Installing Debian to AOE target

I'm using pxeboot to run the Debian installer, though the CD works just as well.

Run the installation as normal, in expert mode. Be running a vblade somewhere on the LAN. After starting the network but before detecting disks download the appropriate kernel aoe.ko for the installer Kernel, no mean feat. I had to install 2.6.18-5.486 on to a machine and copy it off.

Alt-f2 for a new console, Alt-f1 to go back, you get the idea.
Mine was
http://www.proweb.co.uk/~matt/aoe/aoe.ko-2.6.18-5-486
Cripes I have to promise to send you the source code now if you download this or else I'll have Stinky Stallman on my back, imagine that !

Save it in tmp and insmod the fucker. I changed its name to /lib/modules/2.6.18-5-486/kernel/drivers/block/aoe/aoe.ko but I don't know if you have to.

Skip/after detect disks I had to rm /dev/hda && ln -s /dev/etherd/e7.7 /dev/hda before partitioning. It picks up the right block device after de-referencing.

blah blah installing as normal all one partition, no swap, grub can't install on it

Eventually you get "Installation is complete" and a <Go Back >
<Continue> choice.

Now it's hack time. Crack open the initrd.img the installer just made

# chroot /target
# mkdir /tmp/initrd && cd /tmp/initrd
# gunzip < /initrd.img | cpio -i --make-directories
Now /tmp/initrd has a copy of the initramfs it'll boot from. To make it easier later to use mkinitramfs and update-initramfs copy things to /tmp/initrd and /target
I got the scripts from http://www.etherboot.org/wiki/sanboot/debian_and_ubuntu

# apt-get install aoetools
# cp /sbin/aoe-discover /tmp/initrd/sbin/
# cd /etc/initramfs-tools/
# wget http://www.proweb.co.uk/~matt/aoe/hooks -O hooks/aoetools
# wget http://www.proweb.co.uk/~matt/aoe/scripts -O scripts/aoetools
# chmod 755 hooks/aoetools scripts/aoetools
# cp scripts/aoetools /tmp/initrd/scripts/

Then make the initrd.img again

# cd /tmp/initrd
# find . | cpio -o -H newc | gzip -9 > /boot/initrd.aoe


Then get it off the machine and on to the TFTP server.

# scp /boot/initrd.aoe TFTP:/var/lib/tftpboot/



One of the fun things is that you can mount the AOE share on any machine and edit stuff, great if you find you need to tweak /etc/hosts or /etc/fstab later.
I mount mine
/dev/etherd/e7.7p1 / ext3 sync,noatime,errors=remount-ro 0 1
I'm going to try readonly sometime.