Kickstart bug forces the use of old-style networking

[Eric Chennells]

Hello,

I have encountered this bug
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=817116#c2 , where during PXE
install I get the following error:

"ERROR: The following problem occurred on line 0 of the kickstart file:
Unable to open input kickstart file: Could not open/read
file:///tmp/pre_install_network_config"

The above bugzilla page advises to use "old-style" networking in order to
bypass this bug. I think that old-style networking just means not defining
the MAC address of the system, is that correct?  By not setting the MAC
address the kickstart says it is using "old-style".  This does result in
the pxe install working fine. Which is good.

The problem is that now my systems don't have MAC addresses set and are
not being assigned the IP that I specified with --ip-address when defining
the system, the DHCP server is just handing out the next available IP.
Also no pxe file (/var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg) is being created that
corresponds with the MAC address of the system (obviously sense it is not
aware of what the MAC should be).

Also, not sure if this is related, but I have set "pxe_just_once: 1" in
/etc/cobbbler/settings, but this seems to have no affect, and the
"netboot_enabled" is not being set to false after the first PXE.

Versions:

Cobbler version 2.2.2.
Scientific Linux 6.1

Thanks for any advice anyone can provide.

Eric



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[James Cammarata]

On Tue, Jun 26, 2012 at 3:23 PM, Eric Chennells <eric(a)zymeworks.com&gt; wrote:
>  Hello,
>
>  I have encountered this bug
>  https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=817116#c2 , where during PXE
>  install I get the following error:
>
>  "ERROR: The following problem occurred on line 0 of the kickstart file:
>  Unable to open input kickstart file: Could not open/read
>  file:///tmp/pre_install_network_config"
>
>  The above bugzilla page advises to use "old-style" networking in order to
>  bypass this bug. I think that old-style networking just means not defining
>  the MAC address of the system, is that correct?  By not setting the MAC
>  address the kickstart says it is using "old-style".  This does result in
>  the pxe install working fine. Which is good. 
Typically that error occurs because no MAC that was entered match any
physical interfaces. Double check your MACs with what's on the
physical system. Falling back to the "old-school" method is not a
recommended solution nowadays.

>  The problem is that now my systems don't have MAC addresses set
> and are
>  not being assigned the IP that I specified with --ip-address when defining
>  the system, the DHCP server is just handing out the next available IP.
>  Also no pxe file (/var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg) is being created that
>  corresponds with the MAC address of the system (obviously sense it is not
>  aware of what the MAC should be).
>
>  Also, not sure if this is related, but I have set "pxe_just_once: 1" in
>  /etc/cobbbler/settings, but this seems to have no affect, and the
>  "netboot_enabled" is not being set to false after the first PXE. 
If the kickstart is failing, it will never get to the line in %post
that triggers that. If your kickstarts are completing (using the old
school/dhcp only method) then that means your probably missing the
$SNIPPET('kickstart_done') line at the end of your %post. That snippet
is the piece that sends the signal back to cobblerd which disables
netbooting for a given system.

[Eric Chennells]

Hi James,

The MAC address is set correctly, it is properly using the pxelinux.cfg
file associated with the MAC address.

When I view the kickstart file that the system is booting using a web
browser, I see the line "%include /tmp/pre_install_network_config". Is
that correct?

The error when booting is "Unable to open input kickstart file: Could not
open/read file:///tmp/pre_install_network_config"

In the redhat bugzilla a user comments that:

"%pre does not get executed in initrd. It gets executed by anaconda proper.
This worked in F16 by coincidence, because the entire anaconda runtime was
inside the initrd. It would not have worked in any release prior to F15
and F16."

Eric



On 12-06-27 4:49 AM, "James Cammarata" <jimi(a)sngx.net&gt; wrote:

> On Tue, Jun 26, 2012 at 3:23 PM, Eric Chennells
> <eric(a)zymeworks.com&gt;
> wrote:
> > Hello,
> >
> > I have encountered this bug
> > https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=817116#c2 , where during PXE
> > install I get the following error:
> >
> > "ERROR: The following problem occurred on line 0 of the kickstart file:
> > Unable to open input kickstart file: Could not open/read
> > file:///tmp/pre_install_network_config"
> >
> > The above bugzilla page advises to use "old-style" networking in order
> >to
> > bypass this bug. I think that old-style networking just means not
> >defining
> > the MAC address of the system, is that correct?  By not setting the MAC
> > address the kickstart says it is using "old-style".  This does result in
> > the pxe install working fine. Which is good.
>
> Typically that error occurs because no MAC that was entered match any
> physical interfaces. Double check your MACs with what's on the
> physical system. Falling back to the "old-school" method is not a
> recommended solution nowadays.
>
> > The problem is that now my systems don't have MAC addresses set and are
> > not being assigned the IP that I specified with --ip-address when
> >defining
> > the system, the DHCP server is just handing out the next available IP.
> > Also no pxe file (/var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg) is being created that
> > corresponds with the MAC address of the system (obviously sense it is
> >not
> > aware of what the MAC should be).
> >
> > Also, not sure if this is related, but I have set "pxe_just_once: 1" in
> > /etc/cobbbler/settings, but this seems to have no affect, and the
> > "netboot_enabled" is not being set to false after the first PXE.
>
> If the kickstart is failing, it will never get to the line in %post
> that triggers that. If your kickstarts are completing (using the old
> school/dhcp only method) then that means your probably missing the
> $SNIPPET('kickstart_done') line at the end of your %post. That snippet
> is the piece that sends the signal back to cobblerd which disables
> netbooting for a given system.
> _______________________________________________
> cobbler mailing list
> cobbler(a)lists.fedorahosted.org
> https://fedorahosted.org/mailman/listinfo/cobbler 


Notice of Confidentiality: The information transmitted is intended only for the
person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or
privileged material. Any review, re-transmission, dissemination or other use of 
or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons or entities
other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this in error
please contact the sender immediately by return electronic transmission and then
immediately delete this transmission including all attachments without copying,
distributing or disclosing the same.

[James Cammarata]

On Jun 27, 2012 12:20 PM, "Eric Chennells" <eric(a)zymeworks.com&gt; wrote:
>  Hi James,
>
>  The MAC address is set correctly, it is properly using the pxelinux.cfg
>  file associated with the MAC address.
>
>  When I view the kickstart file that the system is booting using a web
>  browser, I see the line "%include /tmp/pre_install_network_config". Is
>  that correct? 
Yes. Are you using the sample.ks file we ship or one you've created
yourself? There should be a snippet in the %pre section which generates
that file. When you get the error you're seeing, it means that file isn't
being created. The typical cause of that file not being created is what I
said before.

Use the command "cobbler system getks --name=sysname" to view the ks as it
will be downloaded by the system and look for errors, especially in the
%pre section.

>  The error when booting is "Unable to open input kickstart file: Could not
>  open/read file:///tmp/pre_install_network_config"
>
>  In the redhat bugzilla a user comments that:
>
>  "%pre does not get executed in initrd. It gets executed by anaconda 
proper.
>  This worked in F16 by coincidence, because the entire anaconda
> runtime was
>  inside the initrd. It would not have worked in any release prior to F15
>  and F16."
>
>  Eric
>
>
>
>  On 12-06-27 4:49 AM, "James Cammarata" <jimi(a)sngx.net&gt; wrote:
>
>  >On Tue, Jun 26, 2012 at 3:23 PM, Eric Chennells <eric(a)zymeworks.com&gt;
>  >wrote:
>  >> Hello,
>  >>
>  >> I have encountered this bug
>  >> https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=817116#c2 , where during 
PXE
>  >> install I get the following error:
>  >>
>  >> "ERROR: The following problem occurred on line 0 of the kickstart file:
>  >> Unable to open input kickstart file: Could not open/read
>  >> file:///tmp/pre_install_network_config"
>  >>
>  >> The above bugzilla page advises to use "old-style" networking in
> order
>  >>to
>  >> bypass this bug. I think that old-style networking just means not
>  >>defining
>  >> the MAC address of the system, is that correct?  By not setting the MAC
>  >> address the kickstart says it is using "old-style".  This does result
in
>  >> the pxe install working fine. Which is good.
>  >
>  >Typically that error occurs because no MAC that was entered match any
>  >physical interfaces. Double check your MACs with what's on the
>  >physical system. Falling back to the "old-school" method is not a
>  >recommended solution nowadays.
>  >
>  >> The problem is that now my systems don't have MAC addresses set and are
>  >> not being assigned the IP that I specified with --ip-address when
>  >>defining
>  >> the system, the DHCP server is just handing out the next available IP.
>  >> Also no pxe file (/var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg) is being created that
>  >> corresponds with the MAC address of the system (obviously sense it is
>  >>not
>  >> aware of what the MAC should be).
>  >>
>  >> Also, not sure if this is related, but I have set "pxe_just_once: 1"
> in
>  >> /etc/cobbbler/settings, but this seems to have no affect, and the
>  >> "netboot_enabled" is not being set to false after the first PXE.
>  >
>  >If the kickstart is failing, it will never get to the line in %post
>  >that triggers that. If your kickstarts are completing (using the old
>  >school/dhcp only method) then that means your probably missing the
>  >$SNIPPET('kickstart_done') line at the end of your %post. That snippet
>  >is the piece that sends the signal back to cobblerd which disables
>  >netbooting for a given system.
>  >_______________________________________________
>  >cobbler mailing list
>  &gt;cobbler(a)lists.fedorahosted.org
>  >https://fedorahosted.org/mailman/listinfo/cobbler
>
>
>
>  Notice of Confidentiality: The information transmitted is intended only 
for the
>  person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain
> confidential 
and/or
>  privileged material. Any review, re-transmission, dissemination or
> other 
use of
>  or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons
> or 
entities
>  other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this
> in 
error
>  please contact the sender immediately by return electronic
> transmission 
and then
>  immediately delete this transmission including all attachments
> without 
copying,
>  distributing or disclosing the same.
>
>  _______________________________________________
>  cobbler mailing list
>  cobbler(a)lists.fedorahosted.org
>  https://fedorahosted.org/mailman/listinfo/cobbler
>

[Eric Chennells]

James,

The problem was my kickstart file. I had been using one that I use with
Koan/KVM with static IP's.

I grabbed all of the %pre and %post lines from the sample.ks and now it
works as expected.

Thanks for your help.

Eric 

From:  James Cammarata <jimi(a)sngx.net&gt;
Reply-To:  cobbler mailing list <cobbler(a)lists.fedorahosted.org&gt;
Date:  Wednesday, June 27, 2012 9:29 AM
To:  cobbler mailing list <cobbler(a)lists.fedorahosted.org&gt;
Subject:  Re: [cobbler] Kickstart bug forces the use of old-style networking



On Jun 27, 2012 12:20 PM, "Eric Chennells" <eric(a)zymeworks.com&gt; wrote:
>  Hi James,
>
>  The MAC address is set correctly, it is properly using the pxelinux.cfg
>  file associated with the MAC address.
>
>  When I view the kickstart file that the system is booting using a web
>  browser, I see the line "%include /tmp/pre_install_network_config". Is
>  that correct? 
Yes. Are you using the sample.ks file we ship or one you've created
yourself? There should be a snippet in the %pre section which generates that
file. When you get the error you're seeing, it means that file isn't being
created. The typical cause of that file not being created is what I said
before.

Use the command "cobbler system getks --name=sysname" to view the ks as it
will be downloaded by the system and look for errors, especially in the %pre
section. 

>  The error when booting is "Unable to open input kickstart file: Could not
>  open/read file:///tmp/pre_install_network_config"
>
>  In the redhat bugzilla a user comments that:
>
>  "%pre does not get executed in initrd. It gets executed by anaconda proper.
>  This worked in F16 by coincidence, because the entire anaconda runtime was
>  inside the initrd. It would not have worked in any release prior to F15
>  and F16."
>
>  Eric
>
>
>
>  On 12-06-27 4:49 AM, "James Cammarata" <jimi(a)sngx.net&gt; wrote:
>
>  >On Tue, Jun 26, 2012 at 3:23 PM, Eric Chennells <eric(a)zymeworks.com&gt;
>  >wrote:
>  >> Hello,
>  >>
>  >> I have encountered this bug
>  >> https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=817116#c2 , where during PXE
>  >> install I get the following error:
>  >>
>  >> "ERROR: The following problem occurred on line 0 of the kickstart file:
>  >> Unable to open input kickstart file: Could not open/read
>  >> file:///tmp/pre_install_network_config"
>  >>
>  >> The above bugzilla page advises to use "old-style" networking in
> order
>  >>to
>  >> bypass this bug. I think that old-style networking just means not
>  >>defining
>  >> the MAC address of the system, is that correct?  By not setting the MAC
>  >> address the kickstart says it is using "old-style".  This does result
> in
>  >> the pxe install working fine. Which is good.
>  >
>  >Typically that error occurs because no MAC that was entered match any
>  >physical interfaces. Double check your MACs with what's on the
>  >physical system. Falling back to the "old-school" method is not a
>  >recommended solution nowadays.
>  >
>  >> The problem is that now my systems don't have MAC addresses set and are
>  >> not being assigned the IP that I specified with --ip-address when
>  >>defining
>  >> the system, the DHCP server is just handing out the next available IP.
>  >> Also no pxe file (/var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg) is being created that
>  >> corresponds with the MAC address of the system (obviously sense it is
>  >>not
>  >> aware of what the MAC should be).
>  >>
>  >> Also, not sure if this is related, but I have set "pxe_just_once: 1"
> in
>  >> /etc/cobbbler/settings, but this seems to have no affect, and the
>  >> "netboot_enabled" is not being set to false after the first PXE.
>  >
>  >If the kickstart is failing, it will never get to the line in %post
>  >that triggers that. If your kickstarts are completing (using the old
>  >school/dhcp only method) then that means your probably missing the
>  >$SNIPPET('kickstart_done') line at the end of your %post. That snippet
>  >is the piece that sends the signal back to cobblerd which disables
>  >netbooting for a given system.
>  >_______________________________________________
>  >cobbler mailing list
>  &gt;cobbler(a)lists.fedorahosted.org
>  >https://fedorahosted.org/mailman/listinfo/cobbler
>
>
>
>  Notice of Confidentiality: The information transmitted is intended only for 
the
>  person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain
> confidential and/or
>  privileged material. Any review, re-transmission, dissemination or other use 
of 
>  or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons
> or 
entities
>  other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this
> in error
>  please contact the sender immediately by return electronic transmission and 
then
>  immediately delete this transmission including all attachments
> without 
copying,
>  distributing or disclosing the same.
>
>  _______________________________________________
>  cobbler mailing list
>  cobbler(a)lists.fedorahosted.org
>  https://fedorahosted.org/mailman/listinfo/cobbler
>  
_______________________________________________ cobbler mailing list
cobbler(a)lists.fedorahosted.org
https://fedorahosted.org/mailman/listinfo/cobbler



Notice of Confidentiality: The information transmitted is intended only for the
person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or
privileged material. Any review, re-transmission, dissemination or other use of 
or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons or entities
other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this in error
please contact the sender immediately by return electronic transmission and then
immediately delete this transmission including all attachments without copying,
distributing or disclosing the same.

[James Cammarata]

Excellent, glad you got it sorted out.
On Jun 27, 2012 1:24 PM, "Eric Chennells" <eric(a)zymeworks.com&gt; wrote:

>  James,
>
>  The problem was my kickstart file. I had been using one that I use with
>  Koan/KVM with static IP's.
>
>  I grabbed all of the %pre and %post lines from the sample.ks and now it
>  works as expected.
>
>  Thanks for your help.
>
>  Eric
>
>  From: James Cammarata <jimi(a)sngx.net&gt;
>  Reply-To: cobbler mailing list <cobbler(a)lists.fedorahosted.org&gt;
>  Date: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 9:29 AM
>  To: cobbler mailing list <cobbler(a)lists.fedorahosted.org&gt;
>  Subject: Re: [cobbler] Kickstart bug forces the use of old-style
>  networking
>
>
>  On Jun 27, 2012 12:20 PM, "Eric Chennells" <eric(a)zymeworks.com&gt; wrote:
>  >
>  > Hi James,
>  >
>  > The MAC address is set correctly, it is properly using the pxelinux.cfg
>  > file associated with the MAC address.
>  >
>  > When I view the kickstart file that the system is booting using a web
>  > browser, I see the line "%include /tmp/pre_install_network_config". Is
>  > that correct?
>
>  Yes. Are you using the sample.ks file we ship or one you've created
>  yourself? There should be a snippet in the %pre section which generates
>  that file. When you get the error you're seeing, it means that file isn't
>  being created. The typical cause of that file not being created is what I
>  said before.
>
>  Use the command "cobbler system getks --name=sysname" to view the ks as it
>  will be downloaded by the system and look for errors, especially in the
>  %pre section.
>
>  >
>  > The error when booting is "Unable to open input kickstart file: Could not
>  > open/read file:///tmp/pre_install_network_config"
>  >
>  > In the redhat bugzilla a user comments that:
>  >
>  > "%pre does not get executed in initrd. It gets executed by anaconda
>  proper.
>  > This worked in F16 by coincidence, because the entire anaconda runtime
>  was
>  > inside the initrd. It would not have worked in any release prior to F15
>  > and F16."
>  >
>  > Eric
>  >
>  >
>  >
>  > On 12-06-27 4:49 AM, "James Cammarata" <jimi(a)sngx.net&gt; wrote:
>  >
>  > >On Tue, Jun 26, 2012 at 3:23 PM, Eric Chennells <eric(a)zymeworks.com&gt;
>  > >wrote:
>  > >> Hello,
>  > >>
>  > >> I have encountered this bug
>  > >> https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=817116#c2 , where during
>  PXE
>  > >> install I get the following error:
>  > >>
>  > >> "ERROR: The following problem occurred on line 0 of the kickstart
>  file:
>  > >> Unable to open input kickstart file: Could not open/read
>  > >> file:///tmp/pre_install_network_config"
>  > >>
>  > >> The above bugzilla page advises to use "old-style" networking in
> order
>  > >>to
>  > >> bypass this bug. I think that old-style networking just means not
>  > >>defining
>  > >> the MAC address of the system, is that correct?  By not setting the
>  MAC
>  > >> address the kickstart says it is using "old-style".  This does
> result
>  in
>  > >> the pxe install working fine. Which is good.
>  > >
>  > >Typically that error occurs because no MAC that was entered match any
>  > >physical interfaces. Double check your MACs with what's on the
>  > >physical system. Falling back to the "old-school" method is not a
>  > >recommended solution nowadays.
>  > >
>  > >> The problem is that now my systems don't have MAC addresses set and
>  are
>  > >> not being assigned the IP that I specified with --ip-address when
>  > >>defining
>  > >> the system, the DHCP server is just handing out the next available IP.
>  > >> Also no pxe file (/var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg) is being created
>  that
>  > >> corresponds with the MAC address of the system (obviously sense it is
>  > >>not
>  > >> aware of what the MAC should be).
>  > >>
>  > >> Also, not sure if this is related, but I have set "pxe_just_once:
> 1"
>  in
>  > >> /etc/cobbbler/settings, but this seems to have no affect, and the
>  > >> "netboot_enabled" is not being set to false after the first PXE.
>  > >
>  > >If the kickstart is failing, it will never get to the line in %post
>  > >that triggers that. If your kickstarts are completing (using the old
>  > >school/dhcp only method) then that means your probably missing the
>  > >$SNIPPET('kickstart_done') line at the end of your %post. That snippet
>  > >is the piece that sends the signal back to cobblerd which disables
>  > >netbooting for a given system.
>  > >_______________________________________________
>  > >cobbler mailing list
>  > &gt;cobbler(a)lists.fedorahosted.org
>  > >https://fedorahosted.org/mailman/listinfo/cobbler
>  >
>  >
>  >
>  > Notice of Confidentiality: The information transmitted is intended only
>  for the
>  > person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential
>  and/or
>  > privileged material. Any review, re-transmission, dissemination or other
>  use of
>  > or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons or
>  entities
>  > other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this in
>  error
>  > please contact the sender immediately by return electronic transmission
>  and then
>  > immediately delete this transmission including all attachments without
>  copying,
>  > distributing or disclosing the same.
>  >
>  > _______________________________________________
>  > cobbler mailing list
>  > cobbler(a)lists.fedorahosted.org
>  > https://fedorahosted.org/mailman/listinfo/cobbler
>  >
>  _______________________________________________ cobbler mailing list
>  cobbler(a)lists.fedorahosted.org
>  https://fedorahosted.org/mailman/listinfo/cobbler
>
>  Notice of Confidentiality: The information transmitted is intended only
>  for the
>  person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential
>  and/or
>  privileged material. Any review, re-transmission, dissemination or other
>  use of
>  or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons or
>  entities
>  other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this in
>  error
>  please contact the sender immediately by return electronic transmission
>  and then
>  immediately delete this transmission including all attachments without
>  copying,
>  distributing or disclosing the same.
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>  _______________________________________________
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>