pxeboot with newer Intel NICs

Fri Jun 26 16:04:19 UTC 2015

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On 04/15/15 12:42, Jeremiah Lott wrote:
> I am having trouble using pxeboot with new-ish Intel NICs. We have
> been using pxeboot with Intel NICs as part of our infrastructure
> for a while successfully. Recently, I got some new 2x10G (ixgbe)
> cards as well as a motherboard with built-in 4x1G (igb). Neither
> will work with pxeboot. If I install an older 4x1G PCI card in the
> same server, then it will boot with pxeboot just fine.
> 
> It fails at the point that it tries to load the kernel over NFS:
> 
> PXE version 2.1, real mode entry point @94ee:0106 BIOS
> 619kB/1983288kB available memory
> 
> FreeBSD/x86 bootstrap loader, Revision 1.1 
> (root at releng1.nyi.freebsd.org, Tue Nov 11 20:57:26 UTC 2014) 
> pxe_open: server addr: 10.2.16.3 pxe_open: server path:
> /usr/tftpboot/mfg_FXT5000_WIP /
> 
> It just sticks there indefinitely. I took a packet capture on the 
> dhcp/tftp/nfs server (limited to the ip address I know this client
> is getting). The initial tftp download of the pxeboot program goes
> through. Then I see more dhcp packets (which I assume are from
> pxeboot program). Then it sends a portmapper request to get the
> port for the mount program. The packet capture on the server shows
> a proper response, but I assume the client is not accepting it,
> because it seems to retry the portmapper request repeatedly.
> 
> 2   2.018066  10.2.15.238 -> 10.2.16.3    TFTP Read Request, File: 
> pxeboot, Transfer type: octet, tsize\000=0\000 66 3   2.025813
> 10.2.16.3 -> 10.2.15.238  TFTP Option Acknowledgement, 
> tsize\000=231424\000 57 4   2.025869  10.2.15.238 -> 10.2.16.3
> TFTP Error Code, Code: Not defined, Message: TFTP Aborted 60 5
> 2.026980  10.2.15.238 -> 10.2.16.3    TFTP Read Request, File: 
> pxeboot, Transfer type: octet, blksize\000=1456\000 71 6   2.034408
> 10.2.16.3 -> 10.2.15.238  TFTP Option Acknowledgement, 
> blksize\000=1456\000 57 7   2.034462  10.2.15.238 -> 10.2.16.3
> TFTP Acknowledgement, Block: 0 60 8   2.034544    10.2.16.3 ->
> 10.2.15.238  TFTP Data Packet, Block: 1 1502 9   2.034675
> 10.2.15.238 -> 10.2.16.3    TFTP Acknowledgement, Block: 1 60 10
> 2.034699    10.2.16.3 -> 10.2.15.238  TFTP Data Packet, Block: 2
> 1502 11   2.034829  10.2.15.238 -> 10.2.16.3    TFTP
> Acknowledgement, Block: 2 60
> 
> .. clipped a bunch of uninteresting data packets ..
> 
> 324   2.058989    10.2.16.3 -> 10.2.15.238  TFTP Data Packet,
> Block: 159 1422 325   2.059115  10.2.15.238 -> 10.2.16.3    TFTP
> Acknowledgement, Block: 159 60 326   2.124531  10.2.15.238 ->
> 10.2.16.3    DHCP DHCP Discover - Transaction ID 0x2005fe90 590 327
> 2.638748  10.2.15.238 -> 10.2.16.3    DHCP DHCP Request  - 
> Transaction ID 0x2005fe90 590 328   2.657297  10.2.15.238 ->
> 10.2.16.3    Portmap V2 GETPORT Call MOUNT(100005) V:3 UDP 118 329
> 2.657398    10.2.16.3 -> 10.2.15.238  Portmap V2 GETPORT Reply
> (Call In 328) Port:644 70 330   4.293463  10.2.15.238 -> 10.2.16.3
> Portmap [RPC retransmission of #328]V2 GETPORT Call (Reply In 329)
> MOUNT(100005) V:3 UDP 118 331   4.293536    10.2.16.3 ->
> 10.2.15.238  Portmap [RPC duplicate of #329]V2 GETPORT Reply (Call
> In 328) Port:644 70 332   8.138219  10.2.15.238 -> 10.2.16.3
> Portmap [RPC retransmission of #328]V2 GETPORT Call (Reply In 329)
> MOUNT(100005) V:3 UDP 118 333   8.138301    10.2.16.3 ->
> 10.2.15.238  Portmap [RPC duplicate of #329]V2 GETPORT Reply (Call
> In 328) Port:644 70 334  14.179978  10.2.15.238 -> 10.2.16.3
> Portmap [RPC retransmission of #328]V2 GETPORT Call (Reply In 329)
> MOUNT(100005) V:3 UDP 118 335  14.180084    10.2.16.3 ->
> 10.2.15.238  Portmap [RPC duplicate of #329]V2 GETPORT Reply (Call
> In 328) Port:644 70
> 
> I did notice that these new cards have newer versions of the "Intel
> Boot Agent" firmware. Here is a summary of the versions I tried:
> 
> Intel Boot Agent XE v2.3.04 (10G) -> FAILED Intel Boot Agent GE
> v1.5.12 (1G) -> FAILED Intel Boot Agent XE v2.1.60 (10G) -> WORKS 
> Intel Boot Agent GE v1.3.51 (1g) -> WORKS
> 
> Also, the 1G that works is an 82580, while the one that fails is an
> i350. The working and failed 10G NICs are both 82599EB.
> 
> My assumption is that there is some incompatibility between the
> PXE firmware on the newer cards and the pxeboot program. However,
> these are very widely used NICs and if this is really the problem
> it's a little hard to believe other people haven't hit this. Are
> other people using newer Intel 10G (ixgbe) or 1G (igb) NICs with
> pxeboot successfully?
> 
> Jeremiah Lott Avere Systems 
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> 

Hrm ... I think this is going to require a bugzilla report and some
more testing.  Can you grab what you have into a bugzilla report?

sean
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