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.

DVD burning using AOE

NB: I went back to copying the ISO to a partition and serving that partition and burning from a regular file, I can't remember why atm.


I was hoping that one could vblade 1 1 eth0 /dev/hdc but I get a "read only filesystem" error.

The extra block is for the ext2 file system

# dd 'if=/dev/zero' 'of=/tmp/iso.vblade' 'bs=1k' 'count=' ^`{du some.iso | awk ' { print $1 + 1 } '}
# mkfs -t ext2 /tmp/iso.vblade
# mount -o loop /tmp/iso.vblade /mnt
# cp some.iso /mnt/iso
# umount /mnt
# vbladekey=$pid
# vblade 2 2 eth1 /tmp/iso.vblade &
# vbladekey=''
# ssh MACHINEWITHDVDBURNER
% sudo mount /dev/etherd/e2.2 /mnt
% wodim -dao - < /mnt/iso
% sudo umount /mnt
% ^D
# kill `{ps axwe | grep 'vbladekey=' ^$pid | grep -v grep | awk ' { print $1 } ' }


I hope this worked because I've burned & printed 50 disks from the master I made. I'd better check them before I hand them over :)

Creating a new plan9 kernel config

Add your kernel name to /sys/src/9/pc/mkfile
in my case pcqi, an installer floppy for qemu.
Decide if your kernel is a CONFLIST or a CRAPLIST member.
Seeing as the other craps are cd and floppy I think I want to be CRAP because I'm an installer with a bzroot.

Create your file, I suggest copying a similar config, in my case pcflop

The kernel config file works by concatenating dev with all the first column words to create a filename which should exist in 9/pc or 9/port.

i.e.
dev
root
arch

devroot.c is in 9/port
devarch.c is in 9/pc

the third column is a plain c file dependency i.e.
dev
ether netif
uses pc/devether.c and port/netif.c

+cur and =cur are parameters for using hardware/software cursors

bootdir

these files are copied to /boot/
if there is two words the second is the filename
i.e.
bootdir
/sys/lib/dist/bin/386/bzfs kfs

this will copy bzfs to /boot and call it kfs
the filename bzroot is special as this will be mounted on / on boot
by whatever you rename as kfs

I've gone quite aggressive in pulling bits out of the kernel, it's qemu after all, the file will probably end up on /n/sources/contrib/maht/qemu/pcqi

To fill in bzroot you have to go to /sys/lib/dist/pc and mk /sys/src/9/pc/9pcflop.gz


cd /sys/lib/dist/pc
mk root.bz2
mk /sys/src/9/pc/9pcqi.gz



Roll your own plan9 iso

I wiped my mkfile by accident by killing the wrong qemu

I edited /sys/lib/dist/pc/sub/termrc [edit fixed this from a comment, thanks i]
added the aoe device, forgot to add the sdaoe device but that's just a user bind anyway - bless plan9

You need write permission on /sys/src/9/pc to build 9pcflop.gz

To be horrible and build it from sources do this :
cd ; mkdir -p other/dist; bind -bc other /n/other; cd /sys/lib/dist/cmd; mk install && mk clean; cd multi ; mk install; mk scripts; mk clean; cd ../..; mk /n/other/dist/plan9.iso

I frigged the mkfile to use '#s/root' instead of /n/sources

and then I pressed Ctrl^c while tidying up the desktop while waiting for the iso to build doh! and then when I restarted the mkfile was dargon empty

Booting Debian with AOE

Here's how I did it (after much trial and error :)

Install a fresh system on a HD machine (though I used a 2Gb Flash CF card)

Get the two scripts from here

http://www.etherboot.org/wiki/sanboot/debian_and_ubuntu

/etc/initramfs-tools/hooks/aoetools
/etc/initramfs-tools/scripts/local-top/aoetools

(remember to chmod +x them or you have to do it over like me :)

edit /etc/fstab

proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
/dev/etherd/e686.1p1 / ext3 noatime,errors=remount-ro 0 1
/dev/hdc /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto 0 0


Make the symlink /initrd point to /boot/initrd.aoe
(though this can be set at DHCP time)

then mkinitramfs -o /boot/initrd.aoe

I think you can use update-initramfs but I didn't

The HD should now be the image you want to see when you boot it over AOE so it is time to copy it over.

fdisk /dev/etherd/e686.1
mkfs -t ext3 /dev/etherd/e686.1p1
mkdir /mnt/e686.1p1
mount /dev/etherd/e686.1p1 /mnt/e686.1p1


I wonder if Linux has a program that uses plan9 proto files, they must have started out on Unix

cp -r --preserve=all bin /mnt/e686.1p1/
cp -r --preserve=all boot /mnt/e686.1p1/
mkdir /mnt/e686.1p1/cdrom
cp -r --preserve=all dev /mnt/e686.1p1/ # I think I copied too much though
cp -r --preserve=all etc /mnt/e686.1p1/
cp -r --preserve=all home /mnt/e686.1p1/
cp -r --preserve=all initrd /mnt/e686.1p1/
cp -r --preserve=all initrd.img /mnt/e686.1p1/
cp -r --preserve=all lib /mnt/e686.1p1/
mkdir /mnt/e686.1p1/media
mkdir /mnt/e686.1p1/mnt
cp -r --preserve=all opt /mnt/e686.1p1/
mkdir /mnt/e686.1p1/proc
cp -r --preserve=all root /mnt/e686.1p1/
cp -r --preserve=all sbin /mnt/e686.1p1/
cp -r --preserve=all selinux /mnt/e686.1p1/
cp -r --preserve=all srv /mnt/e686.1p1/
mkdir /mnt/e686.1p1/sys
mkdir /mnt/e686.1p1/tmp
cp -r --preserve=all var /mnt/e686.1p1/
cp -r --preserve=all vmlinuz /mnt/e686.1p1/




On your DHCP/tftp server

this goes in your pxelinux.cfg/default

LABEL e686.1
kernel vmlinuz-2.6.18-5-686
append vga=normal initrd=initrd.aoe root=/dev/etherd/e686.1p1 rootfstype=ext3 --


Set the e686.1p1 to whatever yours is

nothing special in dhcpd.conf just the usual filename="pxeload";