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Following are the history of changes to this document:
- v0.0.3 12 Sep 1996: Some minor error fixes
- v1.0.0 13 May 1999: Added some useful URLs. Changed this HOWTO to main HOWTO from mini-howto. Also rewrote this HOWTO using SGML tool. Added more chapters written by Ken Yap, Robert Nemkin.
This document is about setting up a diskless Linux box. Sometimes it might be necessary to run Linux on PC's which have neither hard disks nor floppy drives. If a network, another Unix system with bootp, tftp, an NFS server, and an eprom burner is available then it is possible to set up and operate Linux without hard/floppy disks.
- NFS-root Mini Howto
- Linux NET-2/3-HOWTO by Terry Dawson,
- /usr/src/linux/README about configuring and compiling new kernels
- 1.Diskless computer (DC) broadcasts MAC address with bootp: Who am I?
- 2.Bootp or DHCP server on S looks up DB: Your IP address is X.X.X.X, your server is S, your boot file is vmlinuz.myname, etc.
- 3.DC asks to load file from TFTP server on S: Please give me vmlinuz.myname
- 4.S: Here you are (/tftpboot/vmlinuz.myname)
DC thinks a while (booting Linux).
- 5.DC: Please let me mount / with NFS
- 6.S: Here is your root FS (/tftpboot/IPnumber). (In 2.2 kernels, /tftpboot/domainname.)
- 7.DC: Please let me mount other NFSes (/usr, /home/, etc)
- 8.S: Here you are
- 9.DC: Runs intended application
Network boot ROM contains code to do 1 and 3.
Whatever is described here was checked on the following configuration
- Sun-OS 4.1.3 as boot server
- Slackware 2.3 + Linux 1.2.8 + wd 8013 ethercard.
- Working Ethernet lan
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