try the other NICs, and find out which NIC maps to which ethernet
device and adjust your configs accordingly.

This is a VERY common problem. I see it all the time.

But if you want to make things hard on yourself that's your
choice...

nate

___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Paolo Supino]

On Wed, Sep 3, 2008 at 5:52 PM, Marco Fretz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> hi,
>
> we had the same problem with newer HP pcs and servers (broadcom nics).
> pxe works well on broadcom, the install not. doesn't matter if you're
> using kickstart or manual install.
>
> the problem was in centos 4.2. after updating the install environment to
> 4.5 the problem was gone... so it was a driver issue! the install kernel
> is not exactly the normal linux kernel i think.
>
> if anaconda just says that it cannot find install image, etc. the system
> has no connectivity at this time.
>
> hope this is helpful...
>
> bests
>  marco
>
> Paolo Supino wrote:
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 3:07 PM, Romeo Ninov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > > wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > Paolo Supino  wrote / napísal(a):
> >
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 2:17 PM, Romeo Ninov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >   > >> wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> >Paolo Supino  wrote / napísal(a):
> >
> >
> >
> >On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 8:14 AM, nate
> > <[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
> > > >
> > > 
> >
> > >  >
> >   Paolo Supino wrote:
> >   > Hi Nate
> >   >
> >
> >   > 3: After the error comes up I get the HTTP setup
> >configuration
> >   screen with
> >   > the source website (in IP) and CentOS directory as I
> > entered
> >   them in the
> >   > pxeconfiguration file and as it appears in the
> kickstart
> >   configuration file
> >   > and all I have to do is press the 'OK' button to
> > continue the
> >   installation
> >   > to a successful completion.
> >
> >   If that's the case the next most likely culprit is
> >
> >   > url --url http://192.168.11.1/source
> >
> >
> >   Just because the PXE boot loader can download the
> > kickstart
> >   config does not mean that the installation process
> > will work
> >   with that NIC.
> >
> >   Also I've had lots of broadcom systems not work with
> >kickstart over
> >   the years, it's not uncommon for newer systems to have
> > newer
> >   revs of the chipsets and those revs not being
> > supported by the
> >   installer.
> >
> >   But it sounds like in your case it does work, so I
> > would look
> >   at the url above, as it likely is the cause of the
> > problem.
> >Check
> >   the http access logs on the server for 404s and
> > similar errors.
> >
> >   nate
> >
> >   ___
> >   CentOS mailing list
> >   CentOS@centos.org 
> > >
> >
> > >>
> >
> >
> >   http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
> >
> >
> >
> >Hi Nate
> >
> > After figuring what I was doing wrong (see previous reply
> >...) I started going through each of my systems in order
> to
> >boot them and install CentOS 5.2 on each. For the most
> > part it
> >works, but only for the most part? Because once in a few
> > boots
> >(not machine specific) anaconda stops and either asks me
> what
> >interface it needs to configure or fails to load
> 'stage2.img'
> >from the web server on 192.168.11.1 
> > 
> > ... All cables are good cables. The
> >network switch is a Cisco 3750G with no configuration)
> > and all
> >the NICs are broadcom with firmware 3.8.9.
> >  
> > Can you throw a guess where the problem
> might
> >be lying (I hate inconsistencies)?
> >
> >
> >Have you check apache logs for something. Check also the
> server
> >messages
> >
> >___
> >CentOS mailing list
> >Cent

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Marco Fretz]

hi,

we had the same problem with newer HP pcs and servers (broadcom nics).
pxe works well on broadcom, the install not. doesn't matter if you're
using kickstart or manual install.

the problem was in centos 4.2. after updating the install environment to
4.5 the problem was gone... so it was a driver issue! the install kernel
is not exactly the normal linux kernel i think.

if anaconda just says that it cannot find install image, etc. the system
has no connectivity at this time.

hope this is helpful...

bests
 marco

Paolo Supino wrote:
> 
> 
> On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 3:07 PM, Romeo Ninov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> Paolo Supino  wrote / napísal(a):
> 
> 
> 
> On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 2:17 PM, Romeo Ninov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>   >> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
>Paolo Supino  wrote / napísal(a):
> 
> 
> 
>On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 8:14 AM, nate
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
> >
> 
> 
>  
>   Paolo Supino wrote:
>   > Hi Nate
>   >
> 
>   > 3: After the error comes up I get the HTTP setup
>configuration
>   screen with
>   > the source website (in IP) and CentOS directory as I
> entered
>   them in the
>   > pxeconfiguration file and as it appears in the kickstart
>   configuration file
>   > and all I have to do is press the 'OK' button to
> continue the
>   installation
>   > to a successful completion.
> 
>   If that's the case the next most likely culprit is
> 
>   > url --url http://192.168.11.1/source
> 
> 
>   Just because the PXE boot loader can download the
> kickstart
>   config does not mean that the installation process
> will work
>   with that NIC.
> 
>   Also I've had lots of broadcom systems not work with
>kickstart over
>   the years, it's not uncommon for newer systems to have
> newer
>   revs of the chipsets and those revs not being
> supported by the
>   installer.
> 
>   But it sounds like in your case it does work, so I
> would look
>   at the url above, as it likely is the cause of the
> problem.
>Check
>   the http access logs on the server for 404s and
> similar errors.
> 
>   nate
> 
>   ___
>   CentOS mailing list
>   CentOS@centos.org 
> >
>
> >>
> 
> 
>   http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
> 
> 
> 
>Hi Nate
> 
> After figuring what I was doing wrong (see previous reply
>...) I started going through each of my systems in order to
>boot them and install CentOS 5.2 on each. For the most
> part it
>works, but only for the most part? Because once in a few
> boots
>(not machine specific) anaconda stops and either asks me what
>interface it needs to configure or fails to load 'stage2.img'
>from the web server on 192.168.11.1 
> 
> ... All cables are good cables. The
>network switch is a Cisco 3750G with no configuration)
> and all
>the NICs are broadcom with firmware 3.8.9.
>  
> Can you throw a guess where the problem might
>be lying (I hate inconsistencies)?
> 
> 
>Have you check apache logs for something. Check also the server
>messages
> 
>___
>CentOS mailing list
>CentOS@centos.org 
> >
>http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
> 
> 
> Hi Romeo
> 
>  Yes I did, and nothing shows up in either access_log or
> error_log :-(
> I just had a node t

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Paolo Supino]

On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 8:44 PM, Richard Karhuse <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

>
>
> On 9/2/08, Paolo Supino <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>>
>>
>> :
>>
>> Hi Joseph
>>
>>After sending the last reply I fixed the kickstart config files and
>> added --boot=yes to the network statement of eth0, but going through the
>> consoles of each of the systems to see if the installation completed
>> successfully I found a few that got stuck on the network interface
>> configuration screen (where it asks for IPv4 and IPv6 static/dynamic
>> configuration information: "Configure TCP/IP").
>>
>
>  I've only been half reading this thread, so feel free to ignore this
> "interruption" ...
>
> Just plug one and only one NIC into the switch
> Add "ksdevice=link" to your boot-up line (e.g. syslinux.cfg??).
>
> Configure network (if you must) or just let DHCP take over.
>
> Kickstart away 
> (works for me on boxes where during anaconda installation the NICs are
> labeled one way,
> but CentOS running system does another).
>
> Just a thought ...
>
>-rak-
>
>
>
>
> ___
> CentOS mailing list
> CentOS@centos.org
> http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>


  Hi Rak

  I don't ignore anyone :-) To be on topic: the kernel does receive the
parameter ksdevice=bootif from the PXE bootloader. I tried to put eth0
instead of bootif, but it never worked (might be because of other
configuration directives). I've pasted the configuration a couple of times
in this thread so if you look back at one of the messages you will find the
configurations I'm using ...








--
TIA
Paolo
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Richard Karhuse]

On 9/2/08, Paolo Supino <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>
> :
>
> Hi Joseph
>
>After sending the last reply I fixed the kickstart config files and
> added --boot=yes to the network statement of eth0, but going through the
> consoles of each of the systems to see if the installation completed
> successfully I found a few that got stuck on the network interface
> configuration screen (where it asks for IPv4 and IPv6 static/dynamic
> configuration information: "Configure TCP/IP").
>

 I've only been half reading this thread, so feel free to ignore this
"interruption" ...

Just plug one and only one NIC into the switch
Add "ksdevice=link" to your boot-up line (e.g. syslinux.cfg??).

Configure network (if you must) or just let DHCP take over.

Kickstart away 
(works for me on boxes where during anaconda installation the NICs are
labeled one way,
but CentOS running system does another).

Just a thought ...

   -rak-
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Paolo Supino]

On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 5:10 PM, Joseph L. Casale
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote:

> >I boot via NIC0 and my configurations are as follows:
>
> Yeah, that's what I thought.
> Have a look at:
>
> http://www.redhat.com/docs/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/5.2/html/Installation_Guide/ch-pxe.html
> &
> http://kbase.redhat.com/faq/FAQ_80_531.shtm
>
> The latter might shed some light. I am thinking you need tweak that a bit.
> jlc
> ___
> CentOS mailing list
> CentOS@centos.org
> http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>


Hi Joseph

   After sending the last reply I fixed the kickstart config files and added
--boot=yes to the network statement of eth0, but going through the consoles
of each of the systems to see if the installation completed successfully I
found a few that got stuck on the network interface configuration screen
(where it asks for IPv4 and IPv6 static/dynamic configuration information:
"Configure TCP/IP").





--
TIA
Paolo
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[nate]

Paolo Supino wrote:

>   It's a nice thing and I thought of doing it, but it's impractical and here
> is why: I have 42 systems in this cabinet. Each system as 4 NICs and I only
> have 1 48 port switch. If I had the additional switches to stack I would
> have done it a long time ago (and I would have sniffed the network to see
> where the heck it sending the packets). I checked all the systems that did
> install successfully (right now stands at 29) and in all of them the MAC
> address of NIC0 matches the MAC address for eth0 in Linux (which makes sense
> otherwise the install would have hung up).

I think you misunderstood.

Do it once, so you can see which NIC(s) are actually being used.

Then adjust the kickstart config(if needed) to specify the NIC(s)
you want to use.

nate

___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Paolo Supino]

On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 5:10 PM, Joseph L. Casale
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote:

> >I boot via NIC0 and my configurations are as follows:
>
> Yeah, that's what I thought.
> Have a look at:
>
> http://www.redhat.com/docs/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/5.2/html/Installation_Guide/ch-pxe.html
> &
> http://kbase.redhat.com/faq/FAQ_80_531.shtm
>
> The latter might shed some light. I am thinking you need tweak that a bit.
> jlc
> ___
> CentOS mailing list
> CentOS@centos.org
> http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>


Hi Joseph

  Since I have 4 NICs in each node the kickstart config file has 4 network
statements (one for each of the NICs). The --device eth0 appears in the
first network statement. The thing that I noticed that is missing in the
eth0 network statement is --onboot=yes (in the others it's --onboot=no).
Do you thing I should remove the other network statements from the kickstart
configuration file?





--
TIA
Paolo
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Paolo Supino]

On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 5:04 PM, nate <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> Paolo Supino wrote:
>
> >   I boot via NIC0 and my configurations are as follows:
> > pxe (for node3):
>
> Just to rule it out try plugging in all NICs to the same
> switch/VLAN and kickstart again and see if it works better.
> Sometimes the NIC detected as eth0 at PXE time is not the
> same NIC as at installation time. My systems typically have
> both NICs connected to the same switch(for redundancy using
> bonding driver) so I often forget about this issue.
>
> If it works then you can adjust the kickstart config's
> ksdevice= option to point to the real NIC your system
> will use.
>
> nate
>
> ___
> CentOS mailing list
> CentOS@centos.org
> http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>


Hi Nate

  It's a nice thing and I thought of doing it, but it's impractical and here
is why: I have 42 systems in this cabinet. Each system as 4 NICs and I only
have 1 48 port switch. If I had the additional switches to stack I would
have done it a long time ago (and I would have sniffed the network to see
where the heck it sending the packets). I checked all the systems that did
install successfully (right now stands at 29) and in all of them the MAC
address of NIC0 matches the MAC address for eth0 in Linux (which makes sense
otherwise the install would have hung up).




--
TIA
Paolo
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

RE: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Joseph L. Casale]

>I boot via NIC0 and my configurations are as follows:

Yeah, that's what I thought.
Have a look at:
http://www.redhat.com/docs/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/5.2/html/Installation_Guide/ch-pxe.html
&
http://kbase.redhat.com/faq/FAQ_80_531.shtm

The latter might shed some light. I am thinking you need tweak that a bit.
jlc
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[nate]

Paolo Supino wrote:

>   I boot via NIC0 and my configurations are as follows:
> pxe (for node3):

Just to rule it out try plugging in all NICs to the same
switch/VLAN and kickstart again and see if it works better.
Sometimes the NIC detected as eth0 at PXE time is not the
same NIC as at installation time. My systems typically have
both NICs connected to the same switch(for redundancy using
bonding driver) so I often forget about this issue.

If it works then you can adjust the kickstart config's
ksdevice= option to point to the real NIC your system
will use.

nate

___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Paolo Supino]

On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 4:18 PM, Joseph L. Casale
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote:

> >WHat do you mean?
>
> Do you boot from one of the NICS, or a CD, or what?
> If you boot from a NIC via a TFTP server, you may be encountering the issue
> I describe which simply needs a kernel arg to fix you up.
> jlc
> ___
> CentOS mailing list
> CentOS@centos.org
> http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>


Hi Joseph

  I boot via NIC0 and my configurations are as follows:
pxe (for node3):
default ks
prompt 0
label ks
kernel vmlinuz
append initrd=initrd.img ramdisk_size=9216 ksdevice=bootif noapic
acpi=off ks=http://192.168.11.1/kickstart/n03.ks
ipappend 2

kickstart file (for node3):
# Kickstart file automatically generated by anaconda.

install
lang en_US.UTF-8
keyboard us
network --device eth0 --bootproto dhcp --hostname n003.example.com
network --device eth1 --onboot no --bootproto dhcp --hostname
n003.example.com
network --device eth2 --onboot no --bootproto dhcp --hostname
n003.example.com
network --device eth3 --onboot no --bootproto dhcp --hostname
n003.example.com
url --url http://192.168.11.1/source
rootpw --iscrypted ?
firewall --disabled
authconfig --enableshadow --enablemd5
selinux --disabled
timezone --utc Asia/Jerusalem
bootloader --location=mbr --driveorder=sda --append="noapic acpi=off"
# The following is the partition information you requested
# Note that any partitions you deleted are not expressed
# here so unless you clear all partitions first, this is
# not guaranteed to work
zerombr
clearpart --all --drives=sda
part /boot --fstype ext3 --size=100 --ondisk=sda
part pv.2 --size=0 --grow --ondisk=sda
volgroup VolGroup00 --pesize=32768 pv.2
.
.
.


If you made it all the way down here ... I did try to put ksdevice=eth0 in
the PXE configuration file, but it only made things worse :-(




--
TIA
Paolo
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

RE: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Joseph L. Casale]

>WHat do you mean?

Do you boot from one of the NICS, or a CD, or what?
If you boot from a NIC via a TFTP server, you may be encountering the issue
I describe which simply needs a kernel arg to fix you up.
jlc
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Paolo Supino]

On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 4:01 PM, Joseph L. Casale
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote:

> >Network autoconfiguration failed, most likely there is not
> >a compatible driver for the network card in your system.
>
> Paolo,
> You are using multihomed systems, I remember a problem with pxe booting
> whereby the install switched to the wrong nic and setup may fail as a
> result.
>
> How are you statring these installs?
>
> jlc
> ___
> CentOS mailing list
> CentOS@centos.org
> http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>



Hi Joseph

  WHat do you mean?




--
TIA
Paolo
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

RE: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Joseph L. Casale]

>Network autoconfiguration failed, most likely there is not
>a compatible driver for the network card in your system.

Paolo,
You are using multihomed systems, I remember a problem with pxe booting
whereby the install switched to the wrong nic and setup may fail as a result.

How are you statring these installs?

jlc
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Paolo Supino]

On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 3:07 PM, Romeo Ninov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

>
>
> Paolo Supino  wrote / napísal(a):
>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 2:17 PM, Romeo Ninov <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > [EMAIL PROTECTED]>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>Paolo Supino  wrote / napísal(a):
>>
>>
>>
>>On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 8:14 AM, nate <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
>>>
>>>> wrote:
>>
>>   Paolo Supino wrote:
>>   > Hi Nate
>>   >
>>
>>   > 3: After the error comes up I get the HTTP setup
>>configuration
>>   screen with
>>   > the source website (in IP) and CentOS directory as I entered
>>   them in the
>>   > pxeconfiguration file and as it appears in the kickstart
>>   configuration file
>>   > and all I have to do is press the 'OK' button to continue the
>>   installation
>>   > to a successful completion.
>>
>>   If that's the case the next most likely culprit is
>>
>>   > url --url http://192.168.11.1/source
>>
>>
>>   Just because the PXE boot loader can download the kickstart
>>   config does not mean that the installation process will work
>>   with that NIC.
>>
>>   Also I've had lots of broadcom systems not work with
>>kickstart over
>>   the years, it's not uncommon for newer systems to have newer
>>   revs of the chipsets and those revs not being supported by the
>>   installer.
>>
>>   But it sounds like in your case it does work, so I would look
>>   at the url above, as it likely is the cause of the problem.
>>Check
>>   the http access logs on the server for 404s and similar errors.
>>
>>   nate
>>
>>   ___
>>   CentOS mailing list
>>   CentOS@centos.org 
>>>
>>
>>   http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>>
>>
>>
>>Hi Nate
>>
>> After figuring what I was doing wrong (see previous reply
>>...) I started going through each of my systems in order to
>>boot them and install CentOS 5.2 on each. For the most part it
>>works, but only for the most part? Because once in a few boots
>>(not machine specific) anaconda stops and either asks me what
>>interface it needs to configure or fails to load 'stage2.img'
>>from the web server on 192.168.11.1 
>> ... All cables are good cables. The
>>network switch is a Cisco 3750G with no configuration) and all
>>the NICs are broadcom with firmware 3.8.9. 
>> Can you throw a guess where the problem might
>>be lying (I hate inconsistencies)?
>>
>>
>>Have you check apache logs for something. Check also the server
>>messages
>>
>>___
>>CentOS mailing list
>>CentOS@centos.org 
>>http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>>
>>
>> Hi Romeo
>>
>>  Yes I did, and nothing shows up in either access_log or error_log :-(
>> I just had a node that stopped asking me for IP configuration (twice) and
>> only on the second time (checked on the server using tcpdump) did it
>> actually try to contact the server to retrieve network configuration
>> continue and it successfully retrieved 'stage2.img' from the web server :-(
>>
>>  Paolo, what about DHCP or bootp servers. Check the logs, flush ARP cache
> from server(s)
>
> ___
> CentOS mailing list
> CentOS@centos.org
> http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>

Hi Romeo

  The more systems I boot the more I'm starting to feel that it's hardware
problem related ... I just booted a system in which the ELOM says that NIC0
has 1 MAC address, but when I boot the system I saw on the network a
different MAC address altogether ...
  I'm checking at the lowest level: on the wire (using tcpdump) so if
nothing shows in the capture I'm sure I won't find anything in the logs :-(




--
TIA
Paolo
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Romeo Ninov]

Paolo Supino  wrote / napísal(a):



On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 2:17 PM, Romeo Ninov <[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
> wrote:




Paolo Supino  wrote / napísal(a):



On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 8:14 AM, nate <[EMAIL PROTECTED]

>> wrote:

   Paolo Supino wrote:
   > Hi Nate
   >

   > 3: After the error comes up I get the HTTP setup
configuration
   screen with
   > the source website (in IP) and CentOS directory as I entered
   them in the
   > pxeconfiguration file and as it appears in the kickstart
   configuration file
   > and all I have to do is press the 'OK' button to continue the
   installation
   > to a successful completion.

   If that's the case the next most likely culprit is

   > url --url http://192.168.11.1/source


   Just because the PXE boot loader can download the kickstart
   config does not mean that the installation process will work
   with that NIC.

   Also I've had lots of broadcom systems not work with
kickstart over
   the years, it's not uncommon for newer systems to have newer
   revs of the chipsets and those revs not being supported by the
   installer.

   But it sounds like in your case it does work, so I would look
   at the url above, as it likely is the cause of the problem.
Check
   the http access logs on the server for 404s and similar errors.

   nate

   ___
   CentOS mailing list
   CentOS@centos.org 
>

   http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos



Hi Nate

 After figuring what I was doing wrong (see previous reply
...) I started going through each of my systems in order to
boot them and install CentOS 5.2 on each. For the most part it
works, but only for the most part? Because once in a few boots
(not machine specific) anaconda stops and either asks me what
interface it needs to configure or fails to load 'stage2.img'
from the web server on 192.168.11.1 
 ... All cables are good cables. The
network switch is a Cisco 3750G with no configuration) and all
the NICs are broadcom with firmware 3.8.9. 
 Can you throw a guess where the problem might
be lying (I hate inconsistencies)?


Have you check apache logs for something. Check also the server
messages

___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org 
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos


Hi Romeo

  Yes I did, and nothing shows up in either access_log or error_log :-(
I just had a node that stopped asking me for IP configuration (twice) 
and only on the second time (checked on the server using tcpdump) did 
it actually try to contact the server to retrieve network 
configuration continue and it successfully retrieved 'stage2.img' from 
the web server :-(


Paolo, what about DHCP or bootp servers. Check the logs, flush ARP cache 
from server(s)

___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Paolo Supino]

On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 2:17 PM, Romeo Ninov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

>
>
> Paolo Supino  wrote / napísal(a):
>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 8:14 AM, nate <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > [EMAIL PROTECTED]>> wrote:
>>
>>Paolo Supino wrote:
>>> Hi Nate
>>>
>>
>>> 3: After the error comes up I get the HTTP setup configuration
>>screen with
>>> the source website (in IP) and CentOS directory as I entered
>>them in the
>>> pxeconfiguration file and as it appears in the kickstart
>>configuration file
>>> and all I have to do is press the 'OK' button to continue the
>>installation
>>> to a successful completion.
>>
>>If that's the case the next most likely culprit is
>>
>>> url --url http://192.168.11.1/source
>>
>>
>>Just because the PXE boot loader can download the kickstart
>>config does not mean that the installation process will work
>>with that NIC.
>>
>>Also I've had lots of broadcom systems not work with kickstart over
>>the years, it's not uncommon for newer systems to have newer
>>revs of the chipsets and those revs not being supported by the
>>installer.
>>
>>But it sounds like in your case it does work, so I would look
>>at the url above, as it likely is the cause of the problem. Check
>>the http access logs on the server for 404s and similar errors.
>>
>>nate
>>
>>___
>>CentOS mailing list
>>CentOS@centos.org 
>>http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>>
>>
>>
>> Hi Nate
>>
>>  After figuring what I was doing wrong (see previous reply ...) I started
>> going through each of my systems in order to boot them and install CentOS
>> 5.2 on each. For the most part it works, but only for the most part? Because
>> once in a few boots (not machine specific) anaconda stops and either asks me
>> what interface it needs to configure or fails to load 'stage2.img' from the
>> web server on 192.168.11.1  ... All cables are good
>> cables. The network switch is a Cisco 3750G with no configuration) and all
>> the NICs are broadcom with firmware 3.8.9.  Can you throw
>> a guess where the problem might be lying (I hate inconsistencies)?
>>
>>
>>  Have you check apache logs for something. Check also the server messages
>
> ___
> CentOS mailing list
> CentOS@centos.org
> http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>

Hi Romeo

  Yes I did, and nothing shows up in either access_log or error_log :-(
I just had a node that stopped asking me for IP configuration (twice) and
only on the second time (checked on the server using tcpdump) did it
actually try to contact the server to retrieve network configuration
continue and it successfully retrieved 'stage2.img' from the web server :-(



--
TIA
Paolo
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Romeo Ninov]

Paolo Supino  wrote / napísal(a):



On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 8:14 AM, nate <[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
> wrote:


Paolo Supino wrote:
> Hi Nate
>

> 3: After the error comes up I get the HTTP setup configuration
screen with
> the source website (in IP) and CentOS directory as I entered
them in the
> pxeconfiguration file and as it appears in the kickstart
configuration file
> and all I have to do is press the 'OK' button to continue the
installation
> to a successful completion.

If that's the case the next most likely culprit is

> url --url http://192.168.11.1/source


Just because the PXE boot loader can download the kickstart
config does not mean that the installation process will work
with that NIC.

Also I've had lots of broadcom systems not work with kickstart over
the years, it's not uncommon for newer systems to have newer
revs of the chipsets and those revs not being supported by the
installer.

But it sounds like in your case it does work, so I would look
at the url above, as it likely is the cause of the problem. Check
the http access logs on the server for 404s and similar errors.

nate

___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org 
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos



Hi Nate

  After figuring what I was doing wrong (see previous reply ...) I 
started going through each of my systems in order to boot them and 
install CentOS 5.2 on each. For the most part it works, but only for 
the most part? Because once in a few boots (not machine specific) 
anaconda stops and either asks me what interface it needs to configure 
or fails to load 'stage2.img' from the web server on 192.168.11.1 
 ... All cables are good cables. The network 
switch is a Cisco 3750G with no configuration) and all the NICs are 
broadcom with firmware 3.8.9.  Can you throw a guess 
where the problem might be lying (I hate inconsistencies)?




Have you check apache logs for something. Check also the server messages
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Paolo Supino]

On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 8:14 AM, nate <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> Paolo Supino wrote:
> > Hi Nate
> >
>
> > 3: After the error comes up I get the HTTP setup configuration screen
> with
> > the source website (in IP) and CentOS directory as I entered them in the
> > pxeconfiguration file and as it appears in the kickstart configuration
> file
> > and all I have to do is press the 'OK' button to continue the
> installation
> > to a successful completion.
>
> If that's the case the next most likely culprit is
>
> > url --url http://192.168.11.1/source
>
>
> Just because the PXE boot loader can download the kickstart
> config does not mean that the installation process will work
> with that NIC.
>
> Also I've had lots of broadcom systems not work with kickstart over
> the years, it's not uncommon for newer systems to have newer
> revs of the chipsets and those revs not being supported by the
> installer.
>
> But it sounds like in your case it does work, so I would look
> at the url above, as it likely is the cause of the problem. Check
> the http access logs on the server for 404s and similar errors.
>
> nate
>
> ___
> CentOS mailing list
> CentOS@centos.org
> http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>


Hi Nate

  After figuring what I was doing wrong (see previous reply ...) I started
going through each of my systems in order to boot them and install CentOS
5.2 on each. For the most part it works, but only for the most part? Because
once in a few boots (not machine specific) anaconda stops and either asks me
what interface it needs to configure or fails to load 'stage2.img' from the
web server on 192.168.11.1 ... All cables are good cables. The network
switch is a Cisco 3750G with no configuration) and all the NICs are broadcom
with firmware 3.8.9. Can you throw a guess where the problem might be lying
(I hate inconsistencies)?


--
TIA
Paolo
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Paolo Supino]

On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 8:14 AM, nate <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> Paolo Supino wrote:
> > Hi Nate
> >
>
> > 3: After the error comes up I get the HTTP setup configuration screen
> with
> > the source website (in IP) and CentOS directory as I entered them in the
> > pxeconfiguration file and as it appears in the kickstart configuration
> file
> > and all I have to do is press the 'OK' button to continue the
> installation
> > to a successful completion.
>
> If that's the case the next most likely culprit is
>
> > url --url http://192.168.11.1/source
>
>
> Just because the PXE boot loader can download the kickstart
> config does not mean that the installation process will work
> with that NIC.
>
> Also I've had lots of broadcom systems not work with kickstart over
> the years, it's not uncommon for newer systems to have newer
> revs of the chipsets and those revs not being supported by the
> installer.
>
> But it sounds like in your case it does work, so I would look
> at the url above, as it likely is the cause of the problem. Check
> the http access logs on the server for 404s and similar errors.
>
> nate
>
> ___
> CentOS mailing list
> CentOS@centos.org
> http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>


Hi Nate

  I found the problem and it was easier than expected ...
The problem seems to be that anaconda has a problem with having a network
card statically configured :-( All I had to do is change the bootproto for
eth0 from 'static' to 'DHCP'. Now it successfully retrieves 'stage2.img'
file from the web server and completes the installation with zero
intervention. For the time being this will do, but I'd rather the clients
have everything configured locally once when installing than accessing the
network for any information they need (this configuration is for a HPC
cluster and every network access decreases performance).






--
TIA
Paolo
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[nate]

Paolo Supino wrote:
> Hi Nate
>

> 3: After the error comes up I get the HTTP setup configuration screen with
> the source website (in IP) and CentOS directory as I entered them in the
> pxeconfiguration file and as it appears in the kickstart configuration file
> and all I have to do is press the 'OK' button to continue the installation
> to a successful completion.

If that's the case the next most likely culprit is

> url --url http://192.168.11.1/source


Just because the PXE boot loader can download the kickstart
config does not mean that the installation process will work
with that NIC.

Also I've had lots of broadcom systems not work with kickstart over
the years, it's not uncommon for newer systems to have newer
revs of the chipsets and those revs not being supported by the
installer.

But it sounds like in your case it does work, so I would look
at the url above, as it likely is the cause of the problem. Check
the http access logs on the server for 404s and similar errors.

nate

___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[Paolo Supino]

Hi Nate

  Autoconfiguration failure makes sense, but it's not a drivers issue:
1: It's a broadcom tg3 driver that is well supported in the kernel.
2: the kernel fetches successfully the kickstart configuration file I supply
it in the command line and
3: After the error comes up I get the HTTP setup configuration screen with
the source website (in IP) and CentOS directory as I entered them in the
pxeconfiguration file and as it appears in the kickstart configuration file
and all I have to do is press the 'OK' button to continue the installation
to a successful completion.
4. Sniffing the network showed the following: the kernel fetches the
kickstart file, fails to fetch 'product.img' file prints out the error
message of being unable to fetch 'stage2.img' file and only when I press the
'OK'  button in the HTTP setup window actually contacts the HTTP server and
successfully fetches 'stage2.img' file.

  My guess is that my configuration isn't handled properlly by anaconda, I
just need to find out where (or change my configuration so that anaconda
will handle it properly).

  I (out of haste of getting this email out) omitted the configuration files
I use in the kickstart configuration. So here they are ...
pxelinux.cfg/C0A80B02:
default ks
prompt 0
label ks
kernel vmlinuz
append initrd=initrd.img ramdisk_size=9216 ksdevice=bootif noapic
acpi=off ks=http://192.168.11.1/kickstart/n002.ks
ipappend 2

kickstart configuration file:
# Kickstart file automatically generated by anaconda.

install
lang en_US.UTF-8
keyboard us
network --device eth0 --bootproto static --ip 192.168.11.2 --netmask
255.255.255.0 --gateway 192.168.11.1 --nameserver=192.168.11.1 --hostname
n002.example.com
network --device eth1 --onboot no --bootproto dhcp --hostname
n002.example.com
network --device eth2 --onboot no --bootproto dhcp --hostname
n002.example.com
network --device eth3 --onboot no --bootproto dhcp --hostname
n002.example.com

url --url http://192.168.11.1/source
rootpw --iscrypted ?
firewall --disabled
authconfig --enableshadow --enablemd5
selinux --disabled
timezone --utc Asia/Jerusalem
bootloader --location=mbr --driveorder=sda --append="noapic acpi=off"
# The following is the partition information you requested
# Note that any partitions you deleted are not expressed
# here so unless you clear all partitions first, this is
# not guaranteed to work
zerombr
clearpart --all --drives=sda
part /boot --fstype ext3 --size=100 --ondisk=sda
.
.
.



On Mon, Sep 1, 2008 at 5:03 PM, nate <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> Paolo Supino wrote:
>
> >   Has anyone encounter this problem and has a solution for it?
>
> Network autoconfiguration failed, most likely there is not
> a compatible driver for the network card in your system.
>
> If there is a driver disk for that NIC you can use that, what
> I typically have done in the past is build an updated driver from
> source and insert it into the installation program which is a
> fairly complicated process involving extracting the initrd, the
> modules.cgz inside of it, putting the compatible driver built
> against the same kernel into the modules config and recompressing
> the modules file, updating the pci device table for the new device,
> and rebuilding the initrd. Also adding a step in the %post section
> to install a compatible driver with whatever kernel the installer
> ends up installing so when the system reboots it has network
> connectivity.
>
> I also repeat the first part of the process where I insert the
> kernel, again in the stage 2 netinst.img? file(forgot off hand
> exactly what the file is called), it may not be required for
> network drivers, but I think it is for storage drivers, I forget,
> been a while since I had to do it.
>
> nate
>
> ___
> CentOS mailing list
> CentOS@centos.org
> http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

Re: [CentOS] kickstart problems

[nate]

Paolo Supino wrote:

>   Has anyone encounter this problem and has a solution for it?

Network autoconfiguration failed, most likely there is not
a compatible driver for the network card in your system.

If there is a driver disk for that NIC you can use that, what
I typically have done in the past is build an updated driver from
source and insert it into the installation program which is a
fairly complicated process involving extracting the initrd, the
modules.cgz inside of it, putting the compatible driver built
against the same kernel into the modules config and recompressing
the modules file, updating the pci device table for the new device,
and rebuilding the initrd. Also adding a step in the %post section
to install a compatible driver with whatever kernel the installer
ends up installing so when the system reboots it has network
connectivity.

I also repeat the first part of the process where I insert the
kernel, again in the stage 2 netinst.img? file(forgot off hand
exactly what the file is called), it may not be required for
network drivers, but I think it is for storage drivers, I forget,
been a while since I had to do it.

nate

___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

[CentOS] kickstart problems

[Paolo Supino]

Hi

  I'm having a problem with setting up a kickstart environment based on
CentOS 5.2 x86_64, on a Sun X2200 M2 server (both the server and the client
in the kickstart environment are Sun X2200 M2 systems): the first attempt to
load stage2.img fails with the error screen: "unable to retrieve
http://192.168.11.10/source/images/stage2.img";. Pressing the "OK" button
brings up the "HTTP Setup"  screen with "Website name: 192.168.11.10" and
"CentOS directory: /source" if I press OK it successfully loads stage2.img
file and continues with the kickstart installation to a successful
completion.
I checked the apache logs on 192.168.11.10 and there is no attempt by the
client to even load stage2.img before it prompts for the error.
  Has anyone encounter this problem and has a solution for it?





-- 
ttyl
Paolo
___
CentOS mailing list
CentOS@centos.org
http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos