![]() |
RoboInst 1.1 - New Features and Bug Fixes |
|||||||
|
RoboInst 1.1 adds new features and bugfixes to the
initial RoboInst 1.0 release, and in addition supports
installation of IRIX 6.2, 6.3 and 6.4 client systems
using the IRIX 6.5.2 miniroot.
Contents:
|
inst -f /CDROM/dist/roboinstNote that you should be using the IRIX 6.5.2 miniroot with RoboInst 1.1. That miniroot is also on the CD:
/CDROM/dist/sa /CDROM/dist/miniroot/*
The elsif keyword
RoboInst 1.1 now has support for an elsif keyword in
the mrconfig file. This keyword is described in more detail
in the mrconfig document.
The systemdisk keyword
RoboInst 1.1 supports a new partition systemdisk syntax
in the mrconfig file that can be used to refer to the
current system disk that the miniroot has been loaded
onto. In previous versions of RoboInst the disk device
had to be written explicitly, for example
partition dks0d1d0 standard root /The complete syntax of the partition statement is described in the mrconfig document.
Mkfs arguments
RoboInst 1.1 supports a new extended syntax in the
partition statement of the mrconfig file that allows
additional arguments to be passed to the mkfs(1M)
command. The mkfs arguments should appear after
the mount-options (if any), and should be preceded by
a semi-colon:
partition system standard root / ; -d unwritten=0 ;For compatibility with future versions of roboinst, the mkfs options should be followed by a semi-colon. The complete syntax of the partition statement is described in the mrconfig document.
DHCP-related changes
RoboInst 1.1 has a new -N command-line option to
specify which protocol to use to obtain network
configuration parameters. This value can be set to
dhcp, bootp1533, or none (to disable use of dhcp). In
RoboInst 1.0, a dhcp request was always issued.
RoboInst 1.1 will no longer attempt to obtain a DHCP IP-address lease by default. This functionality can still be obtained by using the -N option if desired. See the roboinst(1M) man page for details.
Alternate remote login shell
RoboInst 1.1 has a new -s command-line option to
specify which remote shell program to use to execute
commands on the client machine. The default shell is
rsh.
Optional email notification
RoboInst 1.1 has a new -m command-line option to
specify where at-job output should be delivered via
email. Unless this option is specified, roboinst will
now discard all at-job output.
Support for IRIX 6.2, 6.3 and 6.4 installs
RoboInst 1.1 now has limited support for installs of the IRIX 6.2, IRIX 6.3 and IRIX 6.4 clients provided that 1.) specific XFS filesystem rollup patches are installed on the client systems; and 2.) the IRIX 6.5 version of sash is installed in the volume header of the system disk of each client.
The applicable XFS filesystem rollup patches are as follows. Choose the appropriate patch (or successor) for the operating system version you are installing (6.2, 6.3 or 6.4):
The appropriate patches must be installed on the client systems, otherwise the IRIX 6.2/6.3/6.4 kernels will not be able to mount filesystems created by RoboInst. This will normally prevent the system from booting up. Customers can download these patches from the Supportfolio patch download page. Users with access to the internal SGI network can obtain these patches from the following locations:
The IRIX 6.5 sash must also be installed in the volume header. This can be accomplished by installing the roboinst.sw.client subsystem while in the miniroot. Note in particular that other software packages (eoe.sw.base, for example, and certain patches) might also install a sash that does not understand the newer filesystems created by RoboInst, and therefore will prevent the system from booting. To avoid this problem, make sure to install roboinst.sw.client as the final inst operation in the miniroot.
Here are some roboinst examples that show how it's done:
Note that the IRIX 6.5.2 miniroot is used for installations of these older operating systems. For 6.2 installs, do not use the inst open command in your mrconfig file, as it sometimes can cause exitop errors. IRIX 6.2 software distributions were not originally intended to be used with the inst open command. To avoid this problem, install from one CD or network distribution at a time using only the inst from command. Use the inst commands help from and help open for more information.
Finally, remember that most patches are recommended for installation in multi-user mode using Software Manager or inst. Therefore, it is recommended that only the necessary XFS patches described above be installed from the miniroot, and that other patches or patchsets (if any) be installed according to their individual installation instructions (usually from IRIX multi-user mode using Software Manager or inst.)
600197: roboinst -P should check what sash is installed
RoboInst always assumed that the correct
version of sash was installed. This would cause
roboinst to fail to boot the miniroot on alternate disk
installs (with -P) or in some other cases with root-
disk installs. RoboInst will now check for this
condition, and if it would help, will automatically
copy sash from the root disk volume header to the
alternate disk volume header.
PV #600197
603629: roboinst has no else-if keyword
RoboInst 1.0 had no support for the elsif keyword in the mrconfig
file. RoboInst 1.1 now supports the elsif keyword.
PV #603629
603638: roboinst variable processing is inconsistent
Inconsistent variable processing in the
mrconfig file. RoboInst did not allow expansion of
variables in all types of statements in the mrconfig
file. For examples, variables would not be expanded in
the partition statements. RoboInst now allows
variables in all statements in the mrconfig file.
PV #603638
619156: roboinst man page missing -g option
The -g option is not documented in the manual
page. The -g command-line option is used to specify a
grace period before shutting down the machine. This
option was missing from the roboinst(1M) manual page.
PV #619156
630145: roboinst -n changes nvram
RoboInst in dryrun mode (-n) can change nvram.
If the -n option was used with the -P option (alternate
disk install) roboinst would modify the OSLoadPartition
and SystemPartition nvram variables on the client
machines. In RoboInst 1.1, these nvram variables will
not be modified in dryrun mode.
PV #630145
631113: roboinst -f does not install roboinst.sw.client on 5.3 systems
roboinst -f does not install roboinst.sw.client
on 5.3 systems. This prevented roboinst from starting
on some client systems running IRIX 5.3 if the -f
option was used. This problem is fixed in RoboInst 1.1.
PV #631113
634449: roboinst script ConfigMR.pl buggy
The example support script ConfigMR.pl could
in some circumstance close files prematurely, thus not
completing the configuration process. The movedir()
function could partially finish, and return failure.
Both of these problems are fixed in RoboInst 1.1.
PV #634449