Direct Boot Profiles for Itanium-Based Systems

All partitionable Itanium-based systems allow the definition of direct boot profiles. This EFI functionality is also found in other, non-partitionable systems.

Some systems might require firmware updates to provide support for direct boot profiles. If your system does not provide the dbprofile command, check for any firmware updates that might enable it. You can also consult the system's hardware documentation to determine if dbprofile is supported.

The dbprofile command allows you to create direct boot profiles that can be used in conjunction with the lanboot EFI command. A direct boot profile contains information needed to talk over the network to an installation server.

	NOTE: This does not affect any DHCP support you may need to configure to allow the installation process to talk to an Ignite-UX server once the install kernel has started. The use of direct boot profiles only allows network boot from EFI without needing to setup a bootp/DHCP server.

The following dbprofile command, when run from EFI,

dbprofile -dn testprofile -sip 192.1.2.1 -cip \

192.1.1.20 -gip 192.1.1.1 -m 255.255.255.0 -b \

"/opt/ignite/boot/nbp.efi"

creates a new direct boot profile (or updates the profile if it exists) called testprofile. The profile contains the following information:

	IMPORTANT: If you do not have the client IP address defined in a direct boot profile, EFI will use DHCP instead of the direct boot profile to start the boot process.

When creating a direct boot profile, always define the boot file using the -b option to set the value to /opt/ignite/boot/nbp.efi. This is required to install HP-UX.

The dbprofile command accepts a gateway IP address. This is important because when using a direct boot profile that has a gateway defined, the EFI network stack will have somewhere to route non-local traffic. In this case, the Ignite-UX server does not have be located on the same LAN segment as the client; traffic can be routed to it via the gateway. No boot helper is required for this client on the local LAN segment.

To network boot using a direct boot profile, use the -dn option of the EFI lanboot command as in the following example:

lanboot select -dn testprofile

This results in a list of LAN interfaces for you to choose from. However, no DHCP request is sent out when an interface is selected. Instead, the network boot uses information from the direct boot profile testprofile and immediately starts booting from the Ignite-UX server.

	NOTE: If you have multiple LAN interfaces, you must choose the LAN interface that the direct boot profile is applicable to. If you choose a LAN interface on a network other than (using the example from above) 192.1.1.x, the client will fail to contact the Ignite-UX server.

The dbprofile Command

This section provides information for the dbprofile command. This command is part of the EFI Shell and is accessible from the system console when the system is in an active state but has not booted an operating system. For more information, see the nPartition Administrator's Guide or the documentation for your particular system, available at the HP Technical Documentation Website:

http://www.docs.hp.com/

Syntax

dbprofile [-dn name [-dhcp] [-sip server_ip] [-cip client_ip] [-gip gateway_ip] [-m subnet_mask] [-b "boot_file"] [-od "optional_data"]] | [-h] dbprofile [rm name] | [-h] dbprofile [cp src_name dst_name] | [-h]

Options and Operands

-dn name

Display/create/modify a direct boot profile with the name name.

-dhcp

A DHCP server will be used to get the client information.

-sip server_ip

Set the static IP address for the boot server to server_ip.

-cip client_ip

Set the static IP address for the client to client_ip.

-gip gateway_ip

Set the static IP address for the gateway to gateway_ip.

-m subnet_mask

Set the subnet mask for the local network to subnet_mask.

-b "boot_file"

Load boot file from the boot server. boot_file is the full path to the boot file on the boot server.

-od "optional_data"

Pass optional command line arguments to the boot file.

-rm name

Remove a direct boot profile with the name name.

-cp src_name dst_name

Copy a db-profile from src_name to dst_name.

-h

Display help for this command

	NOTE: A direct boot profile name can be 12 characters long at most, and spaces are not allowed. If the direct boot profile name already exists, it will be updated with the new values passed as arguments to this command. If client IP address information is missing in the direct boot profile, DHCP is used by default. Only IPv4 is supported. Use quotations ("") around the boot_file and optional_data fields.

Examples

• To display settings in the direct boot profile:

  Shell> dbprofile

  or

  Shell> dbprofile -dn test

• To create and modify settings in a direct boot profile:

  Shell> dbprofile -dn test -dhcp -sip 192.168.0.1 \ -m 255.255.255.0

  Shell> dbprofile -dn test -b "tmp/nparsys1/loader.efi" \ -od "optional data"

  where optional data is the actual data you want to pass to the boot file.

• To copy a direct boot profile:

  Shell> dbprofile cp test profile

• To remove a direct boot profile:

  Shell> dbprofile rm test

The lanboot Command

This section provides information for the lanboot command. This command is part of the EFI Shell and is accessible from the system console when the system is in an active state but has not booted an operating system. For more information, see the nPartition Administrator's Guide or the documentation for your particular system, available at the HP Technical Documentation Website:

http://www.docs.hp.com/

Syntax

lanboot [select] [-od "optional_data"] | [-dn name]

Options and Operands

select

Select from a list of available LAN devices.

-od "optional_data"

Pass optional command line arguments to the boot file.

-dn name

Specify the direct boot profile name to use for the LAN boot.

	NOTE: Use select when no default LAN device is provided so a list of available LAN devices is provided for user selection. Use -od to specify optional data to be passed to the boot file. Use -dn to specify a direct boot profile to be used to handle the LAN boot. Use the dbprofile command to create and manage direct boot profiles.

Examples

• To LAN boot from a boot server that has been previously setup:

  Shell> lanboot

  or

  Shell> lanboot select

• To specify optional data to be passed to the boot file that will be loaded from the boot server:

  Shell> lanboot -od "optional data"

  or

  Shell> lanboot select -od "optional data"

  where optional data is the actual data you want to pass to the boot file.

• To perform a direct LAN boot using a previously created direct boot profile:

  Shell> lanboot -dn profile1

  or

  Shell> lanboot select -dn profile1

After booting the system, see “Installing HP-UX From the Client Console” for information on configuring the HP-UX installation from the client console.