Sprite 1984 - 1993/Sprite 1984 - 1993.iso/man/admin/boot.man

Text File | 1991-10-28 | 10.3 KB | 296 lines

'\" Copyright 1989, 1991 Regents of the University of California
'\" Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this
'\" documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby
'\" granted, provided that this notice appears in all copies.
'\" The University of California makes no representations about
'\" the suitability of this material for any purpose.  It is
'\" provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.
'\"
'\" $Header: /sprite/src/man/admin/RCS/boot.man,v 1.5 91/10/28 12:04:45 kupfer Exp $ SPRITE (Berkeley)
'/"
.so \*(]ltmac.sprite
.HS BOOT admin
.BS
'\" Note:  do not modify the .SH NAME line immediately below!
.SH NAME
boot \- Description of Sprite boot options and behavior
.SH OPTIONS
.PP
There are a number of boot options that can be used to change the boot
behavior. If you are unfamiliar with the booting process you should
read the subsequent sections before this one.
.IP "\fB-c\fR" 15
Causes a fileserver to ignore the existence of /bootTmp/boot and to
boot as a dependent fileserver.
This is useful for booting fileservers with trashed disks.
.IP "\fB-f\fR" 15
Causes a fileserver to boot without checking its disks.
This can lead to corrupted disks if the disks are not consistent before
they are attached.
The \fB-f\fR option should not be used if the system halted abnormally.
.IP "\fB-s\fR" 15
The \fB-s\fR option causes the machine to boot in single-user mode.
A login shell is run by initsprite before both diskcmds and bootcmds.
Initsprite will continue when the login shell exits.
.IP "\fB-x\fR" 15
If the machine is a fileserver it will
run /boot/rootcmds after running /boot/diskcmds.
This option allows a non-root fileserver to serve as root.
Only the root fileserver has the correct mount table for exporting
"/" -- the rootcmds file contains the necessary commands for allowing
a non-root fileserver to export "/".
.BE
.SH DESCRIPTION
.PP
The first couple sections of this man page are a user's guide to
booting Sprite.  Note that these are general instructions; each file
server should have its specific booting instructions posted near its
console.
.PP
The rest of the man page goes into more detail about the boot process
and is probably of interest only to people who hack Sprite.
.SH "BOOTING SUNS"
.PP
For all Suns except SPARCstation 2's the boot command typed at the
PROM has the format
.DS
\fBb \fIxx\fB(\fIa,b,c\fB)\fIkernel\fR [\fIoptions\fR]
.DE
.PP
For machines that are booted off of the network \fIxx\fR is usually
.B ie
or
.BR le ,
depending on whether the machine has an Intel or Lance ethernet chip.
For machines that boot off their disk,
.I xx
is usually
.BR sd .
For SPARCstation 2's the boot command is
.DS
\fBb\fR [\fIdevice\fR] \fIkernel\fR [\fIoptions\fR]
.DE
.PP
where
.I device
is usually
.B net
or
.BR disk .
(For SPARCstation 2's running Sprite at Berkeley,
.I device
normally defaults to
.BR net .)
.PP
The magic numbers
.I a, b, c
in parentheses are usually optional.  They specify information about
the host that supplies the kernel (for booting off the net), disk
partition, etc.
For network booting, the middle number is the last four digits of the
IP address of the
server.  You only need to specify this number if the default doesn't
work.  For example, to ensure that Murder boots off of Allspice (IP
address 128.32.150.27), use
.DS
.B
b le(0,961b)sun3.md/sprite
.DE
.PP
and to boot off of Ginger (IP address 128.32.150.28), use
.DS
.B
b le(0,961c)sun3.md/sprite
.DE
.PP
The string \fIkernel\fR tells which kernel to load and boot.  When
booting off a disk,
.I kernel
is usually just the name of the kernel, e.g., ``new'' or ``sprite''.
When booting off the net, you must also specify the machine-dependent
directory that the kernel is found in, e.g., ``sun3.md/new''.  Use
.B sun3.md
for Sun 3's,
.B sun4.md
for Sun 4's,
and
.B sun4c.md
for SPARCstation 1's and 2's.
.SH "BOOTING DS3100's"
.PP
The basic boot command for a DECstation 3100 is
.DS
\fBboot -f \fIproto\fB()\fIkernel\fR [\fIoptions\fR]
.DE
.PP
where
.I proto
is either
.B tftp
or
.BR mop .
Generally
.B mop
is preferred, since it is faster and more reliable.  Unfortunately, it
provides no feedback until the kernel starts running, so you have to
put up with a 10-30 second pause before there's any sign of life.
.PP
The
.I kernel
string depends on whether the DECstation knows what server to use.
The simplest rule is to always type
.B init
to the PROM before booting, and use only the kernel name (e.g.,
``sprite'' or ``new'') for
.IR kernel .
.SH "BOOTING DS5000's"
.PP
The boot command for a DECstation 5000 looks like
.DS
\fB boot \fIslot\fB/\fIxxx\fB/\fIkernel\fR [\fIoptions\fR]
.DE
.PP
The
.I slot
string is the slot number for the device being booted from.  You can
use the PROM's
.B cnfg
command to get a list of what devices are installed at what slots.
Sprite DECstations typically have two ethernets installed; you should
boot from the lower-numbered ethernet.
.PP
The
.I xxx
string is the protocol type when booting from the net.  Use
.BR mop .
It is the disk name (e.g., ``rz0'') when booting from the disk.
.PP
The
.I kernel
string is just the name of the kernel (e.g., ``new'').
.SH WHERE KERNELS LIVE
.PP
Machines that boot off of their own disk typically have a small boot
partition, such as
/allspiceA or /lustA.  In this case the kernel
.B new
would be installed as
/allspiceA/new.
.PP
Kernels that are downloaded from a Sprite server are installed in
/sprite/boot (e.g., /sprite/boot/sun3.md/new).
.PP
As a last resort kernels can also be downloaded from Ginger.  Those
kernels are installed in /tftpboot (e.g., /tftpboot/sun3.md/new).
Suns that boot off of Ginger must have a link in /tftpboot to their
boot program.  See the documentation for
.BR boot (8S)
on Ginger.
.SH "BOOT SEQUENCE"
.PP
.B WARNING:
This section is rather dated and is probably inaccurate in spots.
.PP
This section outlines the sequence of events that occur during the boot
process.
The command typed at the prom is used to start the downloader, then download
the kernel from the server and start execution.
The early part of the boot is the same on all machines.
Kernel data structures are set up and kernel processes started.
Late in the boot the machine checks for the presence of a disk, and it
starts the first user process \fIinitsprite\fR.
The actions initsprite takes vary depending on the configuration
of the machine.
There are three standard machine configurations.
\fIClients\fR are diskless workstations.
They are dependent on the root fileserver to complete the boot process.
Machines with disks must check them during boot for inconsistencies.
Checking the disks requires the \fIfscheck\fR and
\fIfsattach\fR programs, and related
data files.
\fIStandalone fileservers\fR have these utilities on their own disk,
and are therefore able to check their disks without the root fileserver.
\fIDependent fileservers\fR have a disk, but it does not contain
the needed files.  Dependent fileservers must get these files from the
root file server.
.IP "Clients"
/boot/initsprite is exec'ed as the first user process.
If "/" is unavailable the workstation will wait indefinitely, checking
for "/" at 1 minute intervals.
Initsprite will run /hosts/\fIhostname\fR/bootcmds
if it exists and /boot/bootcmds
otherwise.
.IP "Dependent fileservers"
Fileservers will detect the presence of a disk and attach it as "/bootTmp".
This prefix is local to the machine and is not exported.
If the directory /bootTmp/boot is not found, then the fileserver assumes
it is a dependent fileserver.
/boot/initsprite is exec'ed as the first user process.
Initsprite will run /boot/diskcmds to verify that the disks are not
corrupted.
The table used to mount the disks is found in /hosts/$HOST/mount.
Upon completion the machine will try to find a server of "/".
If no server for "/" is found the workstation will retry at 1 minute intervals.
Once a server is found,
/hosts/\fIhostname\fR/bootcmds or /boot/bootcmds is run.
Initsprite will delete the "/bootTmp" prefix prior to exiting.
.IP "Standalone fileservers"
A standalone fileserver will attach its disk as /bootTmp and then
check for /bootTmp/boot.
Having found this directory it will create a new prefix "/" using
the /bootTmp prefix. These prefixes are now synonyms and are local to the
machine.
The standalone fileserver can then proceed with the boot in the same manner
as a dependent fileserver.  /boot/diskcmds is run. Unlike a dependent
fileserver, /boot/diskcmds is on the machine's own disk.
The mount table is found in /hosts/$HOST/mount, also on the machine's own
disk.
At some point in the boot the machine has to stop being its own server of
"/" and look for the real server.
This happens after diskcmds has been run.
The machine will delete the "/" prefix and try to open "/".
If the open fails the machine will try again at 1 minute intervals.
Once "/" is found the appropriate bootcmds is run.
Initsprite will delete the "/bootTmp" prefix prior to exiting.
.SH FILES
.TP
/boot
/boot is a directory that contains all of the files and utilities needed
to boot a Sprite machine.  Standalone fileservers each have a /boot directory
on their local disk and will use it during the boot process.
.TP
/boot/cmds
Contains utility programs needed during boot.
.TP
/boot/diskcmds
Run by fileservers to check their disks. Note that dependent fileservers
run the diskcmds found on the root fileserver.
.TP
/hosts/\fIhostname\fR/mount
The mount table read by fileserver \fIhostname\fR.
Standalone fileservers should have a copy of their mount table in
/hosts/\fIhostname\fR/mount on both the local disk and the root fileserver.
.TP
/boot/serverInfo
Provides machine name and type information to standalone fileservers.
Standalone fileservers cannot depend upon the root fileserver being able to
provide /etc/spritehosts (the usual place this information is found) so
they need their own file.  The file should consist of the appropriate
line from /etc/spritehosts.
.TP
/boot/bootcmds
This file is unique to the whole system. Standalone fileservers DO NOT look
in their local /boot for this file. bootcmds contains commands for starting
various user-level servers and other system configuration commands.
.TP
/hosts/\fIhostname\fR/bootcmds
If this file exists it is run instead of /boot/bootcmds.
.TP
/boot/rootcmds
This file contains the commands necessary for a backup root server to
actually export root.
In the normal case the file will contain the single line "prefix -x / -l /bootTmp".
.SH KEYWORDS
boot, bootcmds, diskcmds, rootcmds