----- Original Message ----- From: "Matthew Stringer" <qube@firstnet.co.uk> To: <opensuse@opensuse.org> Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 12:24 PM Subject: [opensuse] Remote upgrade problem

Hi,

I've a lot of servers in a remote DC that I've no physical access to, they're running 10.2.

I wish to upgrade them to 11.0 remotely, but for some reason it's not working correctly.

Firstly I've been downloading the install kernel and initrd:

cd /boot wget -O vmlinuz.install ftp://ftp.opensuse.org/pub/opensuse/distribution/11.0/repo/oss/boot/i386/loader/linux wget -O initrd.install ftp://ftp.opensuse.org/pub/opensuse/distribution/11.0/repo/oss/boot/i386/loader/initrd

Then adding an entry into Grub:

title Boot -- SUSE LINUX 11.0 root (hd0,1) kernel /boot/vmlinuz.install noapic usessh=1 sshpassword="12345678" install=ftp://ftp.opensuse.org/pub/opensuse/distribution/11.0/repo/oss hostip=xx.xx.xx.xx netmask=255.255.255.0 gateway=xx.xx.xx.xx nameserver=xx.xx.xx.xx initrd /boot/initrd.install

I don't know if "usessh=1" is wrong, but I do know that I always use "ssh=1" and it works, including on 11.0. You might need to specify the nic too. It may be auto-picking the wrong one. "netdevice=eth0" Personally, I use http as my install source so that I can install from my own, generally local and so way faster server, without authentication, and without having to enable anonymous ftp on any box. "install=http://my.install.server/SUSE/11.0/oss" But what you have should work fine too. When placing the install=url in syslinux/pxelinux config files I have found that I have to put the url in quotes, but that may just be a quirk of syslinux, so I don't know if you need to do that for grub, but it might not hurt to try. Otherwise your line looks ok to me assuming you know what your ip, netmask, gateway, and nameserver are.

then using grubonce 1 to make it use that entry on next boot.

Now the machine boots up and starts the network, I can ping it. But it never starts the installation program, so I'm assuming that it's because for whatever reason it's unable to download it.

I'm doing this blind as I've no access other than SSH and there's no-one to plug in a monitor/KVM so I can see the output.

For as little as $100 you can do yourself a MAJOR favor. All my remote sites have serial console servers connected. I have been grabbing old Avocent/Equinox/HP serial console servers for $100 to $300 on ebay for a couple years. Any of these are all essentially the same device and quite handy. Avocent or Equinox , same model numbers (Avocent bought the line from Equinox): CCM840 8 port, dedicated local console CCM850 8 port, dedicate local console CCM1640 16 port, dedicated local console CCM1650 16 port, dedicated local console CPS800 8 port, local console shared with port 1 CPS810 8 port, local console shared with port 1 CPS1600 16 port, local console shared with port 1 CPS1610 16 port, local console shared with port 1 Or HP: AF101A (aka SCS-16) same as CCM16xx You just telnet or ssh to the device and it connects you to one of the serial ports, which you have connected to each of your servers. Use ordinary cat5 patch cords (or cat3 for that matter) and Avocent/Equinox P/N 210120 adapter plugs. You can pay as much as $20 or as little as $5 per plug if you shop around. Most server motherboards have a bios option to enable console redirection on serial port. Once you enable that option and square away the serial speed, flow-control, terminal emulation & other parameters, you can do anything. Edit bios settings, manually navigate the boot time boot device selection menu to boot from a usb stick that you leave in permanantly just for this purpose, or boot from a cd that you leave in permanently but normally not in the bios boot sequence just for this purpose, or manually boot from network after setting up dhcp/tftp on a neighboring machine, edit raid card settings, create/destroy hardware raid arrays, repartition disks, and do full fresh format installs, all remotely. Two more pieces to total functionality: 1) Partially mentioned above, a usb stick or a cd (make it a cd-rw in a cd-rw drive for real flexibility) that's always plugged in, and which you an edit from the normal running os (or from a knoppix image or even from an opensuse net boot or mini-iso image), but which is normally not in the bios boot sequence. This way you can always boot and are not reliant on your normal disks. You can afford to install & reinstall and trial & error all you like without worrying about possibly losing all ability to work on the box. You can just keep rebooting from the cd or usb stick all you like. This is all even more true for booting from network. That's even faster and easier once it's set up the first time. The only downside there is you need a neighboring machine to run dhcp and tftp on. But if you do have that it's way more convenient and fast than even having a usb stick in each server. 2) And the other is a remote reboot device so that you can hard reboot a totally locked machine no mater what. I have been grabbing Avocent/Cyclades PM10 units on ebay for $100 to $500 each (different amp ratings, and they're not as common as the serial console boxes, so it's not as easy to find them cheap.) They are only controlled by serial. You plug them into one of the serial console ports and off you go. You can monitor the amps load too to make sure you aren't coming too close to tripping the breaker for your circuit. The PM10 also has a temperature sensor to check up on the basic environment in the room. There are other not too expensive remote power control devices out there. One in particular is very inexpensive in that it combines serial console server and power control in one device. Synaccess NPC-88 or NPC-8801 (the 88 lacks an amp meter, the 8801 has one) They have 8 serial ports and 8 power jacks and a net connection and are only about $400 brand new. They aren't built as solidly as APC units or others like Cyclades (now Avocent) or Raritan that have been in that business for a long time. For that reason I only have a few in use, but I haven't had a problem either. The Avocent are rock solid. APC are even more rock solid but they generally cost. Now for as little as $200 if you're lucky, or still only $800 even if unlucky, per site, you can completely admin every box. Typically for only $5 to $10 / month per site you can have the data center provide a second drop to your cage that's on a vlan with your other drop(s), so that you can have a net connection to the serial console box that doesn't go through your switch. This way you can even admin your switch. Hook an extra serial cable up from one of your servers to the console port on the serial console box and then you can use one of your servers to admin the serial console box itself. It's a learning curve figuring out how to use the serial and getting terminal emulation settings working right in putty or other terminal client and all that the first time but it beats driving or flying all over, or having servers de-racked and shipped back to you and then shipping them back out again, or spending hours on the phone with data center techs (and sometimes racking up billable data center support time) -- Brian K. White brian@aljex.com http://www.myspace.com/KEYofR +++++[>+++[>+++++>+++++++<<-]<-]>>+.>.+++++.+++++++.-.[>+<---]>++. filePro BBx Linux SCO FreeBSD #callahans Satriani Filk!

As all the details are correct and I can use wget on the URL and download the files using the DNS server specified I'm thinking it's possibly because it's trying to use the wrong NIC.

The machine has an internal card (eth0) and a PCI gigabit one (eth1), I'm thinking that as I'm using the latter, grub is trying to use the other despite there not being a connection to it (I know it start the network with the correct device as I can ping it, but I've run out of other ideas).

I've done this remote upgrade method loads of times before without problem, the only thing I can see different here is the 2NIC's.

If this is plausible is there a command to specify which device it should use?

Cheers

Matthew

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