BOOTING(8) System Manager's Manual BOOTING(8)
NAME
booting - bootstrapping procedures
SYNOPSIS
none
DESCRIPTION
This manual page collects the incantations required to bootstrap Plan 9 machines. Some of the information here is specific to the instal-
lation at Bell Labs; some is generic.
If a CPU server is up, BOOTP and TFTP will run from there; if not, the necessary files and services must be available on a separate
machine, such as a Unix system, to use these protocols for bootstrapping.
Be sure to read boot(8) to understand what happens after the kernel is loaded.
Terminals
To bootstrap a terminal or a CPU server, a file server must be running. On all the terminals, typing two control-T's followed by a lower-
case r reboots the machine; other methods of rebooting are mentioned for some machines.
Gnot
The boot ROM prints
server[default==incon!nj/astro/Nfs!/68020/9gnot]
Typing a newline bootstraps the default system. The components of the server string are defaulted from the right, for example, to boot-
strap /sys/src/9/gnot/9gnot type just that file name; to bootstrap from a different file server, say kremvax, type
kremvax!/68020/9gnot
The bootstrap devices available are incon, 9600, 19200 and scsi; with scsi the server name (here nj/astro/Nfs) becomes a unit number, usu-
ally 0, and the file name is a boot partition to use. For example,
scsi!0!boot
says to boot from SCSI disk 0 the kernel in disk partition /dev/hd0boot.
If running with a local cache file system, one normally bootstraps using the SCSI disk. However, if the local kernel has been destroyed or
is hopelessly out of date, bootstrap using the serial line. To do this, use the boot string
9600!nj/astro/Nfs!/68020/9gnotdisk
to bootstrap from the serial line at 9600 baud or
19200!nj/astro/Nfs!/68020/9gnotdisk
for a 19200 baud connection.
Nextstation
First make sure the ndb(8) entry (or the corresponding Unix BOOTP configuration information) looks something like this:
ip=135.104.9.120 ether=00000f00acf7 sys=jobs
dom=jobs.research.att.com
bootf=/68020/9nextstation
proto=il
When powered on and left alone, a Nextstation will download /68020/9nextstation using the BOOTP and TFTP protocols. (Actually, first it
loads /lib/tftpd/boot and uses that to download the operating system. That file is not shipped as part of the distribution. Copy it from
/usr/template/client/tftpboot/boot on the vendor-supplied file system.) It then prompts for the user name and password and asks for the
Ethernet protocol to use; request the default.
While the system is downloading, it displays an Ethernet symbol; at this time, holding the left Command key down and typing the ~ key
aborts the download and transfers control to a ROM-resident monitor. The monitor will use the Ethernet to boot an alternate kernel given
the command, e.g.,
ben /sys/src/9/next/9nextstation
or
ben kgbvax:/sys/src/9/next/9nextstation
to force the download to come from system kgbvax.
If running with a local cache file system, bootstrap from the disk. While the system is downloading, it displays a symbol of a spinning
disk. The processor first loads a program, Disclabel (see home(8)) from the kernel partition /dev/hd1label and then the real kernel from
/dev/hd1boot.
See Next's documentation for other details, in particular how to initialize a new machine to boot from Ethernet instead of disk.
To turn the power off, hold down the left Command and Alternate keys and press the power key. To reboot, hold down the left Command and
Alternate and press the key in the upper right corner of the keypad.
Sun Sparcstation 2, 10, or 20
The Sparcstations all behave similarly. First make sure the ndb(8) entry (or corresponding information on a Unix BOOTP server) is correct.
If you are running a Plan 9 tftpd (see bootp(8)), it will download the file specified by the bootf parameter for the machine in /lib/ndb;
/sparc/9ss runs on the Sparcstation 2, /sparc/9ss10 on the Sparcstation 10.
If you are not using Plan 9 tftpd, you will have to copy or link /sparc/9ss or /sparc/9ss10 to the appropriate file on the downloading sys-
tem; the file name requested will be of the form IPaddr.SUNmm where IPaddr is the 8-digit hexadecimal IP address of the machine requesting
the kernel and mm is an architecture identifier.
To bootstrap, type
boot net
to the power-on monitor to load the kernel. There is no way to specify an alternate file to download. Once running, the operating system
asks the same questions as on the Nextstation.
MIPS Magnum
The Magnum ROM monitor can boot from the Ethernet or from a local disk. To boot from the Ethernet, type
bootp()/mips/9magnum
or use the ROM command setenv to set the variable bootfile to that same string and type boot. To load a different file, tell bootp which
file to load, and to force the download to come from a particular system, bootp()system:file. Any arguments after bootp()file are passed
to /boot. If you are running a Plan 9 BOOTP server (see bootp(8)), the file name can be omitted and the file specified by the bootf param-
eter for the machine in /lib/ndb will be downloaded by default.
To boot Plan 9 from disk it is first necessary to install the boot program, kept in /sys/src/boot/magnum/partboot. This should be written
into the first partition on the disk, which must be exactly 32K; the second partition should be at least a megabyte and will hold the ker-
nel to boot. Boot Plan 9 over the Ethernet and follow these instructions. Use prep(8) to establish a partition table that looks something
like this:
plan9 partitions
partboot 0 64
boot 64 2112
Run these commands to put the necessary files on the disk:
bind -a '#w' /dev
cp /sys/src/boot/magnum/partboot /dev/sd0partboot
cp /mips/9magnum /dev/sd0boot
The kernel, here /mips/9magnum, may be any Magnum kernel. The rc(1) script magnum/home (see home(8)) automates this whole procedure for
stand-alone home Magnums.
Once the disk is established, type to the Magnum boot ROM
dksd(0,0)b
to load the Plan 9 bootstrap program or use the ROM command setenv to set the variable bootfile to that same string and type boot. The
bootstrap program will then prompt for the partition to boot from. If nothing is typed within 15 seconds, a kernel will be booted from the
hard disk partition /dev/sd0boot. Any arguments after dksd(0,0)b are passed to boot(8).
By /mips/9magnumboot installing as the kernel on disk, it is possible to bootstrap another kernel using networks or devices unknown to the
regular ROM. In other words, use partboot to load a more sophisticated bootstrapping kernel, and boot again using that. For example, typ-
ing
dksd(0,0)b il /mips/9magnum
to such a system will bootstrap over the Ethernet using IL.
Once running, the operating system asks the same questions as on the Nextstation.
PCs
To boot a PC, it is necessary to get b loaded into memory (see b.com(8)). There are two ways to do this. A Plan 9 boot floppy prepared by
format (see prep(8)) will start b when the PC is reset or powered on. Without such a floppy, boot DOS normally and type b to the DOS
prompt.
From DOS, it is possible to give b an argument to specify the booting method. Otherwise, b will prompt for the method.
To boot the file /386/9pc from Ethernet using BOOTP and tftpd, use the method e!0 or to DOS type
b e!0
The DOS file plan9.ini (see plan9.ini(8)) must specify an Ethernet interface card for this to work.
To boot from the Plan 9 IDE hard disk partition hd0boot, type
b h!0!boot
To boot from a DOS filesystem the kernel 9pc, type
b hd!0!9pc
To boot from a DOS filesystem on a floppy, type
b fd!0!9pc
The boot program b will also read the file plan9.ini from the DOS file system on any floppy or hard disk and pass it to the kernel.
Plan9.ini specifies PC configuration information. See b.com(8) and plan9.ini(8) for details.
Once the kernel is booted, it behaves like the others. See boot(8) for details.
CPU Servers
The Plan 9 CPU servers are multi-user, so they do not request a user name when booting. On the CPU servers, typing a control-P on the con-
sole reboots the machine.
SGI Power Series CPU Server
Enter the ROM monitor by typing an ESC at the system startup menu, then select option 5. The monitor will print a >> prompt. Then type
bootp()/mips/9powerboot to load the Plan 9 bootstrap program. The bootstrap program takes two optional arguments, which may be typed on
the same command line: the method with which to attach to a file server (as in boot(8)) and a kernel file to boot. The default method is
cyc and the default kernel file is /mips/9power.
The bootstrap program reads a configuration description from a file identified by the IP address of the machine, e.g.
/mips/conf/123.101.89.77. 9powerboot then loads the kernel and passes it the configuration information.
Sun Sparcstation CPU Server
Proceed as for the Sparcstation running as a terminal but load /sparc/9sscpu on Sparcstation 2's and /sparc/9ss10cpu on Sparcstation 10's.
Mips Magnum CPU Server
Booting is the same as for the Magnum running as a terminal but the file to load is /mips/9magnumcpu.
File servers
The CPU servers and terminals run essentially the same program, but the Plan 9 file servers run a distinct system. The file servers accept
only the commands described in fs(8) on their consoles.
SGI Power Series File Server
Get to the >> prompt as described for the CPU servers. Then boot the system over the Ethernet like a Magnum (sic), loading /mips/9powerfs.
The system will come up automatically. On machines with WORM jukeboxes, several minutes will be spent initializing the jukebox; the
machine will chat happily while this is going on. The first time the system is booted, it will be necessary to establish the NVRAM and
configuration information; see fsconfig(8).
Mips 6280 File Server
In response to the ROM's >>> prompt, type
bootp(,egl)servername:96280fs
Sparc Sparcstation File Server
Proceed as for the Sparcstation running as a terminal, but load /sparc/9ssfs. There is support for the Sparcstation 2 only.
Mips Magnum File Server
Proceed as for the Magnum running as a terminal, but load /mips/9magnumfs.
SEE ALSO
b.com(8), boot(8), fs(8), init(8), plan9.ini(8)
SOURCE
Sources for the various boot programs are under /sys/src/boot, except that /mips/9powerboot is a version of the SGI kernel made in
/sys/src/9/power.
BUGS
The file server should be able to boot from its own disk.
BOOTING(8)