Subject: 5.1 installation fun & games...

From: Leon Verrall <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 10:08:21 +0100 (BST)

'lo all,

I've tripped over something trying to install the 5.1 distribution on a
spare indy. I have a second Indy acting as a bootp server for the nfs-root
installation. The nfs-root filesystem came from installfs.tgz on linus.

The machines are both on a segmented network with the netmask 0xffffff80 so
I had to muck about with nfsroot= and nfsaddrs= . The boot command I'm using
is:

  boot bootp():vmlinux nfsroot=/scratch/linux/installfs \
  nfsaddrs=:::0xffffff80:misfit::

Anyway, this boots the kernel, mounts the root fs and then stops with the
message:

  Warning: unable to open an initial console

This turns up if I use any type of console (gfx or vt100 terminal). Perhaps
that was too literal an interpretation but I'd have kicked myself if it was
the problem :)

I suspect my bootp setup could be more robust or nfs root isn't mounting
properly...

BTW, small tip I found useful. Instead of typing:

  boot bootp():vmlinux nfsroot=/scratch/linux/installfs etc. etc. 

everytime to boot, on an SG machine use:

  setenv -p linux "a_very_long_command_its_a_pain_to_keep_typing"

and boot the machine with 

  $linux

at the console prompt :)

Leon

-- 
Leon Verrall - 01189 307734  \ "Don't cut your losses too soon,
Secondline Software Support  / 'cos you'll only be cutting your throat.
Silicon Graphics, Forum 1,   \ And answer a call while you still care at all
Station Rd., Theale, RG7 4RA / 'cos nobody will if you wont" (6:00 - DT)

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From: [email-masked] (Alan Cox)
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 10:31:49 +0100 (BST)

>   Warning: unable to open an initial console

You don't have a valid "/dev" inside of /scratch/linux/installfs

Tar preserves major/minor numbers which will screw you royally across
NFS (which doesnt).

---

From: Leon Verrall <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 14:53:21 +0100 (BST)

> Tar preserves major/minor numbers which will screw you royally across

Hmmm. ALl of the dev devices were major/minor 0 0 so I've put them right
using the kernel device numbers list. If nfs is not passing device numbers
how exactly does this work (as it apparently does) or is this an SGI
specific NFS thing...

Leon

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From: [email-masked] (Alan Cox)
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 15:14:07 +0100 (BST)

> how exactly does this work (as it apparently does) or is this an SGI

Linux device numbers are major<<8|minor, SGI ones are split on a 
different boundary. NFSv2 doesnt indicate the boundary - so device
2,0 on linux may appear as 0,512 on Irix.

Alan

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From: Leon Verrall <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 16:12:32 +0100 (BST)

> 2,0 on linux may appear as 0,512 on Irix.

Ah, a chicken and egg thing. You can nfsroot an SG linux box as long as you
have a linux box to do it from...

Leon

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From: [email-masked] (Alan Cox)
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 16:20:21 +0100 (BST)

> have a linux box to do it from...

Or can do binary arithmetic on the console null zero and a couple of
other device file numbers (ie on the sgi mknod console c 0 1024 probably
comes out as 4,0 on Linux

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From: Alex deVries <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 11:33:07 -0400 (EDT)

> have a linux box to do it from...

Assuming that people have an i386/Linux box kicking around may be an
invalid assumption.

The Real Solution to this is to get initrds working, so that you don't
have to have any other machine to boot from, just a local Irix filesystem. 
Leon, in time this will all be taken care of. 

I wonder how the initrd that the DEC MIPS folks are talking about works... 

- Alex

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From: Leon Verrall <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 17:18:33 +0100 (BST)

> Assuming that people have an i386/Linux box kicking around may be an

It is in my office :(

> Leon, in time this will all be taken care of. 

Well Irix (6.2 at least) uses 14 bits for the major device number and 18 for
minor. This works out to be 256 for a linux major of 4 and 64 for a linux
major of 1 (I think). And *drumroll* it still didn't work... Ho hum.

Leon