Usage

This is more a dump of notes than instructions.

Build instructions

1. Download the iPXE source code.

   git clone git://git.ipxe.org/ipxe.git
   

2. Make sure all the necessary flags and files are uncommented (by applying the patches). If you have cloned the ipxe repository directly into the tateru-ipxe one:

   cd ipxe
   for p in ../*.patch; do
     patch -p0 <"${p}"
   done

3. Build ipxe.efi and undionly.kpxe with:

   make bin-x86_64-efi/ipxe.efi bin/undionly.kpxe -j$(nproc) EMBED=bootstrap.ipxe
   

Network boot quick start

You need three things: a DHCP server, a TFTP server and a HTTP server.

1. Place the following files in the document root of a TFTP server, do not keep the subfolders.
   • bin-x86_64-efi/ipxe.efi
   • bin/undionly.kpxe
2. Publish the following files on a HTTP server, for example in a tateru folder right in the document root.
   • tateru.ipxe
   • tateru.png
3. Edit the tateru.ipxe file. You need to update the variables at the top, so that they suit your setup.
4. Build the netboot archive from the tateru-installer project (make netboot). Extract the tateru-netboot.tar.gz archive so that the resulting installer subfolder is located next to the files from the previous step.
5. Configure a DHCP server. Check the next section for a minimal example.

Example ISC DHCP Config

Tateru iPXE uses DHCP option code 129 instead of requiring looking at the agent and determining the filename accordingly. This makes it easy to use on more conventional DHCP servers. Point the option 129 (tateru-ipxe-cfg in the snippet below) to the ipxe.cfg file you have copied to the http server.

option domain-name "example.org";
option domain-name-servers 8.8.8.8;

default-lease-time 600;
max-lease-time 7200;

authoritative;

option client-arch code 93 = unsigned integer 16;
option tateru-ipxe-cfg code 129 = string;

subnet 172.16.31.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
  range 172.16.31.100 172.16.31.150;
  option routers 172.16.31.1;
  option tateru-ipxe-cfg "http://172.16.31.90/tateru/tateru.ipxe";

  next-server 172.16.31.90;
  if option client-arch != 00:00 {
    filename "ipxe.efi";
  } else {
    filename "undionly.kpxe";
  }
}