mantonr Posted January 18, 2005 Posted January 18, 2005 I really don't understand this whole ROM images thing. I have been looking into making a diskless folding farm and i think that i can just about do everything except for this ROM images thing that you need for your network card or something. The assumption that i have is that it is something for the computer to boot which tells it to go to the network card. Am i right, if not could you tell me what it is? Also i have found a website that will generate these ROM images for me to put on a disk but it asks for NIC/ROM type, how do i know which i have cos these look like a series of letters and numbers to me? Here is the website that generates if you don't understand what i'm talking about: ROM Generator page Cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemo Posted January 18, 2005 Posted January 18, 2005 I really don't understand this whole ROM images thing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantonr Posted January 18, 2005 Posted January 18, 2005 so i don't need rom images for PXE supported cards? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemo Posted January 18, 2005 Posted January 18, 2005 That is correct. To test this out, disable all boot devices in your BIOS including the "Boot from other devices". Set your first boot device to "Boot From LAN" and restart your system. You should see a message on the screen about PXE and waiting for response or something like that. Remember that not all mobos with on-board LAN support PXE. I bought a couple of cheap SOYOs and their BIOS seems to support a LAN boot but when I try to boot from LAN I just get a prompt to iinsert a boot disk. In that case I guess I could put a ROM image on diskette and try to boot, but that kinda defeats the whole diskless concept. What board are you trying to use in the diskless setup? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantonr Posted January 18, 2005 Posted January 18, 2005 well i'm kinda thinking of going on ebay and buying some socket a asus boards - i like asus boards. How would i know which ROM image to get for the card though? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemo Posted January 18, 2005 Posted January 18, 2005 well i'm kinda thinking of going on ebay and buying some socket a asus boards - i like asus boards. How would i know which ROM image to get for the card though? 398198[/snapback] Well, I would look for a board that supports PXE so you wouldn't have to mess with the ROM image. The ROM image is assoicated with the LAN adapter, so you have to figure out which chip is on the motherboard first and then go from there. I would look for a cheap Asrock or Biostar board - they both have a lot of boards that supports PXE as does MSI. Get something cheap to start with until you learn how this is going to work. I bought a couple of refurbed Asrock borads off of Newegg for $19 ea to play with and got everyting set up and working except I need to get a Linux kernel built to serve to my diskless clients. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantonr Posted January 18, 2005 Posted January 18, 2005 Yeh i can get new asrock boards for less than Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemo Posted January 18, 2005 Posted January 18, 2005 Yes - I've been working on the idea for a long time and am quite familiar with that guide. What I want to do is use Windows as my server instead of Linux. I'll serve up a Linux kernel to the clients. I just need to get the time to learn enough Linux to figure out how to compile a minimal kernel with the folding client and send it to the client. I've got all the other pieces working. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantonr Posted January 30, 2005 Posted January 30, 2005 The ROM images are used to tell the computer what to do when it tries do boot from LAN. You don't really need a ROM image if your network adapter supports PXE. I went through this whole process myself when trying to set up diskless folding (which I never got around to finishing), but I do have some motherboards with onboard LAN that support PXE and got them to boot successfully. What PXE does is to broadcast a message to the LAN that basically says "Here I am!" and wait for a response back from some entity telling it what to do. In the case of a diskless farm, you would need a DHCP server to serve it up a file with the operating system kernel and folding client in it. That DHCP server could be in LINUX or one of the Windows server OSs or a standalone piece of software (which is what I am trying). 398192[/snapback] Have you found a standalone piece of software to do this? If so what is it, i would be interested to try that out? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemo Posted January 30, 2005 Posted January 30, 2005 Have you found a standalone piece of software to do this? If so what is it, i would be interested to try that out? 407805[/snapback] Weird Solutions offers a DCHP and TFTP server (you'll need both) which is free for up to 5 clients. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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