RoboInst 1.1 Silicon Graphics

RoboInst 1.1 - New Features and Bug Fixes
[Overview]
[Getting Started]
[Examples]
[Mrconfig Syntax]
[RoboInst 1.1]
[Other Documentation]
[Future]
 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:

Installing RoboInst 1.1

RoboInst 1.1 is included in the IRIX 6.5.2m and IRIX 6.5.2f releases, on the Installation Tools and Overlays CD. With the CD inserted in the drive, use Software Manager or this inst command: 
	inst -f /CDROM/dist/roboinst
Note 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/*

New Features in RoboInst 1.1

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):

  • 3289 XFS rollup #14 for IRIX 6.2
  • 3290 XFS rollup #7 for IRIX 6.3
  • 3291 XFS rollup #11 for IRIX 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:

  • dist.engr:/released/6.2/patches/all/patch3289/dist
  • dist.engr:/released/6.3/patches/all/patch3290/dist/
  • dist.engr:/released/6.4/patches/all/patch3291/dist/

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.)

Bug Fixes in RoboInst 1.1

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
Please send us your comments, questions and bugs so we can improve the product.
Silicon Graphics / $Date: 1998/03/14 01:24:30 $
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