httpbootipxe

pxe booting http retrieval failures

I am attempting to pxe chain boot with http download. The problem I am having is the file retrieval always just stops on one of the random files below, at some random % complete. Usually it is the boot.wim, but I assume this is only because it is the largest. It has stopped on a simple font file as well though.

What could be causing this sporadic download behavior?

If I attempt a windows download off the samba share where those files are, the download is 1-2 secs. If I wget it from a nix host its about the same. Only when pxe is attempting to retrieve them does it seem to have an issue. I am fairly new to all this so hopefully I am giving good info. Samba server is running via apache.

I have tried numerous builds of kernel and boot.wim. Frankly, Im at a loss.

<%#
kind: PXELinux
name: Windows PXELinux
oses:
- Windows Server 2012
- Windows Server 2012 R2
- Windows Server 2016
%>

DEFAULT linux
LABEL linux
KERNEL ipxe.lkrn
APPEND dhcp && chain <%= foreman_url('iPXE') %>
IPAPPEND 2

the chain then goes to:

#!ipxe


kernel http://puppet.lab.beer.town:717/sources/Microsoft/Windows/6.3/../boot/wimboot gui
initrd http://puppet.lab.beer.town:717/sources/Microsoft/Windows/6.3/../boot/boot/fonts/segmono_boot.ttf  segmono_boot.ttf
initrd http://puppet.lab.beer.town:717/sources/Microsoft/Windows/6.3/../boot/boot/fonts/segoe_slboot.ttf  segoe_slboot.ttf
initrd http://puppet.lab.beer.town:717/sources/Microsoft/Windows/6.3/../boot/boot/fonts/segoen_slboot.ttf segoen_slboot.ttf
initrd http://puppet.lab.beer.town:717/sources/Microsoft/Windows/6.3/../boot/boot/fonts/wgl4_boot.ttf     wgl4_boot.ttf
initrd http://puppet.lab.beer.town:717/sources/Microsoft/Windows/6.3/../boot/bootmgr              bootmgr.exe
initrd http://puppet.lab.beer.town:717/sources/Microsoft/Windows/6.3/../boot/boot/BCD         BCD
initrd http://puppet.lab.beer.town:717/sources/Microsoft/Windows/6.3/../boot/boot/boot.sdi    boot.sdi
initrd http://puppet.lab.beer.town:717/sources/Microsoft/Windows/6.3/../boot/boot.wim boot.wim

imgstat
boot

Edit 1:
here is a screenshot showing the connection just freezing. all the established @ 0, are the files that worked fine. the one stuck here is the boot wim (this time) connections

Solution

  • Issue here was the ipxe version on the server was like 3 years old. We git cloned it, and remade(make) the ipxe.lkrn. Files download just fine now.