Re: tlug: Sparc RH 5.1 4c install

[Karl-Max Wagner <karlmax@example.com>]

> RARP to do an NFS install, which means some RTFM time and stuff, because
RARP do do an NFS install ???? What for ?

Hmmm....I guess you're confusing something here. For doing an
NFS install you won't need RARP at all. What you need are boot
diskettes with a minimal network system on them and you're set.
That's it ( I know because network installs are my bread and
butter in my home network here.... ).

RARP is for diskless workstations with absolutely nothing on
them. When you turn them on they only have a BIOS in the
motherboard and another one in the network card. This latter
contains special code that adverises the presence of the network
computer on the LAN and asks for an IP address to be assigned to
it. The RARP server, by means of the hardware address of the
network computer that it knows ( it's inside a file of the RARP
subsystem there ) responds with the assignment of an IP address
to the network computer. After that code in the BIOS inside the
EPROM sitting on the network card springs into action and
downloads an OS kernel from the RARP server and installs it into
the RAM of the network computer. After starting it the network
computer takes up normal operation over the network.

I'm pretty sure that's not a thing you intend to do for your
install.....so no need for digging into the RARP issue for the
moment. However, if you have lots of computers and want to save
on HDD's that's definitely an option. It works in heterogenous
systems, too ( you can have a diskless Sparc with a PC RARP
server - in some subdirectory there you have the Sparc Linux
sitting - no problem. The server cares shit for what's in
there ).

Hope that made some things clearer....

                                 Karl-Max Wagner
                                 karlmax@example.com
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