3Com e-PC c10/s10 User manual

2.1 Edition

3Com Corporation n
nn
n 5400 Bayfront Plaza n
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n Santa Clara, California n
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n 95052-8145
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April, 1999

C
CO ON NT TE EN NT TS S
CONTENTS ..............................................................................iii
About This Guide..................................................................... vii
What's New in this Release ...................................................... viii
C
Ch ha ap pt te er r 1 1: : I In nt tr ro od du uc ct ti io on n. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .1 1
Manageable Cs ....................................................................... 1
3Com Managed C Solutions—Key Capabilities ............................. 1
Managed C Boot Agent (MBA)................................................... 2
Features.................................................................................. 3
Boot Image Editor .................................................................... 4
Documentation Overview:...................................................... 4
C
Ch ha ap pt te er r 2 2: : I In ns st ta al ll li in ng g M MB BA A. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .5 5
C Requirements...................................................................... 5
Quick Start .............................................................................. 5
MBA ROM Installation................................................................ 6
Types of MBA Installation ...................................................... 6
ROM Installation ................................................................... 6
Boot Image Editor Installation.................................................... 9
C
Ch ha ap pt te er r 3 3: : C Co on nf fi ig gu ur ri in ng g M MB BA A. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .1 11 1
rogramming Your MBA ROM Using MBAFLASH ...........................11
MBA Base Code and UNDI Components ......................................12
Setting the Boot Order on Cs with BBS BIOS .............................13
Configuring MBA's Options........................................................14
Configuration Tables ............................................................15
Changing the Options...........................................................24
Using the MBA-Based Configuration .......................................24
Using the MBACFG Utility ......................................................25
Changing Configuration Options Using a Configuration File ........26
Changing Configuration Options from the
MBACFG Command Line .......................................................28
Updating your MBA ROM ..........................................................28
Updating to a Newer MBA Version ..........................................28
Restoring a reviously Backed-up Version ...............................29
C
Ch ha ap pt te er r 4 4: : U Us si in ng g M MB BA A B Ba as se e C Co od de e. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .3 33 3
Boot Failure ............................................................................34
Displaying Verbose Status Information (v or Ctrl+Alt) ..................34
Displaying MBA Information (Shift+Shift) ...................................34

Troubleshooting ......................................................................35
Compatibility roblems with Option ROMs for
Hard Disk or SCSI Controllers................................................35
Using ROMSCAN for Troubleshooting and Diagnostics ...............35
C
Ch ha ap pt te er r 5 5: : U Us si in ng g P Pr re e O OS S. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .3 37 7
Introduction ...........................................................................37
re-OS Framework ..................................................................38
C re-OS Bootup Sequence .................................................39
Creating re-OS Boot Images ...................................................39
Defining Boot Image Content ................................................40
Creating TC /I or XE re-OS Boot Images ...........................41
Creating NetWare re-OS Boot Images...................................42
Sample re-OS Frameworks .....................................................42
TC /I or XE re-OS Sample ...............................................42
NetWare re-OS Sample.......................................................44
Technical Information ..............................................................45
C
Ch ha ap pt te er r 6 6: : U Us si in ng g M MB BA A i in n T TC CP P/ /I IP P E En nv vi ir ro on nm me en nt ts s. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .4 47 7
Introduction ...........................................................................47
TC /I -Specific Features.......................................................47
Network Requirements .........................................................47
Quick Setup............................................................................48
Setting Up the Server ..............................................................50
BOOT Service ....................................................................50
DHC Service......................................................................50
TFT Service .......................................................................50
Setting Up the C....................................................................50
Creating a Boot Diskette.......................................................51
Creating a Boot Image File Using Boot Image Editor.................51
Boot Screen ........................................................................52
Other Tools ............................................................................53
FREEMEM: Free RAM Disk Memory .........................................53
B ATCH: Supporting Replaceable arameters ........................53
Application Notes ....................................................................54
Using Memory Managers.......................................................54
Troubleshooting ......................................................................55
Quick Fixes: What to Check First ...........................................55
MBA Messages ....................................................................55
File Transfer Error Messages .................................................55

C
Ch ha ap pt te er r 7 7: : U Us si in ng g M MB BA A i in n a a W Wi ir re ed d f fo or r M Ma an na ag ge em me en nt t
E
En nv vi ir ro on nm me en nt t U Us si in ng g P PX XE E. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .5 57 7
Introduction ...........................................................................57
Quick Setup............................................................................59
Boot Screen ........................................................................59
Creating a XE Boot Image File Using Boot Image Editor ..........60
C
Ch ha ap pt te er r 8 8: : U Us si in ng g M MB BA A i in n N Ne et tW Wa ar re e E En nv vi ir ro on nm me en nt ts s. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .6 61 1
Introduction ...........................................................................61
Network Requirements .........................................................61
Quick Setup............................................................................62
Boot Screen ........................................................................64
Creating a Boot Image File Using Boot Image Editor ....................64
Boot Using MBA...................................................................67
Supporting Different Cs with One Boot Image............................67
Creating Additional Boot Image Files..........................................68
Creating and Editing the BOOTCONF.SYS Boot Index File ..........68
Avoiding AUTOEXEC.BAT Conflicts in SYS:LOGIN .....................70
Using Boot Image Editor to Create Additional
Boot Image Files .................................................................70
Selecting Different Images at Boot Time.....................................70
Multiple Servers: How the MSD NLM Can Help .............................71
Installing MSD.....................................................................72
MSD Command Line Options.....................................................72
NODEFAULT Mode................................................................73
MSD Console Display............................................................73
MSD C Messages................................................................73
Other Tools ............................................................................74
CHKID: Conditional Execution Based on Node Address..............74
Boot Image Editor: Edit and View Boot Image Files ..................75
ROMTY E: Conditional Execution Based on MBA Type ...............75
Application Notes ....................................................................76
Using Novell's Client 32 for DOS/Windows with MBA.................76
Formatting Diskettes Using Windows ......................................76
Transferring From the Boot Image to SYS:LOGIN.....................76
Troubleshooting ......................................................................77
Quick Fixes: What to Check First............................................77
MBA Messages ....................................................................77
Batch File Missing Messages and How to Avoid Them................79

C
Ch ha ap pt te er r 9 9: : U Us si in ng g M MB BA A i in n
R
Re em mo ot te e P Pr ro og gr ra am m L Lo oa ad d E En nv vi ir ro on nm me en nt ts s. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .8 81 1
Introduction ...........................................................................81
R L-Specific Features...........................................................81
Quick Setup............................................................................82
Setting Up the NT Server..........................................................82
Boot Screen ........................................................................83
Application Notes ....................................................................84
Creating and Editing BootBlock and Configurations for NICs ......84
Troubleshooting ......................................................................85
A
Ap pp pe en nd di ix x A A: : T Te ec ch hn ni ic ca al l S Su up pp po or rt t. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .8 87 7
Online Technical Services .........................................................87
3Com World Wide Web Site ..................................................87
3Com FT Site ....................................................................87
3Com Bulletin Board Service .................................................88
3ComFacts Automated Fax Service ........................................88
Support from Your Network Supplier ......................................89
Support from 3Com .............................................................89
Returning roducts for Repair................................................93
3
3C Co om m C Co or rp po or ra at ti io on n L LI IM MI IT TE ED D W WA AR RR RA AN NT TY Y. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .9 97 7
G
Gl lo os ss sa ar ry y . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .1 10 01 1

A
Ab bo ou ut t T Th hi is s G Gu ui id de e
The information in this guide is presented as follows:
Chapter 1 An overview of MBA
Chapter 2 How to install MBA
Chapter 3 How to configure MBA for your requirements
Chapter 4 rocedures involved when you bootstrap with MBA
Chapter 5 An introduction to re-OS technology and its applications
Chapter 6 Using MBA in TC /I environments
Chapter 7 Using MBA in a Wired for Management environment using XE
Chapter 8 Using MBA on a Novell NetWare LAN
Chapter 9 Using MBA on R L LANs, including Microsoft Windows NT, Microsoft LAN
Manager, IBM LAN Server, IBM Warp Server, Digital athworks, and Artisoft
LANtastic
Appendix A Technical support
Glossary- A list of preboot technology terms
At the beginning of most chapters, you can find a Quick Setup list of instructions to assist
experienced MBA users. Detailed instructions follow for less experienced users. Application
Notes and Troubleshooting information are presented near the end of each chapter.

W
Wh ha at t' 's s N Ne ew w i in n t th hi is s R Re el le ea as se e
Since the previous release of this guide, MBA has been upgraded as shown in this section.
The guide has been upgraded to explain the features made available by the following
changes:
WfM 2.0 / PXE 2.0 support
The main enhancement to MBA 4.x is the addition of support for the new Wired for
Management (WfM) Baseline 2.0 specification which was jointly developed by industry
leaders including 3Com. XE 2.0 adds the following:
Boot image security using Boot Integrity Services (BIS) when provided by the C BIOS
If your C's BIOS has implemented BIS as specified in the WfM 2.0 specification, then
the XE functionality included in MBA will be compatible with it and use it if you have a
BIS-enabled environment. Refer to the WfM 2.0 specification for more information on
BIS.
The ability to separate the NIC-specific UNDI from the protocol-generic base code so
the UNDI can be used with other base codes available in the C
MBA 4.x is comprised of two components—the MBA base code and the Universal
Network Device Interface (UNDI). The base code handles all the core functionality of
MBA such as protocol handling, network boot failure handling, etc. The UNDI handles
the interface with the specific NIC.
If your MBA is integrated into your C's BIOS, then it may have been integrated using
the new “split ROM” format. This means that the MBA base code is available in the
BIOS and is separate from the UNDI. This allows another UNDI (e.g. existing on
another NIC) to use the MBA base code from the BIOS and take advantage of MBA's
functionality. Refer to Table 5: Startup Options for more information.
C Card support
MBA functionality is now available on C Card NICs.
PXE is now the default boot method
With the popularity of the Wired for Management (WfM) initiative and the acceptance of the
XE specification, the default boot method has been changed to XE. You can still change
this to another boot method if XE is not suitable for your environment.
New easy to use Windows based Boot Image Editor
Boot Image Editor is a Windows-based utility that enables network administrators to create
and manipulate TC /I , NetWare, and XE boot images. The boot image files and menu boot
files created with the Boot Image Editor allow network client Cs to boot from servers
instead of local drives or to perform re-OS tasks before booting from the client C’s hard
disk. Boot Image Editor combines and enhances the IMAGEGEN, IMGGEN, MA GEN, and
Multiple Image File Editor (MULTI_ED) DOS utilities previously available from Lanworks
Technologies Co.