RE: Chain-booting PXE bootloaders

[Turner, Ian]

> Solaris is loaded with multiboot
> > Other random proprietary software:
> > http://syslinux.zytor.com/archives/2006-April/006811.html

Solaris cannot be PXE loaded with standard multiboot, because they have a 
proprietary way to pass DHCP information into the operating system. Without 
that it won't configure the network to finish the boot process. The relevant 
snippet from the patched Solaris GRUB is here:

    322   case KERNEL_TYPE_MULTIBOOT:
    323       /* Multiboot */
    324 #ifdef SUPPORT_NETBOOT
    325 #ifdef SOLARIS_NETBOOT
    326       if (current_drive == NETWORK_DRIVE) {
    327         /*
    328          *  XXX Solaris hack: use drive_info to pass network information
    329          *  Turn off the flag bit to the loader is technically
    330          *  multiboot compliant.
    331          */
    332         mbi.flags &= ~MB_INFO_DRIVE_INFO;
    333         mbi.drives_length = dhcpack_length;
    334         mbi.drives_addr = dhcpack_buf;
    335       }
    336 #endif /* SOLARIS_NETBOOT */
    337 #endif
    338       multi_boot ((int) entry_addr, (int) &mbi);
    339       break;

In order to PXE boot Solaris 10 using grub2, it either needs the above hack or 
it needs PXE chainloading.

Cheers,

--Ian