IPXE/README.md

A PXE to unite them all and in the light install them...

IPXE INSTALLATION

• IPXE installation for Debian 11

INTRODUCTION

iPXE allows you to set up a PXE (network) boot system to launch operating systems, utility ISOs or installation programs. iPXE is BIOS and EFI compatible. The host system used for this documentation is Ubuntu Server 18.04. (https://doc.ubuntu-fr.org/ipxe)

TABLE OF CONTENT

INSTALLATION (ON DEBIAN)

CONFIGURATION FILES

STEPS SCRIPT INSTALL

• Variable
• Dependencies
• DHCP Server
• TFTP Server
• NFS Server
• LAMP Server
• Prepare iPXE startup files
• Directories for distributions
• TFTPD-HPA Restart
• Install Distributions
• Good rights
• Reboot

MANUAL INSTALLATION OF DISTRIBUTIONS

INSTALLATION (ON DEBIAN)

Firstly update the system :

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Then:

sudo sh ipxe-install.sh

or

sudo chmod +x ipxe-install.sh
sudo ./ipxe-install.sh

CONFIGURATION FILES

IMPORTANT : THE CONFIGURATION FILES HAVE BEEN EDITED UPSTREAM AND REPLACE THE DEFAULT FILES

More about : https://gitlab.com/garagenum/greg/pxe/-/blob/ipxe/get-distribs.sh

DHCP

• ./configs/isc-dhcp-server /etc/default/isc-dhcp-server
• ./configs/dhcpd.conf /etc/dhcp/

TFTP

• ./configs/tftpd-hpa /etc/default/tftpd-hpa

MENU

• ./configs/install.ipxe /var/www/html/install.ipxe

STEPS SCRIPT INSTALL

about : ipxe-install.sh

Variables

• Check server ip
• Network interface check

Dependencies

• Update the system
• Install wget program
• Install : wimboot mkisofs cabextract

DHCP Server

Installation of the DHCP server on the server. (WARNING : A server must have a fixed ip address ! )

• Install isc-dhcp-server
• Edit dhcp.conf located in etc/dhcp/ >>> adapt to our current network

For our configuration we have chosen as address range between .150 & .199

TFTP Server

The TFTP server is the one that will provide the necessary files for network startup.

• Install TFTP server
• Edit tftpd-hpa file located in /etc/default/
• Replace the TFTP address with the address of our ixpe server
• Then restart the service : isc-dhcp-server

NFS Server

The NFS server will be necessary in some cases, it allows to leave files available to the started system.

• Install nfs-kernel-server

LAMP Server

To work, iPXE needs an HTTP server.

• Install HTTP server
• Create a symbolic link from tftpboot to the LAMP server

Prepare iPXE startup files

• In this directory : /var/lib/tftpboot
• Downloading files from the Web : undionly.kpxe and ipxe.efi

IPXE Menu

• The iPXE menu must be located on the web server, located in /var/www/html/
• Create a symbolic link from /var/www/html/install.ipxe to /var/lib/tftpboot/
• Allow sharing in the NFS configuration file :

sudo echo "/var/lib/tftpboot/ *(async,no_root_squash,no_subtree_check,ro)" >> /etc/exports

• Then restart the service nfs-kernel-server

Directories for distributions

• In this directory : /var/lib/tftpboot
• Create folders for all used distributions

TFTPD-HPA Restart

• Restart tftpd-hpa service

Install Distributions

• Call the script get-distribs.sh

Good rights

• Re-establishing the right rights to root : /var/lib/tftpboot
• Modification of the rights of a directory and its sub-directories : /var/lib/tftpboot

Reboot

• Reboot and and test the operation

DONE !

MANUAL INSTALLATION OF DISTRIBUTIONS

about : get-distribs.sh

Process

• In this directory /tmp
• We have added a variable url, in which is referenced the url that will serve as a source to download the iso
• Then we mount iso file in this directory /mnt

Explanation : The loop option of mount (it's not a type, it's an option) tells mount that this is a "looping" device - a normal file to use as a block device. In the background, mount sets up a loopback device, then mounts it to /mnt in our case.

• We copy everything in /mnt to a folder in the /var/lib/tftpboot/ directory where our installation images are located
• Then we dismantle everything in /mnt
• Finally we delete the iso present in the /mnt directory