Re: Install Ubuntu without CDROM

From: Google Mike (googlemike_at_hotpop.com)
Date: 07/02/05 

Date: 2 Jul 2005 08:46:31 -0700

You may have a case where you have a laptop with no CDROM and no
floppy, just a net connection, and the net connection supports net
installs via PXE. I have an IBM X40 and that was the case. Most IBM
hardware supports PXE mode as an option in the BIOS. To install Ubuntu
into this kind of configuration, here's the 500 foot level answer:

A. You'll need either a crossover Ethernet cable or an Ethernet hub.
(You *might* be able to get the wireless connection going in order to
build this, but I doubt it.)
B. You'll need a second networkable PC with Ubuntu OS already
installed. You'll also need root access ("sudo passwd root" trick).
We'll call this "Server PC". The laptop I have, in this case, can be
called the "Client PC".
C. It will work best if you have an Ubuntu CD with you for copying out
the netboot install.
D. Use apt to download and install the DHCP Server on the Server PC.
E. Use apt to download and install the TFTP Server on the Server PC.
F. Disconnect the Server PC from the Internet and plug the Client PC up
to it either via a crossover cable or a hub.
G. Configure and start a DHCP Server on the Server PC.
H. Configure, and start a TFTP Server on the Server PC.
I. You make a directory "/tftpboot" on the Server PC.
J. You copy the contents from inside a directory on the Ubuntu CD
called "netboot" into "/tftpboot" on the Server PC.
K. You boot the Client PC and choose the option to use PXE.
L. If all is configured properly, the Client PC will immediately splash
up a colorful Ubuntu screen that you can run the install on.
M. Once you get an error about not finding a suitable mirror, pull off
the crossover cable from the Client PC. Next, plug an ordinary Ethernet
cable to the regular Internet port and into the Client PC. Now you can
choose the option to reattempt the suitable mirror and it will find it.
N. Now it will download the rest of Ubuntu over your Internet
connection. Unfortunately there's no easy way to make it recognize the
remote CDROM in the Server PC, so this is a close second. If on DSL and
behind a firewall, this could take up to about 1 hour, so be warned.
O. The Client PC reboots into minimal Ubuntu Linux and begins to
download its first set of updates and this could take up to 2 hours
over a DSL connection.
P. The Client PC boots up into almost full-blown Ubuntu Linux -- it
just badly needs critical updates and security updates, which you can
now download through Synaptic Package Manager or apt-get update.

**HOWEVER**, unfortunately the options for steps G and H (and perhaps D
and E too) are hard to get going easily unless you follow this simple
technique:

==DHCP and ATFTPD download, install, configure, and start==
[ If you haven't updated your apt or Synaptic Package Manager to use
the Universal mode, get that going by looking on Ubuntu's site. I think
I uncommented 2 lines in a file and did an "apt-get update" to get this
going. ]
[ Look at your regular Internet connection on your LAN. Look at the
subnet that your Server PC is in. Below, where I use "X", replace with
that 3 part octet for the subnet, such as "192.168.0" instead of "X". ]
[ Find out the MAC address of your Client PC with ipconfig (or ifconfig
if Linux) and write that down. When typing it in again to replace "Z",
below, use all lowercase letters. Also, separate with colons. For
instance: "01:0b:e2:34:61:f3". ]

$ apt-get install dhcp
$ apt-get install atftpd
$ vi /etc/dhcpd.conf

[ Type this: ]

# remember, replace all "X" below with your local subnet of your Server
PC,
# such as "192.168.0".
default-lease-time 600;
max-lease-time 7200;
option subnet-mask 255.255.255.0;
option broadcast-address X.255;
subnet X.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
 range X.10 X.253;
 host pc {
# replace Z below with the MAC address of the client PC in the format
like
# 01:0b:e2:34:61:f3
  hardware ethernet Z;
  fixed-address X.49;
  next-server X.1;
  filename "/tftpdboot/pxelinux.0";
  option routers X.1;
  option root-path "/";
 }
}

$ route add -host 255.255.255.255 dev eth0

[ Comment out tftpd in /etc/inetd.conf. ]
[ Edit /etc/default/atftpd and change the mcast addr to X.0-255. Also,
notice where it says "port". Write that down, then comment out that
line for this port in /etc/services. ]

$ mkdir /tftpboot
$ mount /dev/cdrom
$ cd /tftpboot
$ cp -R /media/cdrom/install/netboot/* .

[ Go into GUI configlet of Server PC and change IP address to X.1. ]

$ /etc/init.d/inetd restart
$ /usr/sbin/dhcp
$ /etc/init.d/atftpd restart

==COMMON PITFALLS==
1. Did you mistype the /etc/dhcpd.conf? A simple typo, including
messing up the case-sensitivity or forgetting a dash, can blow the
whole thing. That's also why we do "/usr/sbin/dhcp" instead of
"/etc/init.d/dhcp restart" -- it's to actually /see/ our potential
error, not get a report that we should look in /var/log/messages syslog
when there's nothing there.
2. Did you get an error when starting /usr/sbin/dhcp? If so, then look
at what the error is complaining about.
3. Did you use something else besides atftpd and dhcp, such as
tftpd-hba and/or dhcpd? If so, you're on your own -- I didn't use
those.
4. Did you setup your apt to use Universal mode so that it could find
atftpd and dhcp?
5. Did you forget to do steps F and M above? These are critical.
6. I'm not certain if the route add step is necessary -- someone
suggested it and it was a step I did.
7. Did you forget to change your local Server IP address to X.1 (such
as 192.168.0.1)? That's critical.
8. If you didn't follow the other steps, you may end up with PXE
Timeout errors on the Client PC when trying to get the initial install
going.
9. Did you think I was meaning, to literally type the "X" and "Z"
above? No, I did not mean that literally.

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