Re: Is there a way to install DragonFly via network (w/o CD) ?

[Matthew Dillon <dillon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

:> Maybe we could/should add this 
:> setup to the live cd so that it can be easily switched on (in the 
:> installer?). 
:
:To allow any machine that can boot the DF live-cd to become a pxe-boot server, "at 
:the flick of a switch", would be very handy. At present, can this be done?
:

    Yes, it almost can.  The CD image can be served out via NFS for network
    boot clients and they should boot up just fine with it, without requiring
    a working hard drive.  In fact I tested that just a few days ago.

    What is needed is a dhcpd server (/usr/ports/net/isc-dhcp3-server I
    think), a pxeboot image, which I have, and setting up bot hthe dhcpd
    server and tftp on the machine.

    Obviously the CD doesn't do this yet, but if you want to persue it
    you could create a login and a package just like the installer guys do
    with the installer.  The /usr/src/nrelease Makefile infrastructure allows
    you to construct custom packaged setups.  There is no reason why we
    couldn't create a login: that automatically starts up the required
    services.

    The only real issue here is IP assignment.  Many networks already have
    their own DHCP servers so booting a CD in this mode on such a network
    could result in other machines on the network getting assigned the
    dummy IP addresses unexpectedly.  So maybe what is needed are two 
    logins... one which does the full bore everything, including IP 
    assignment, and another which simply sets up the NFS and tftpd servers
    and you have to specify the bootp stuff in your existing dhcpd server.

    Do you want to persue doing this?

					-Matt
					Matthew Dillon 
					<dillon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>