[Automated-testing] [Some] Progress on net boot for Minnowboard

[William Mills]

On 05/08/2014 03:35 PM, William Mills wrote:
[snip]
> What does *NOT* work:
> 1) Grub "linux minnow01/vmlinuz" command
[snip]
> Even if #1 does not get fixed we have a fallback.
> Grub allows kernel, initrd and other support files to be
> embedded into bootia32.efi
> A big bootia32.efi appears to work fine.
> This will take some playing to produce but we should be able to make
> a recovery image in a single bootia32.efi.
> 

I have this backup plan / all-in-one image working.
The files are here:
http://www.arago-project.org/files/short-term/misc/make-netbootia32.tar.bz2

A lame demo of it working is here:
https://plus.google.com/112039578810983135217/posts/gkJe5KKNAqg

The second video shows that true PXE mode still has issues
and some gotchas in the firmware.

There is enough working now that we can use for automated testing.
The only slightly tricky part might be getting the
	ESC ESC exit ESC ESC exit
	down-arrow down-arrow enter
sequence orchestrated on the serial port.

I sure wish I could get UEFI bcfg to change the boot order.
If IPv4 were first in the boot order, the server would
always be in charge.  If you want to do some other
UEFI bootmode you could just delete the link
on the TFTP server and the firmware would go to the next
boot mode in sequence.
(I think.  I'm still trying to fully understand the rules
and mechanisms of UEFI boot order.)

-- Bill