Stuck before first fai-client install is done

[George VerDuin]

I don't like replying to my own email, but this issue is closed for me 
and an FYI to the next newbie seem relevant...


On 02/15/2013 08:20 PM, George VerDuin wrote:
>
> Greetings
>
> As a newbie I have reached the point of bombing out with my first 
> client.  In FAI-Guide my failure is listed under section 5.7.1 as:
>
>     Begin: Mounting root file system... ...
>     Kernel panic - not syncing: Attempted to kill init!
>
> with the suggestion "Check initrd ... for a missing driver." [I 
> paraphrased].
The missing driver was a red herring, and a poor choice of debug path on 
my part.  The time spent in searching produced no result. The real fix was:

 1. re-run fai-setup after installing an appropriate
    /etc/fai/apt/sources.list.  My reluctance to run setup again cost
    considerable time repeating make-fai-nfsroot on the old sources that
    were not OK.  For my sanity, answering the question: "WHEN to re-run
    setup" has gone up the priority list.
 2. manually edit /src/tftp/fai/pxelinux.cfg/C... after switching from
    the "...default-pae" to the "...default" version of the kernel.  I'm
    sad to have not noticed this detail while watching the fai client
    boot.  Perhaps I should have used "fai-chboot".
 3. chmod go+r /srv/tftp/fai/vmlinuz... because tftpd was not serving
    "root owned and not readable by others" files. Perhaps it was given
    incorrect permissions by make-fai-nfsroot?  Or I run fai stuff as
    the wrong user?

Perhaps the most egregious error of mine was to not repair 
make-fai-nfsroot completely prior to attempting to boot the fai client 
for the first time.  Impatient me...  I've made so many little changes 
since jan 24 that I now can't sort out the actual single fix that would 
have avoided the panic.

Cheers
Geo


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