x86: How to Boot a Diskless Client With GRUB

If you have installed or upgraded your system to at least the Solaris 10 1/06 OS, the procedure for booting a diskless client has changed. Follow these steps to boot a diskless client with GRUB.

Starting with the Solaris Express 3/06 release, the GRUB failsafe interaction has changed. When booting the failsafe archive, you are no longer prompted by the system to automatically update the boot archives. The system prompts you to update the boot archives only if inconsistent boot archives are detected. For more information, see How to Boot the Failsafe Archive on an x86 Based System by Using GRUB.

Before You Begin

To ensure that the system boots from the network, verify the following prerequisites on the OS server:

• Confirm that the name service used to add the diskless client and the OS services matches the primary name in the server's /etc/nsswitch.conf file.

• Verify that the DHCP and tftp boot services are running.

• Configure the system BIOS to boot the system from the network by enabling the PXE ROM option.

  Some PXE-capable network adapters have a feature that enables PXE boot if you type a particular keystroke in response to a brief boot-time prompt. See your hardware documentation for information about how to set the boot priority in the BIOS.

1. Boot the diskless client by typing the correct keystroke combination.

   The GRUB menu is displayed.

   Depending on the configuration of your network installation server, the GRUB menu that is displayed on your system might vary from the GRUB menu that is shown here.

2. Use the arrow keys to select a boot entry, then press Enter.

   If you do not make a selection, the default OS instance is automatically booted after several seconds.

   • If you need to modify the GRUB kernel behavior by editing the GRUB menu at boot time, use the arrow keys to select a boot entry, then type e to edit the entry.

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     Note –

     The previous example shows the GRUB multiboot implementation. The GRUB menus vary, depending on the Solaris release you are running.

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     The boot command that you want to edit is displayed in the GRUB edit screen.

     For more information about modifying kernel behavior at boot time, see Chapter 11, Modifying Solaris Boot Behavior (Tasks).

   • To save the edits and return to the GRUB menu, press Enter.

     The GRUB menu is displayed, showing the edits you made to the boot command.

   • Type b to boot the system from the network.