Public bug reported: Network install for ubuntu 14.10.1 ppc64el fails on IBM Power 8 system.
Attempting to do a network install with a IBM Power 8 model 8247_42L fails to initialize the network connection to perform a network based install. We are attempting to perform network based installs on our systems. When using the netboot information from the netboot files in the mini.iso image we downloaded from the ubuntu site, the network devices fail to work with a DHCP server. We obtained the netboot files information from: http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports/dists/utopic/main/installer-ppc64el/current/images/netboot/mini.iso This was done on 10/14/2014, so this would be the image that was avilable on that day. We followed this procedure to use them. mount the mini.iso to a tmp directory: mkdir /tmp/iso mount -o loop mini.iso /tmp/iso ls /tmp/iso/install initrd.gz vmlinux mkdir -p /install/ubuntu14.10/ppc64el/install/netboot cp /tmp/iso/install/initrd.gz /install/ubuntu14.10/ppc64el/install/netboot. cp /tmp/iso/install/initrd.gz /install/ubuntu14.10/ppc64el/installel/netboot The resultant configuration file that is pointed to by the dhcp server is: /tftpboot/petitboot/tulgpu002 and it contains: default xCAT label xCAT kernel http://10.0.0.1:80/install/ubuntu14.10/ppc64el/install/netboot/vmlinuz initrd http://10.0.0.1:80/install/ubuntu14.10/ppc64el/install/netboot/initrd.img append "nofb utf8 auto url=http://10.0.0.1/install/autoinst/tulgpu002 xcatd=10.0.0.1 mirror/http/hostname=10.0.0.1 netcfg/choose_interface=40:f2:e9:31:8e:f0 console=tty0 console=ttyS0,19200n8r locale=en_US priority=critical hostname=tulgpu002 live-installer/net-image=http://10.0.0.1/install/ubuntu14.10/ppc64el/install/filesystem.squashfs"; Prior to booting this device we used tcpdump or wireshark to monitor all the traffic comming from the boot network we connected to eth0 of the target device. This allows us to see if there is any network traffic when the ubuntu boot image is complaining about it. When booting the device we end up seeing: Detecting link Waiting for link local address ? configuring the network DHCP address ? ? (this may take some time). ? And then we see the error message: ? Network autoconfiguration failed ? ? Your network is probably not using the DHCP protocol. Alternatively, ? ? the DHCP server may be slow or some network hardware is not working ? ? properly. ? If we look at the tcpdump trace at this point, we don't see any dhcp network traffic from this device that corresponds to the time that we see the message abotu "configuring the network DHCP address". We DO see a dhcp exchange while the firmware of this system fetched fetched the petitboot configuration file: "/tftpboot/petitboot/tulgpu002", and after that the system reboots with the download linux image. But after that the network connection to eth0 is silent. Pressing <continue> produces: ? From here you can choose to retry DHCP network autoconfiguration ? ? (which may succeed if your DHCP server takes a long time to respond) ? ? or to configure the network manually. Some DHCP servers require a ? ? DHCP hostname to be sent by the client, so you can also choose to ? ? retry DHCP network autoconfiguration with a hostname that you ? ? provide. ? ? ? ? Network configuration method: ? ? ? ? Retry network autoconfiguration ? ? Retry network autoconfiguration with a DHCP hostname ? ? Configure network manually ? ? ? ? Do not configure the network at this time ? ? ? ? <Go Back> ? retry the network autoconfiguration with the same error. At this point we know that the DHCP server works because it successfully got its address and downloaded the vmlinux an initrd.gz files over the network. But the network is slient when the ubuntu part of the boot process takes over. ---------------------------- We also see the same results when booting off a current image of the ubuntu 14.10.1 install CD. We obtained a network boot CD iso image from: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-server/daily/current/ dated 10-24-2014 and burned the DVD image and inserted it into the DVD drive of the system and proceed to boot of the DVD. With the DVD inserted in the DVD drive of the system power on the node and then wait until the boot screen comes up: We wait for the petetit boot screen to appear on the system console and then manually select the "Install" option. This will select the ubuntu 14.10.1 install CD. Petitboot (14.06.30.11.32-gb90b84b) 8247-42L 101D27A ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Ubuntu Ubuntu, with Linux 3.16.0-14-generic Ubuntu, with Linux 3.16.0-14-generic (recovery mode) *Install Rescue mode xCAT System information System configuration Rescan devices Exit to shell ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Enter=accept, e=edit, n=new, x=exit, h=help After a lot of system console blather we get: The system consol then prompts for a series of options where we select: Language: English Country, territory or area: United States It then detects the CD rom and says it is loading components. it then lists "detecting network hardware" and prompts us for: ??????????????????????? [!!] Configure the network ???????????????????????? ? ? ? Your system has multiple network interfaces. Choose the one to use as ? ? the primary network interface during the installation. If possible, ? ? the first connected network interface found has been selected. ? ? ? ? Primary network interface: ? ? ? ? eth0: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme II BCM57810 10 Gigabit Ether ? ? eth1: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme II BCM57810 10 Gigabit Ether ? ? eth2: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme II BCM57810 10 Gigabit Ether ? ? eth3: Broadcom Corporation NetXtreme II BCM57810 10 Gigabit Ether ? ? ? ? <Go Back> ? ? ? We select eth0: it displays some additional screens and lists: ???????????????????? Configuring the network with DHCP ???????????????????? ? ? ? 50% ? ? ? ? This may take some time. ? ? ? ? <Cancel> ? ? ? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? during this time, our tcpdump trace sees no network traffic on the network connected to eth0. The system then displays: ?????????????????????? [!!] Configure the network ??????????????????????? ? ? ? Network autoconfiguration failed ? ? Your network is probably not using the DHCP protocol. Alternatively, ? ? the DHCP server may be slow or some network hardware is not working ? ? properly. ? ? ? ? <Continue> ? ? ? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Going back and selecting the other network devices results in the same thing. So, something appears broken, at least on this specific model of IBM computer and it appears to be something wrong with the ubunto boot/install images. I have attached a log file of the system console output during this session. ** Affects: ubuntu Importance: Undecided Status: New ** Attachment added: "system console log file of the above sequence." https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1383375/+attachment/4240694/+files/tulgpu002.log -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1383375 Title: Network install for ubuntu 14.10.1 ppc64el fails on IBM Power 8 system. To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/1383375/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
