DL320 G4 NIC(tg3) not working with RHEL4 PXE installation

[TaisukeYamada]

Hi.

I'm trying to network install RHEL4 to DL320 G4, and stuck with its NIC (tg3) not working.

My final goal is to enable kickstart installation, but for now, I'm trying to complete manual installation over local network.

I can PXE-boot into RHEL4 installer using its kernel and initrd image, but whenever I select for NFS/HTTP/FTP installation, it asks for NIC driver disk. And even when I select tg3 for additional loading, it never gets recognized.

I also tried with custom-built kernel (2.6.17.9) with built-in (= non-module) tg3 driver, but got the same outcome. But in this case, I can see kernel recognizing eth0/eth1 as Tigon3 NIC in startup message - it's only RHEL4 installer that ignores the device.

I guess this is similar to

http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/bizsupport/questionanswer.do?threadId=1049953

but it seems it's also not resolved yet. One comment suggested building the driver from provided source, but it also didn't work - I replaced tg3.[ch] in 2.6.17.9, but got the same result - tg3 NIC got recognized in startup message, but installer still asks for NIC driver installation.

Is there anyone who has succeeded RHEL4 network installation with DL320 G4? If so, how did it went?

[Steven E. Protter]

Shalom,

I think this is the NIC card.

I've seen it work with Intel NIC's it doesn't work very well, if at all with Broadcom NIC's.

SEP

[TaisukeYamada]

Hmm...Instead of RHEL4, I now tested with FC5, and it installed without a hitch. I was able to install it over HTTP. So I guess it's not a hardware issue.

Wonder what's wrong with RHEL4 installer - I thought RHEL4 was officially supported with DL320? My DL320 doesn't have a CD-ROM drive, so network installation is the only option.

[TaisukeYamada]

Problem solved. I further tested with latest CentOS 4.3 and found it installs fine. So I guess I just need to update RHEL to Update 3 to install it to DL320 G4.

Anyway, thanks for commenting!

[Alan_152]

Is it just RHEL4 or are you doing RHEL4U3? There was a tg3 problem prior to U3.

[TaisukeYamada]

> Is it just RHEL4 or are you doing RHEL4U3? There was a tg3 problem prior to U3.

Thank for the info. I was trying with RHEL4, and it never installed into DL320. I have registered to RHN and now with RHEL4U4, it went frawlessly.

I did not test with RHEL4U3, but as CentOS 4.3 installed OK, I guess anything above (and including) U3 will work.

[TaisukeYamada]

I forgot to close this thread, so doing it now. Thanks to everyone who commented.