"LBMP-dedicated PXE IP" addresses are used for provisioning and imaging.  These IP addresses are automatically managed by the LinMin Server and are not to be used for any other purpose, e.g., they must not be assigned as static IP addresses for provisioned systems by LBMP users and they must be on the LinMin Server's subnet/VLAN.

 

Starting with LBMP 6.2, the LBMP-dedicated PXE IP range is broken into 2 ranges: the "PXE Boot IP" sub-range (defaulting to .151 to .160) and the "PXE Event IP" range (defaulting to .161 to .200).  We recommend a mix of 20% PXE Boot IPs and 80% PXE Event IPs. For releases prior to LBMP 6.2, the default range of LBMP-dedicated PXE IPs is .151 to .200 as both ranges were combined.

 

PXE Boot IPs: when a Client initiates a PXE boot to be provisioned or imaged, the initial PXE bootp request will use an IP in the PXE Boot range. As soon the initial installation files (kernel and RAM disk) are copied to a Client, the PXE Boot IP address is released and is made available to another Client. Your PXE Boot range determines the maximum number of concurrent provisioning or imaging events that can begin at the same time (within seconds of each other).

 

PXE Event IPs: upon activating a Provisioning Role (selecting Next Boot, Always or Live-Ubuntu) or an Imaging Profile (selecting Backup or Restore), a PXE Event IP address is assigned to the Client's MAC address and is reserved until either the provisioning or imaging Event is completed, or until the Role or Profile is de-activated (for Provisioning Roles, by selecting "Ignore", and for Imaging Profiles, by selecting "Reset".) As you activate Provisioning Roles or Imaging Profiles and you reserve a PXE Event IP address for each system's MAC address, you decrease the number of IP addresses available for other Client systems. Therefore, you should activate Provisioning Roles (Next Boot, Always, Live Ubuntu) or Imaging Profiles (Backup, Restore) shortly before starting the provisioning or imaging event, or you risk running out of IP addresses in your PXE Event IP range.

 

 

Troubleshooting Scripts and Logs

 

As you use the GUI or API to activate Roles and Profiles, and as you provision or image systems, you can execute scripts to capture information and review logs pertaining to the PXE IP addresses in the bootp range.

 

PXE IP mapping script: this produces a comprehensive view of all PXE IP management components:

/usr/local/linmin/pxeMacIpInfo.sh

 

PXE IP mapping script: this produces the same comprehensive view of all PXE IP management components using the script above, however, it also outputs to a log file:

/home/tftpboot/bin/pxeMacIpInfoCapture.sh

 

PXE IP log file location:

/usr/local/linmin/pxeMacIpInfoCapture.log

 

GUI and backend PXE IP management cumulative log:

/usr/local/linmin/dhcpPXEmanagement.log

 

PXE Event Log:

/usr/local/linmin/linmin-bmp-pxe-event.log

 

Additional resources can be found in Client system can't find the LinMin Server.

 

 

Capturing PXE boot and DHCP transactions

 

Use the following script to capture all PXE boot and DHCP traffic and save it to a file:

/usr/local/linmin/pxeDhcpTcpdump.sh

 

The script is self-documented. You will be presented with several options to start a capture, end a capture, view the results, save the results to a file, etc.

 

Each restart provides the option to continue to append to the existing human-readable file, otherwise it sets aside the prior file with a date and time stamp and starts a new file.

Current file:

/usr/local/linmin/pxeDhcpTcpdump_ports_67-69.pcap

Archived file:

/usr/local/linmin/pxeDhcpTcpdump_ports_67-69_20110209_031051.pcap

 

Additional resources can be found in Client system can't find the LinMin Server.

 

Resynchronizing the PXE IP environment

 

In very rare instances, should you experience inconsistencies in the PXE IP environment, often due to manual editing of automatically-generated files, resynchronize the environment by executing the following commands:

 

# /home/tftpboot/bin/pxeMacIpInfoCapture.sh

# php /home/tftpboot/www/rolesSyncPxeDbCfgDhcp.php

# php /home/tftpboot/www/dhcpPXEmanagement.php recover

# /home/tftpboot/bin/pxeMacIpInfoCapture.sh

 

Upon resynchronizing the PXE IP environment, the synchronization log can be found at:

/usr/local/linmin/rolesProfileSync.log