demohost doesn't match classes

[amy at real-time.com]

On Wed, Nov 05, 2003 at 10:13:03PM +0100, Andreas Schockenhoff (asc at gmx.li) wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> On Wednesday 05 November 2003 21:37, amy at real-time.com wrote:
> > On Wed, Nov 05, 2003 at 06:20:31PM +0100, Andreas Schockenhoff > >
> > > So in 01alias class DEMO is not defined and of course not used.
> >
> > That makes sense.  So, how do I get the client's hostname set using
> > the boot floppy?  I used this to make it:
> >
> > make-fai-bootfloppy -d f
> > "144.34.36.173:144.34.36.39:144.34.36.254:255.255.255.0:demohost.ncs.
> >ahpcrc.org:eth0:off FAI_FLAGS=verbose,createvt,syslogd
> 
> I think you need a working dhcp setup for setup hostname demohost 
> correct.
> 
> But you can lock in 01alias and set demo if the IP number match. 
> The file is full of nice examples. 

I got it to work by adding this in my dhcpd.conf:

option host-name "demohost.ncs.ahpcrc.org";

What's confusing to me, though, is that I'm booting with fixed-IP method
so I'm surprised the dhcp server is involved at all.

Here's my setup - hopefully someone can advise an appropriate setup:

We currently have all RedHat boxes but are planning a migration to
debian.  With our RH boxes we've used kickstart to install them.  So,
in my search to replace kickstart I found FAI.

Our current dhcp server is on a RH box, obviously, so it's a separate
box from the FAI server.  Will any of these options work?

1. Install using PXE with dhcp server on RH box and FAI on separate
debian box
- I tried this initially but (not knowing much about PXE), it appears
that PXE expects the pxelinux.0 file to be on the dhcp server and
there's no way to tell it to grab it from another machine.  Is this
correct?

2. Install using dhcp with dhcp server on RH box and FAI on separate
debian box (no boot floppy)
- I tried this but it sets rootserver=dhcp server, which obviously won't
work.

3. Install with boot floppy using DHCP method
- This would be nice so that I wouldn't have to hardcode the IP of the
FAI server on a floppy.

Here's the applicable contents of my dhcpd.conf:

        host demohost {
          hardware ethernet 00:08:74:39:6D:02;
          filename "pxelinux.0";
          fixed-address demohost;
          server-name "debian3.dhcp.ncs.ahcprc.org";
          option root-path "/usr/lib/fai/nfsroot";
          option host-name "demohost.ncs.ahpcrc.org";
	}


Thanks in advance for your help.
-- 
Amy Tanner
amy at real-time.com