cannot boot/install second vPar from IgniteServer

[DuKul]

Hi all,

although there is quite much itrc sources on the issue I will write about, I have not been able to find a solution among the various links browsed. (the closest was http://forums11.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?admit=109447626+1220858698628+28353475&threadId=1189943 but this thread has been closed without a solution).

I have an nPar on rx8640, which resources I need to spread onto two vPars. So, having the latest vPar software installed, I have created the 1st and 2nd vpar.

The first nPar inherited OS from the core nPar so I have prepared to install the 2nd vpar from the Ignite server:
- I have made an appropriate entry into /etc/bootptab on the Ignite server
- I have checked the inetd.conf to see if I have these lines correctly entered:
tftp dgram udp wait root /usr/lbin/tftpd tftpd \
/opt/ignite\
/var/opt/ignite
bootps dgram udp wait root /usr/lbin/bootpd bootpd -d 3
- I have tried to get /opt/ignite/boot/nbp.efi from Ignite server to client vi tftp -> OK.
- Ignite software on the vpar1 and Ignite server is of the same release - C.7.6.100.

I have booted to the core npar environment. Having all the network interfaces ready on core npar, I have checked everyone of them in the terms of linkloop and ability to have desired IP address and ping the Ignite server -> all of them work OK.
I have tried to reboot the core npar and while in EFI I have tried to do the "lanboot" so as to see if I would be able to boot from Ignite server. I was not.
So I have created the dedicated dbprofile for the Ignite server and tried again. Unsuccessfull. My Ignite server runs as a MC-SG package, so I have created the dbprofile to reflect not the IP address of the package but the IP address of the node on which currently the Ignite server hovers. And it did make a success - so I have been able to boot from Ignite server (via lanboot) from EFI of core npar.

Then I have booted again to the vpar environment and tried (from the vpar1):
vpar1 # vparboot -p vpar2 -I
Unfortunatelly after picking up the MAC of working network interface I have seen the PXE error message:

PXE-E16: Valid PXE offer not received.

I have started to play with "bootpquery". If using the network interface in the unplumbed state, I was not able to get the bootpquery results neither from core npar nor from vpar1.

The last message on the Ignite server's syslog.log is:
bootpd[846]: not ICMP packet
and on the bootpquery client itself:
bootpquery: Bootp servers not responding!

But if I had the interface plumbed and assigned the IP address to it, the bootpquery responded immediatelly. I do not know the entire mechanism of lanboot after issuing "vparboot -p vpar2 -I" - if it activates the network interface then my results with bootpquery are OK, if not there lies an error.

The letter is more probably the true because if trying to do the booting from Ignite server I do not see ANY entries of bootpd within syslog.log on Ignite server.

Has anybody faced such a problem and won? Have any of you have a solution?
Dukul

[Steven E. Protter]

Shalom,

Not knowing your network environment I guess:

1) The NIC cards for the two vpars are on different networks? The second vpar is connected to a network with a PXE server in it? Might want to check that.

2) The Ignite server has limitations on how many addresses in its DHCP pool or tcp wrappers or other software or router security is blocking the second vpar.

tail -f /var/adm/syslog/syslog.log

Attempt a boot of vpar2

If you see nothing relevant, your packets never got there. If you see errors on the server side, post or correct.

SEP

[DuKul]

Hi Steven,

1) I have not mentioned it clearly - but all the NIC are on the same network segment; I do not know exact VLAN/switch design, but they are within one subnet.

2) as I have mentioned in the post - the packets are going to Ignite server via bootpquery ONLY if the lan interface on the clients side IS plumbed and HAS an IP address. Otherwise I have get messages like (should be mentioned that this is just a trying from running vpar1:

igux2:(/root/home/root)(root)#tail -f /var/adm/syslog/syslog.log | grep bootp

Sep 8 15:56:47 igux2 inetd[5165]: bootps/udp: Connection from igux2 (10.1.157.163) at Mon Sep 8 15:56:47 2008
Sep 8 15:56:47 igux2 bootpd[5165]:
Sep 8 15:56:48 igux2 bootpd[5165]: stat on "/etc/dhcptab": No such file or directory
Sep 8 15:56:48 igux2 bootpd[5165]: reading "/etc/bootptab"
Sep 8 15:56:48 igux2 bootpd[5165]: read 6 entries from "/etc/bootptab"
Sep 8 15:56:48 igux2 bootpd[5165]: reading "/etc/dhcpdeny"
Sep 8 15:56:48 igux2 bootpd[5165]: read 0 entries from "/etc/dhcpdeny"
Sep 8 15:56:48 igux2 bootpd[5165]: rif collection for token ring turned on
Sep 8 15:56:48 igux2 bootpd[5165]: found 10.1.157.187 vpar1
Sep 8 15:56:48 igux2 bootpd[5165]: sending RFC1048-style reply
Sep 8 15:56:48 igux2 bootpd[5165]: sending reply on 10.1.157.187
Sep 8 15:56:48 igux2 bootpd[5165]: stat on "/etc/dhcptab": No such file or directory
Sep 8 15:57:00 igux2 bootpd[5165]: stat on "/etc/dhcptab": No such file or directory
Sep 8 15:57:00 igux2 bootpd[5165]: found 10.1.157.187 vpar1
Sep 8 15:57:00 igux2 bootpd[5165]: sending RFC1048-style reply
Sep 8 15:57:00 igux2 bootpd[5165]: sending reply on 10.1.157.187


NOW on the client I am getting:...

bootpquery: Bootp servers not responding!

But bootpd is running on server further (although it should not, I think, inetd should stop it):

Sep 8 15:58:05 igux2 bootpd[5165]: not ICMP packet
Sep 8 15:58:45 igux2 bootpd[5165]: not ICMP packet
Sep 8 15:58:47 igux2 bootpd[5165]: not ICMP packet

But strange is that if trying to
"vpar1 # vparboot -p vpar2 -I"
I am getting NO bootp messages on the server's syslog.log. Probably this is a clue what the problem really is.....
Dukul

[DuKul]

Hi all,

having added "ba" to the /etc/bootptab I have been able to see the reply to bootpquery immediately on the client (vpar1) ! :-)

I will now try to boot the vpar2 - with "ba" parameter in its bootptab entry on the Ignite server.

Dukul

[DuKul]

Hi all,

still the same :-)
After issuing:

vpar1 # vparboot -p vpar1 -I

I am getting

PXE-E16: Valid PXE offer not received.

Any help ?

Dukul

[Khairy]

hi dukul,

can u check your /etc/dhcptab file.

The class-id must be set to 0002-for intel itanium.

example as below.

dhcp_device_group:\
re:\
ncid:\
class-id="PXEClient:Arch:00002:.*":\
lease-time=300:\
subnet-mask=255.255.255.0:\
addr-pool-start-address=192.168.111.100:\
addr-pool-last-address=192.168.111.150:\
bf=/opt/ignite/boot/nbp.efi

Let us know the outcome whats u modify this file and restart the services.

Rgds

[DuKul]

Hi Khairy,

I am not using the DHCP server - However (just to test) I have created these entries because bootp is searching inside of /etc/dhcptab, so I had thought that - perhaps - bootpd would get something it could please it from searching dhcptab and would communicate with the vpar2 booting on the other side....but nothing like this.
It is still the same - it seems that EFI could not make a good bootpquery to Ignite server - at least this looks so to me, because when watching into syslog.log on the Ignite server while the NIC has been picked up in EFI, I see NO entries regarding bootp; no bootp process is being triggered via inetd as it is common when doing bootpquery for the same MAC.
I am getting only the know PXE error:

PXE-E16: Valid PXE offer not received.

Dukul

[DuKul]

Further I have been playing with DHCP, because I have not seen another option so far.
So I have added dhcp_class_id keyword in the install file system:

igux2:(/opt/ignite/boot)(root)#instl_adm -d
# instl_adm defaults:
# NOTE: Manual additions between the lines containing "instl_adm defaults"
# and "end instl_adm defaults" will not be preserved.
server="10.1.157.163"
system_name="igux2"
dhcp_class_id="IgniteDHCPDeviceGroup"
ip_addr[0]="10.1.157.187"
netmask[0]="255.255.252.0"
route_gateway[0]="10.1.156.1"
route_destination[0]="default"

igux2:(/opt/ignite/boot)(root)#vi /etc/dhcptab
"/etc/dhcptab" 9 lines, 240 characters
dhcp_device_group:\
ncid:\
class-id="PXEClient:Arch00002:.*|IgniteDHCPDeviceGroup":\
lease-time=300:\
subnet-mask=255.255.252.0:\
addr-pool-start-address=10.1.157.187:\
addr-pool-last-address=10.1.157.187:\
bf=/opt/ignite/boot/nbp.efi
~

(BTW re: option is not working, although it is mentioned in the official IgniteUX manual)

But still I am getting no entries within Ignite server's syslog when trying to boot the vpar2 and I am getting the same error again:

PXE-E16: Valid PXE offer not received.

Dukul

Still nobody with an idea how to help me?

[Patrice Le Guyader]

Hello,

For avoiding to spend time between looking for network issues or ignite ones, I've installed on the Ignite server "tcpdump".

With this you'll be able to see if your bootp request are arriving to the ignite server or if you have a network issue.(bad vlan,cable troubles,wrong port used,etc....)

http://hpux.cs.utah.edu/hppd/hpux/Networking/Admin/tcpdump-3.9.8/

Once you've installed it try this on your ignite server :

tcpdump -i lanX -vv -n ether host xx:xx:xx:x:xx:xx

with lanX the interface used by your client to contact the server.
and xx:xx:xx:x:xx:xx the MAC adress of the lan card used by your client to contact the server.

I've been able to solve many ignite issue with this little tool.

Otherwise here is a sample configuration I use, no DHCP server :

In the /etc/bootptab :

System-IPF-PROD:\
ht=ethernet:\
hn:\
bf=/opt/ignite/boot/nbp.efi:\
bs=48:\
bp=111.222.333.444:\
sm=255.255.252.0:\
gw=111.222.333.254:\
vm=rfc1048: \
ba

initclient:tc=System-IPF-PROD:ip=111.222.333.445:ha=xxxxxxxxxxxx

And this is working fine. Don't forget to launch a inetd -c after each modification of bootptab.

hope this helps.
kenavo
Pat

[DuKul]

SOLUTION = upgrade the firmware to the latest version, within which LANBOOT timeout has been prolongated.
When trying the vpar installation from IgniteServer afterwards, the timeout for LANBOOT proved to be enough to allow packets to reach the target.
Although within the syslog one could see not very optimistic entries :-)

Oct 1 15:21:59 brauxdp2 bootpd[15096]: client 10.1.157.190 requested unknown/unservable option.tag = 36

the client finally got the install image and proceeded with installation.

to see the release notes to the FW applied - http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=15351&prodSeriesId=1844071&swItem=ux-64550-1&prodNameId=1844072&swEnvOID=2080&swLang=13&taskId=135&mode=4&idx=1

[DuKul]

FW upgrade to 4.1 (HPUX) (12 Sep 2008)