ITEM: DU8714L

Can't boot from one system and install from another



Question:

Env:
  AIX 4.2
  sysback 4.1.3.1

Problem:
  Customers boots from one system and trys to install from 
  another and it fails with this error message.

  There are not install images

I was able to reproduce the problem.
I used three systems:

The client is on this network:  9.19.145.164
The boot server is on this network: 9.19.129.186
The install server is on this network: 9.19.129.127

The client uses the same gateway to get to both the boot and 
install server systems.

1.  cat /etc/hosts    This looks correct

127.0.0.1  loopback
9.19.129.186    bootserver
9.19.129.127  instserver
9.19.145.164  instclient
9.19.145.240  instgate

2.  sbclient instserver echo
    sbclient:  Network is unreachable
    Unable to connect to instserver

3.  netstat -ir
Name    Mtu   Network   Address
lo0   16896  \
lo0   16896  127        loopback
tr0   1492   \8.0.5a.89.3.8
tr0   1492   9.19.145   instclient

4.  netstat -rn
Routing tables
Destination     Gateway     Flags   Refs   use   Interface
Netmasks:
255.0.0
255.255.255

Route Tree for Protocol Family 2:
9.19.129.186     9.19.145.240
9.19.145         9.19.145.164
127              127.0.0.1

5.  route add instserver instgate
    instgate host instserver: gateway instgate

6.  netstat -rn

Routing tables
Destination     Gateway     Flags   Refs   use   Interface
Netmasks:
255.0.0
255.255.255

Route Tree for Protocol Family 2:
9.19.129.127     9.19.124.240     *The entry to reach the install server
9.19.129.186     9.19.145.240
9.19.145         9.19.145.164
127              127.0.0.1

7.  sbclient instserver echo
    Works correctly

8.  exit
    I then was able to select either option 2 or option 3
    and it showed the remote install devices

APPENDED by tj on 10/08/97 23:29:
I think I've found the problem. If the install server is 
different than the boot server and a gateway is defined, 
it appears to get defined for reaching the boot server but not 
the install server (as I believe you suspect).

I would like you to do one more test:
Define the boto client without changing the client.sbinfo file. In other
words, the default install server will be the same as the boot 
server. Then, use the menus after booting to change the IP 
address of the install server. Then try to get the install 
options from the server.

I SUSPECT the same problem will occur. As I was looking through the code,
it appeared that, once the network adapter was configured, the install
server's gateway would never get defined even after changing either the
gateway and/or server IP address using the menus.

After doing the above test, you can grab the following files from system
"johnson" and put then on the boot server. After doing so, please remake
the bootimage for the client:

/usr/lpp/sysback/inst/sysinstall
/usr/lpp/sysback/inst/sysmakevg
/usr/lpp/sysback/inst/sysnet
/usr/lpp/sysback/netinst/boot/rc.boot

Then retry the test using both processes (i.e. modifying the client.sbinfo
file AND changing the server in the menus) to see if this resolves both
issues (assuming there are two issues).

Please let me know your results, and thanks in advance for your help!

PS. NOTE that the sysinstall and sysmakevg programs have been modified only
    to change the SPACES back to TABS, and the rc.boot file contains the
    fix for the gateway address for RSPC network boots also.

APPENDED by lmiller@systape2 on 10/10/97 13:13:

Your fix did the trick.  It is now working correctly

CLOSED by tj on 10/10/97 13:53: 
Thanks for the help testing this!

This will be fixed with sysback.rte 4.1.3.2



Support Line: Can't boot from one system and install from another ITEM: DU8714L
Dated: October 1997 Category: N/A
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