I have a 43p 120 (7248-120) which I am trying to install AIX 5.2 on. I have built a Nimol server on a Linux PC running SUSE LES 10. I have setup the 43p to perfom a network boot (BOOTP) and all the addresses in the network settings under SMS are set to 0.0.0.0. When I power up the 43p it immediately finds the Nimol TFTP boot area and traffic starts to flow between the two machines.

However the 43p never actaully starts to build an operating system and the output from the DHCP log is as follows:

Jul 16 15:24:33 rs6000 dhcpd: BOOTREQUEST from 00:06:29:84:2b:36 via eth0
Jul 16 15:24:33 rs6000 dhcpd: BOOTREPLY for 192.168.0.5 to alter (00:06:29:84:2b:36) via eth0

It never gets any further!

Anyone any ideas?

I have not upgraded the firmware on the network adapter.

I have not net installed AIX, but I have net install IRIX and Solaris.

Both basically do the following

IRIX loads a miniroot (about 20Meg) and that runs the whole installer.

Solaris loads a kernel but then has to mount root via NFS.

How are you expecting AIX to find the root file system for the installation?

Have you set up an NFS share for this purpose and, say, setup /etc/bootparams and started rpc.bootparamd?

I have not checked the bootparams as the NIMOL system should take care of all the necessary NFS stuff. However NFS will not activate as the 43p has not accepted the BOOTP answer and the network adapter has not been allocated an address, that is the problem.

Do you have rarpd running and the MAC address to IP mapping in /etc/ethers?

Are you expecting it to use RARP, BOOTP or DHCP to find it's IP address?

Can I assume you mean on the SUSE Linux server?

The Linux server is setup as a DHCP server and the AIX machine is defined in the DHCPD.CONF file with correct MAC address and the designated IP address. So I am expecting the clinet to have its IP address allocated by the DHCP system on the Linux server. By what is written in the DHCP logs the request is being answered but the client is not adopting the address.

Sorry, but: failed at requirements.

a 43p-120 is a POWER3 machine (PPC604e) and hence only AIX-versions up to 5.1 are supported. As 5.1 is already out of service (and 5.2 will be in near future) you either get another machine (have a look at the IntelliStation POWER 185, for instance) or install 5.1 and live with the fact that you won't get any fix for it.

bakunin