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PXE Boot Very Slow

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Linux Problems
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  • P
    pjcard
    last edited by Sep 19, 2012, 1:35 AM

    I’ve set up fog using virtualbox and ubuntu server, I’ve managed to get both real and virtual clients connecting and I’ve added to the default config to add a few ISOs to boot from. I’m running over a 100mbps network and when I copy the ISOs on and off the server using my samba share I get around 100mbps, when I boot the same ISOs I seem to get only around 10mbps (it takes around a minute to load a 60mb iso into memory) both when using a virtual and real client. I’ve been googling for the last day to try and find out what could be causing it, but I’m at a loss.

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    • C
      chad-bisd Moderator
      last edited by Sep 19, 2012, 1:38 AM

      Tftpboot is used for the transfer during pxe boot. One packet out at a time


      If you would like to make a donation to the Fog project, please do so [U][COLOR=#0000ff][URL='http://sourceforge.net/dona…

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      • P
        pjcard
        last edited by Sep 19, 2012, 1:44 AM

        So it’s meant to be limited to around 1mbps?

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        • C
          chad-bisd Moderator
          last edited by Sep 19, 2012, 1:48 AM

          Pxe is designed around tftp and tftp is designed to be simple. Look into gpxe maybe.


          If you would like to make a donation to the Fog project, please do so [U][COLOR=#0000ff][URL='http://sourceforge.net/dona…

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          • P
            pjcard
            last edited by Sep 19, 2012, 1:59 AM

            This post is deleted!
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            • P
              pjcard
              last edited by Sep 19, 2012, 2:07 AM

              I don’t think tftp is my main issue, this video ([media=youtube]KYp-XVPxg3I[/media]) shows at 7:30 someone downloading a 8mb iso in 2 seconds, that’s far faster than I’m managing.

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              • C
                chad-bisd Moderator
                last edited by Sep 19, 2012, 2:25 AM

                At this point it’s syslinux loading vesamenu.c32 loading the default menu loading your custom options. Fog isn’t even involved at this point.


                If you would like to make a donation to the Fog project, please do so [U][COLOR=#0000ff][URL='http://sourceforge.net/dona…

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                • P
                  pjcard
                  last edited by Sep 19, 2012, 3:07 AM

                  I know, that’s why I posted in the Linux Problems thread rather than the Fog one. I can’t find a community for pxe booting itself.

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                  • P
                    pjcard
                    last edited by Sep 19, 2012, 4:50 AM

                    [quote=“chad-bisd, post: 8737, member: 18”]At this point it’s syslinux loading vesamenu.c32 loading the default menu loading your custom options. Fog isn’t even involved at this point.[/quote]

                    Actually I’ve just re-read what you’ve written and that’s not correct. It’s loading delldiags.iso, using memdisk, just as I am and it’s doing it a lot faster than I’m able to. Are there settings for tftp that I need to tweak? Could there be an issue with memdisk?

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                    • C
                      chad-bisd Moderator
                      last edited by Sep 19, 2012, 2:44 PM

                      Google it. I think memtest tries to load the entire file into memory before it start execution, causing slowness on larger files. I encourage you to keep researching and let us know what you find.


                      If you would like to make a donation to the Fog project, please do so [U][COLOR=#0000ff][URL='http://sourceforge.net/dona…

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                      • P
                        pjcard
                        last edited by Sep 19, 2012, 11:14 PM

                        Yes, it does load the complete iso into memory. As my iso’s are around 60-150MB this should be fine if the transfer were running even at my measly 100mbps network speed, but unfortunately it’s only managing ~10mbps (~1MB/s). I think as you suggest tftp is probably the limiting factor here. I will report back if I achieve any speed gains.

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                        • P
                          pjcard
                          last edited by Sep 20, 2012, 4:52 AM

                          OK, so I managed to almost solve the issue twice.

                          1/ Chainloaded iPXE from pxelinux.0, was able to access iPXE commandline and perform commands but it was unstable

                          2/ replaced pxelinux.0 with gpxelinux.0 (and the associated vesamenu.32 and memdisk files). This actually allowed me to transfer via http wich reduced my time from around 1 minute to around 1 second. The (acronis) ISO even booted, but it got to the part where it changes the screen mode to display some graphics, and crashed. My config for this was:

                          LABEL Acronis HTTP
                          kernel [url]http://192.168.1.1/pxeserver/memdisk[/url]
                          initrd [url]http://192.168.1.1/pxeserver/acronis.iso[/url]
                          append iso

                          😞

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                          • P
                            pjcard
                            last edited by Sep 20, 2012, 4:52 AM

                            Well, by crashed I mean rebooted.

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                            • P
                              pjcard
                              last edited by Oct 12, 2012, 6:04 AM

                              So, in the end I stuck with gpxelinux.0, I found that acronis still boots on most machines - and things like Hirens and Spinrite boot on practically all machines. For those machines that don’t boot, sometimes booting off a CD created with [url]http://rom-o-matic.net/[/url] works. So in any case, I now have the speed I was after with sufficent stability for it to be useful - not as stable as pxelinux.0, but just about enough.

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                              • P
                                pjcard
                                last edited by Oct 12, 2012, 6:05 AM

                                One odd thing with gpxelinux.0: tftp actually seems to be slower - so with it it’s http or nothing as far as I can see.

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