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N1 Grid Service Provisioning System User's Guide and Release Notes for the OS Provisioning Plug-In 1.0

Issues Related to PXE/DHCP/BINLSVC

Problem:

How do I know I have the correct PXE ROM version?

Solution:

When the NetPC or client computer ROM-boots, a PXE (LSA) ROM message appears on the screen. You can see which version of the PXE ROM code is displayed during the boot sequence of the client machine. Windows 2000 RIS supports .99c or greater PXE ROMs. You may be required to obtain a newer version of the PXE-based ROM code from your OEM if you are not successful with this existing ROM version.

Problem:

How do I know if the client computer has received an IP Address and has contacted the Remote Installation Server?

Solution:

When the client computer boots, the PXE Boot ROM begins to load and initialize. The following four-step sequence occurs with most Net PC or PXE ROM-based computers:

Note –

The sequence may be different on your computer.

  1. The client computer displays the message BootP. This message indicates the client is requesting an IP address from the DHCP server.

    Troubleshooting: If the client does not get past the BootP message, the client is not receiving an IP address. Check the following possibilities:

    • Is the DHCP server available and has the service started? DHCP and RIS servers must be authorized in the Active Directory for their services to start. Check that the service has started and that other non-remote boot-enabled clients are receiving IP addresses on this segment.

    • Can other client computers, such as (non-remote boot-enabled clients, receive an IP address on this network segment?

    • Does the DHCP server have a defined IP address scope and has it been activated? To verify this feature, click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and click DHCP. Alternatively, you can click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and click Event Viewer.

    • Are there any error messages in the event log under the System Log for DHCP?

    • Is a router between the client and the DHCP server not allowing DHCP packets through?

  2. When the client receives an IP address from the DHCP server, the message changes to DHCP. This indicates the client successfully leased an IP address and is now waiting to contact the RIS server.

    Troubleshooting: If the client does not get past the DHCP message, the client is not receiving a response from the remote installation server. Check the following possibilities:

    • Is the remote installation server available and has the (BINLSVC) RIS service started? RIS servers must be authorized in the Active Directory for their services to start. To ensure that the service has started, use the DHCP snap-in (click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and click DHCP).

    • Are other remote boot-enabled clients receiving the Client Installation wizard? If so, this may indicate this client computer is not supported or is having remote boot ROM-related problems. Check the version of the PXE ROM on the client computer.

    • Is a router between the client and the remote installation server not allowing the DHCP-based requests/responses through? When the RIS client and the RIS server are on separate subnets the router between the two systems must be configured to forward DHCP packets to the RIS server. This is because RIS clients discover a RIS server by using a DHCP broadcast message. Without DHCP forwarding set up on a router, the clients' DHCP broadcasts will never reach the RIS server. This DHCP forwarding process is sometimes referred to as DHCP Proxy or IP Helper Address in router configuration manuals.

      To verify DHCP set up, click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and click Event Viewer. Refer to your router instructions for setting up DHCP forwarding on your specific router.

    • Are any error messages in the event log under the System or Application logs specific to RIS (BINLSVC), DNS, or the Active Directory?

  3. The client changes to BINL or prompts the user to click the F12 key. This means that the client has contacted the RIS server and is waiting to TFTP the first image file-OSChooser. You might not see the BINL and TFTP message, because on some machines this sequence simply flashes by too quickly. (Note: Pressing F12 Key is automated, by swapping startrom.com and startrom.n12 files under <reminst_share>\OSChooser\i386 folder.

    Troubleshooting: If the client machine does not get a response from the Remote Installation Server, the client times out and displays an error that it did not receive a file from either DHCP, BINL, or TFTP. In this case, the RIS Server did not answer the client computer. Stop and restart the BINLSVC. From the Start menu, click Run, and type CMD. Enter these commands: Net Stop BINLSVC Net Start BINLSVC

    If the client machine does not receive an answer after attempting to stop and restart the service, check the Remote installation Server Object properties to ensure the correct setting has been set. Verify that RIS is set to "Respond to client computers requesting service", and "Do not respond to unknown client computers". Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and click Event Viewer to check the Event log on the RIS server for any errors relating to DHCP, DNS, or RIS (BINLSVC).

  4. At this point, the client should have downloaded and displayed the Client Installation wizard application with a Welcome screen greeting the user.

Problem:

Is the Pre-Boot portion of the PXE-based Remote Boot ROM Secure?

Solution:

No. The entire ROM sequence and OS installation/replication is not secure with regard to packet type encryption, client/server spoofing, or wire sniffer based mechanisms. As such, use caution when using the RIS service on your corporate network. Ensure that you only allow authorized RIS servers on your network and that the number of administrators allowed to install and or configure RIS servers is controlled.

Problem:

While booting from the network, the target host displays the following error message:


No proxyDHCP offers were received.
Solution:

The client machine/target host is not able to obtain an IP address from the DHCP server. For more details, see Step 2 above. See the following Microsoft knowledge base articles:

Problem:

How do PXE Client, DHCP and RIS server interact?

Solution:

See the following Microsoft knowledge base article: Description of PXE Interaction Among PXE Client, DHCP, and RIS Server .

Problem:

Target host displays the following message while booting from the network:


ARP Timeout message
Solution:

You see this error message when the client machine gets a valid IP address from the DHCP server, but invalid PXE Boot server IP address (RIS server's IP address in the provisioning subnet) from the BINL service on the RIS server. This is observed on some old machines like HP-Lpr when they are run as multi-homed RIS servers. However, this problem does not occur on newer hardware like Hp-Proliant DL 360 G3 series of server machines from the same vendor, even when they are configured as multi-homed RIS servers. To enable old machines like HP-Lpr's to work as RIS servers without displaying this error nessage, make sure the machines are not multi-homed. In other words, the system should have only one enabled interface which is in the provisioning subnet.

For more information, see the following Microsoft knowledge base article: A multi-homed RIS server may not answer all clients, and you may receive an error message on PXE clients that are running Windows Server 2003 or Windows 2000.

Problem:

Text-mode installation does not boot.

Solution:

Try the following solutions:

Problem:

GUI-mode installation goes into interactive mode.

Solution:

Try the following solutions:

Problem:

How to change default timeout values for text-mode installation and GUI-mode installation for each client?

Solution:

Before starting the provisioning activity, make sure you change the default timeout values for the following properties in the ris.properties file (usually located under <n1osp folder>/etc/ ) on your N1 OS provisioning server. 

ris.InitialBootTimeout
ris.OsInstallTimeout