According to Glauber, there are some issues that need to be solved on the KVM and bios code to make gPXE work in KVM guests. This bug is to track those issues. I wil let Glauber explain where are the bugs and what are the fixes needed.
The current state of gpxe is as following: * gpxe roms can be loaded with the -option-rom qemu command. However, they won't work due to a kernel bug affecting emulation of real mode instructions. * to make it work, we would have to apply a kernel patch. This patch is upstream for some months now. * ROMs too big (around ~60 k) can't be used, unless we patch qemu and the bios (both patches exist) Using gpxe with qemu is not as well tested as etherboot. So, I'm totally against replacing etherboot with gpxe. However, giving people the option of loading a ROM if they need to, via the -option-rom switch, seems like a good idea. For that, we'd have to include the kernel patch in our kvm module.
In kvm-83-90.el5 tested : A : with option-rom Notes :the roms are download from http://glommer.fedorapeople.org/gpxe/ 1. /usr/libexec/qemu-kvm -drive file=/data/images/GPXE.qcow2 -net nic,macaddr=00:21:9B:50:5F:D0,model=rtl8139 -net tap,script=/etc/qemu-ifup -monitor stdio -vnc :12 -boot c -option-rom /data/images/gpxe_glommer/pxe-rtl8139.bin => PASS 2. /usr/libexec/qemu-kvm -drive file=/data/images/GPXE.qcow2 -net nic,macaddr=00:21:9B:50:5F:D0,model=e1000 -net tap,script=/etc/qemu-ifup -monitor stdio -vnc :12 -boot c -option-rom /data/images/gpxe_glommer/pxe-e1000.bin => Too many option ROMS 3. /usr/libexec/qemu-kvm -drive file=/data/images/GPXE.qcow2 -net nic,macaddr=00:21:9B:50:5F:D0,model=virtio -net tap,script=/etc/qemu-ifup -monitor stdio -vnc :12 -boot c -option-rom /data/images/gpxe_glommer/pxe-virtio.bin ==> PASS 4. /usr/libexec/qemu-kvm -drive file=/data/images/GPXE.qcow2 -net nic,macaddr=00:21:9B:50:5F:D0,model=ne2k_pci -net tap,script=/etc/qemu-ifup -monitor stdio -vnc :12 -boot c -option-rom /data/images/gpxe_glommer/pxe-ne2k_pci.bin ==>PASS 5. /usr/libexec/qemu-kvm -drive file=/data/images/GPXE.qcow2 -net nic,macaddr=00:21:9B:50:5F:D0,model=pcnet -net tap,script=/etc/qemu-ifup -monitor stdio -vnc :12 -boot c -option-rom /data/images/gpxe_glommer/pxe-pcnet.bin ==> PASS B: boot from cdrom Notes :the ISO is download from http://www.etherboot.org/wiki/removable 1. /usr/libexec/qemu-kvm -drive file=/data/images/GPXE.qcow2 -net nic,macaddr=00:21:9B:50:5F:D0,model=pcnet -net tap,script=/etc/qemu-ifup -monitor stdio -vnc :12 -boot d -drive file=/data/images/isos/gpxe.iso,media=cdrom,index=2 => PASS 2. /usr/libexec/qemu-kvm -drive file=/data/images/GPXE.qcow2 -net nic,macaddr=00:21:9B:50:5F:D0,model=ne2k_pci -net tap,script=/etc/qemu-ifup -monitor stdio -vnc :12 -boot d -drive file=/data/images/isos/gpxe.iso,media=cdrom,index=2 =>PASS 3. /usr/libexec/qemu-kvm -drive file=/data/images/GPXE.qcow2 -net nic,macaddr=00:21:9B:50:5F:D0,model=rtl8139 -net tap,script=/etc/qemu-ifup -monitor stdio -vnc :12 -boot d -drive file=/data/images/isos/gpxe.iso,media=cdrom,index=2 =>PASS 4. /usr/libexec/qemu-kvm -drive file=/data/images/GPXE.qcow2 -net nic,macaddr=00:21:9B:50:5F:D0,model=e1000 -net tap,script=/etc/qemu-ifup -monitor stdio -vnc :12 -boot d -drive file=/data/images/isos/gpxe.iso,media=cdrom,index=2 => PASS 5. /usr/libexec/qemu-kvm -drive file=/data/images/GPXE.qcow2 -net nic,macaddr=00:21:9B:50:5F:D0,model=virtio -net tap,script=/etc/qemu-ifup -monitor stdio -vnc :12 -boot d -drive file=/data/images/isos/gpxe.iso,media=cdrom,index=2 => PASS setting to *VERIFIED*
(In reply to comment #13) I've already told this to lihuang, but just to be clear: > 2. /usr/libexec/qemu-kvm -drive file=/data/images/GPXE.qcow2 -net > nic,macaddr=00:21:9B:50:5F:D0,model=e1000 -net tap,script=/etc/qemu-ifup > -monitor stdio -vnc :12 -boot c -option-rom > /data/images/gpxe_glommer/pxe-e1000.bin > => Too many option ROMS This is expected.
Release note added. If any revisions are required, please set the "requires_release_notes" flag to "?" and edit the "Release Notes" field accordingly. All revisions will be proofread by the Engineering Content Services team. New Contents: RHEL5.x virtualization relies on etherboot for remote booting. Etherboot is an implementation of the pxe standard, but lacks some features that are present in the new gpxe boot technology. It is possible to use the gpxe roms with etherboot. As an example, gpxe roms can be used with Etherboot to interpret requests generated by Microsoft RIS or WDS. All components present in RHEL5.4 are capable of booting gpxe roms. The roms can be obtained directly from http://rom-o-matic.net/, or other sources like the Fedora Project.
Release note updated. If any revisions are required, please set the "requires_release_notes" flag to "?" and edit the "Release Notes" field accordingly. All revisions will be proofread by the Engineering Content Services team. Diffed Contents: @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@ RHEL5.x virtualization relies on etherboot for remote booting. Etherboot is an implementation of the pxe standard, but lacks some features that are present in the new gpxe boot technology. -It is possible to use the gpxe roms with etherboot. As an example, gpxe roms can be used with Etherboot to interpret requests generated by Microsoft RIS or WDS. +It is possible to use the gpxe roms with RHEL 5.4. As an example, gpxe roms can be used to interpret requests generated by Microsoft RIS or WDS. All components present in RHEL5.4 are capable of booting gpxe roms. The roms can be obtained directly from http://rom-o-matic.net/, or other sources like
Release note updated. If any revisions are required, please set the "requires_release_notes" flag to "?" and edit the "Release Notes" field accordingly. All revisions will be proofread by the Engineering Content Services team. Diffed Contents: @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ -RHEL5.x virtualization relies on etherboot for remote booting. Etherboot is an implementation of the pxe standard, but lacks some features that are present in the new gpxe boot technology. +RHEL5.x virtualization relies on etherboot for remote booting. Etherboot is an implementation of the pxe standard, but lacks some features that are present in the new gpxe boot technology which is not shipped with RHEL. It is possible to use the gpxe roms with RHEL 5.4. As an example, gpxe roms can be used to interpret requests generated by Microsoft RIS or WDS.
An advisory has been issued which should help the problem described in this bug report. This report is therefore being closed with a resolution of ERRATA. For more information on therefore solution and/or where to find the updated files, please follow the link below. You may reopen this bug report if the solution does not work for you. http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHEA-2009-1272.html