Netboot Alpine Linux using iPXE - Revision history

John3-16: 1. Added categories: Networking, System Administration, Installation; 2. Amended style, grammar

2025-12-20T06:06:34Z

1. Added categories: Networking, System Administration, Installation; 2. Amended style, grammar

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:06, 20 December 2025
Line 41:		Line 41:
	=== Using Libvirt ===		=== Using Libvirt ===
	* Copy the {{Path\|boot.ipxe}} script to your webserver at {{Path\|/var/www/ipxe-boot.example.com/boot.ipxe}} (substituting for your actual directory, of course).		* Copy the {{Path\|boot.ipxe}} script to your webserver at {{Path\|/var/www/ipxe-boot.example.com/boot.ipxe}} (substituting for your actual directory, of course).
	* Create a new NAT network with XML such:		* Create a new NAT network with XML such as the following:
	<pre><network>		<pre><network>
	<name>ipxeboot</name>		<name>ipxeboot</name>
Line 65:		Line 65:

	=== On Vultr.com ===		=== On Vultr.com ===
	~~<em>NOTE</em>:~~ Other cloud providers have similar features, but ~~I haven't used them.~~		Other cloud providers have similar features, but these have not been tested for this wiki: for example, [https://www.vultr.com/docs/ipxe-boot-feature/ iPXE Boot Feature - Vultr.com].
	[https://www.vultr.com/docs/ipxe-boot-feature/ iPXE Boot Feature - Vultr.com]

	== See ~~Also~~ ==		== See also ==
	* [https://boot.alpinelinux.org/ Alpine ~~linux~~ netboot server]		* [https://boot.alpinelinux.org/ Alpine Linux netboot server]
	* [https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Netboot Netboot - Archwiki]		* [https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Netboot Netboot - Archwiki]

			[[Category:Networking]]
			[[Category:System Administration]]
			[[Category:Installation]]

Sertonix: nowiki hypothetical link

2023-08-25T21:53:40Z

nowiki hypothetical link

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:53, 25 August 2023
Line 1:		Line 1:
	== Copy the files needed by iPXE to a web server ==		== Copy the files needed by iPXE to a web server ==

	* For this guide we will provide the files at http://ipxe-boot.example.com/ from the directory <code>/var/www/ixpe-boot.example.com/</code> on the web server, which is writable by your non-root admin user. We also assume the web server follows symlinks within <code>/var/www/ipxe-boot.example.com</code> (but not outside that directory tree).		* For this guide we will provide the files at <nowiki>http://ipxe-boot.example.com/</nowiki> from the directory <code>/var/www/ixpe-boot.example.com/</code> on the web server, which is writable by your non-root admin user. We also assume the web server follows symlinks within <code>/var/www/ipxe-boot.example.com</code> (but not outside that directory tree).
	* Copy the netboot tarball (for example the [https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.16/releases/x86_64/alpine-netboot-3.16.0-x86_64.tar.gz 3.16.0 stable release of Alpine's netboot image for x86_64]) to your non-root admin user on your web server.		* Copy the netboot tarball (for example the [https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.16/releases/x86_64/alpine-netboot-3.16.0-x86_64.tar.gz 3.16.0 stable release of Alpine's netboot image for x86_64]) to your non-root admin user on your web server.
	* Extract the netboot tarball to your webserver directory. For example:		* Extract the netboot tarball to your webserver directory. For example:

Sertonix: add archwiki link

2023-08-25T18:25:41Z

add archwiki link

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:25, 25 August 2023
Line 70:		Line 70:
	== See Also ==		== See Also ==
	* [https://boot.alpinelinux.org/ Alpine linux netboot server]		* [https://boot.alpinelinux.org/ Alpine linux netboot server]
			* [https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Netboot Netboot - Archwiki]

Sertonix: use mediawiki syntax instead of html

2023-08-25T18:25:06Z

use mediawiki syntax instead of html

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:25, 25 August 2023
Line 1:		Line 1:
	~~<h2>~~Copy the files needed by iPXE to a web server~~</h2>~~		== Copy the files needed by iPXE to a web server ==
	~~<ul>~~
	<li><p>For this guide we will provide the files at http://ipxe-boot.example.com/ from the directory <code>/var/www/ixpe-boot.example.com/</code> on the web server, which is writable by your non-root admin user. We also assume the web server follows symlinks within <code>/var/www/ipxe-boot.example.com</code> (but not outside that directory tree).</p>
	~~</li>~~
	<li><p>Copy the netboot tarball (for example the [https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.16/releases/x86_64/alpine-netboot-3.16.0-x86_64.tar.gz 3.16.0 stable release of Alpine's netboot image for x86_64]) to your non-root admin user on your web server.</p>
	~~</li>~~
	~~<li><p>Extract the netboot tarball to your webserver directory. For example:</p>~~

	<~~pre~~>tar -C /var/www/ipxe-boot.example.com -xzf alpine-netboot-3.16.0-x86_64.tar.gz~~</pre>~~		* For this guide we will provide the files at http://ipxe-boot.example.com/ from the directory <code>/var/www/ixpe-boot.example.com/</code> on the web server, which is writable by your non-root admin user. We also assume the web server follows symlinks within <code>/var/www/ipxe-boot.example.com</code> (but not outside that directory tree).
			* Copy the netboot tarball (for example the [https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.16/releases/x86_64/alpine-netboot-3.16.0-x86_64.tar.gz 3.16.0 stable release of Alpine's netboot image for x86_64]) to your non-root admin user on your web server.
	~~</li>~~		* Extract the netboot tarball to your webserver directory. For example:
	~~<li><p>~~This will create a directory structure such as:~~</p>~~		{{Cmd\|tar -C /var/www/ipxe-boot.example.com -xzf alpine-netboot-3.16.0-x86_64.tar.gz}}
			* This will create a directory structure such as:

	<pre>boot/		<pre>boot/
Line 26:		Line 21:
	boot/vmlinuz-lts</pre>		boot/vmlinuz-lts</pre>

	~~</li>~~		== Create an iPXE boot script ==
	~~</ul>~~		For example, create a script called {{Path\|boot.ipxe}} with contents:
	~~<h2 class~~=~~"atx" id~~=~~"create-an-ipxe-boot-script">~~Create an iPXE boot script~~</h2>~~
	~~<p>~~For example, create a script called ~~<code>~~boot.ipxe~~</code>~~ with contents:~~</p>~~

	~~<pre>~~#!ipxe		{{Cat\|boot.ipxe\|#!ipxe

	set base-url http://ipxe-boot.example.com		set base-url http://ipxe-boot.example.com

	kernel ${base-url}/boot/vmlinuz-virt console=tty0 modules=loop,squashfs quiet nomodeset alpine_repo=https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.16/main modloop=http://ipxe-boot.example.com/boot/modloop-virt		kernel ${base-url}/boot/vmlinuz-virt console{{=}}tty0 modules{{=}}loop,squashfs quiet nomodeset alpine_repo{{=}}https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.16/main modloop{{=}}http://ipxe-boot.example.com/boot/modloop-virt
	initrd ${base-url}/boot/initramfs-virt		initrd ${base-url}/boot/initramfs-virt
	boot~~</pre>~~		boot
			}}

	~~<h2 class~~=~~"atx" id~~=~~"boot-using-the-ipxe-boot-script">~~Boot using the iPXE boot script~~</h2>~~		== Boot using the iPXE boot script ==
	~~<h3 class~~=~~"atx" id~~=~~"using-qemu-for-testing">~~Using QEMU (for testing)~~</h3>~~		=== Using QEMU (for testing) ===
	~~<p>~~Assuming you have the binary <code>qemu-system-x86_64</code> on your system:~~</p>~~		Assuming you have the binary <code>qemu-system-x86_64</code> on your system:

	<~~pre~~>qemu-system-x86_64 -boot n -m 512M -enable-kvm -device virtio-net,netdev=n1 -netdev user,id=n1,tftp=$(pwd),bootfile=/boot.ipxe</~~pre~~>		{{Cmd\|<nowiki>qemu-system-x86_64 -boot n -m 512M -enable-kvm -device virtio-net,netdev=n1 -netdev user,id=n1,tftp=$(pwd),bootfile=/boot.ipxe</nowiki>}}

	~~<h3 class~~=~~"atx" id~~=~~"using-libvirt">~~Using Libvirt~~</h3>~~		=== Using Libvirt ===
	~~<ul>~~		* Copy the {{Path\|boot.ipxe}} script to your webserver at {{Path\|/var/www/ipxe-boot.example.com/boot.ipxe}} (substituting for your actual directory, of course).
	~~<li><p>~~Copy the ~~<code>~~boot.ipxe~~</code>~~ script to your webserver at ~~<code>~~/var/www/ipxe-boot.example.com/boot.ipxe~~</code>~~ (substituting for your actual directory, of course).~~</p>~~		* Create a new NAT network with XML such:
	~~</li>~~
	~~<li><p>~~Create a new NAT network with XML such:~~</p>~~
	<pre><network>		<pre><network>
	<name>ipxeboot</name>		<name>ipxeboot</name>
Line 68:		Line 60:
	</network></pre>		</network></pre>

	~~</li>~~		* Use <code>virt-install</code> such as:
	~~<li><p>~~Use <code>virt-install</code> such as:</p>
			{{Cmd\|<nowiki>virt-install -n vm-name --memory 512 --vcpus 1 --pxe --disk size=5,bus=virtio --network network=ipxeboot,model=virtio --input tablet --video virtio --os-variant id=http://alpinelinux.org/alpinelinux/3.13</nowiki>}}

	~~<pre>virt-install -n vm-name --memory 512 --vcpus 1 --pxe --disk size~~=~~5,bus~~=~~virtio --network network~~=~~ipxeboot,model~~=~~virtio --input tablet --video virtio --os-variant id~~=~~http~~://~~alpinelinux~~.~~org~~/~~alpinelinux~~/3.~~13</pre>~~		=== On Vultr.com ===
			<em>NOTE</em>: Other cloud providers have similar features, but I haven't used them.
			[https://www.vultr.com/docs/ipxe-boot-feature/ iPXE Boot Feature - Vultr.com]

	~~</li>~~		== See Also ==
	~~</ul>~~		* [https://boot.alpinelinux.org/ Alpine linux netboot server]
	~~<h3 class~~=~~"atx" id~~=~~"on-vultrcom">On Vultr.com</h3>~~
	~~<p><em>NOTE</em>: Other cloud providers have similar features, but I haven't used them.</p>~~
	~~<p>[https://www.vultr.com/docs/ipxe-boot-feature/ iPXE Boot Feature - Vultr.com]</p>~~
	~~<h2 class~~=~~"atx" id~~=~~"see-also">See Also</h2>~~
	~~<p>~~[https://boot.alpinelinux.org/ Alpine linux netboot server]~~</p>~~

Danielfdickinson: Fix typo in ipxeboot network name

2022-07-10T05:28:14Z

Fix typo in ipxeboot network name

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:28, 10 July 2022
Line 71:		Line 71:
	<li><p>Use <code>virt-install</code> such as:</p>		<li><p>Use <code>virt-install</code> such as:</p>

	<pre>virt-install -n vm-name --memory 512 --vcpus 1 --pxe --disk size=5,bus=virtio --network network=~~ipxeeboot~~,model=virtio --input tablet --video virtio --os-variant id=http://alpinelinux.org/alpinelinux/3.13</pre>		<pre>virt-install -n vm-name --memory 512 --vcpus 1 --pxe --disk size=5,bus=virtio --network network=ipxeboot,model=virtio --input tablet --video virtio --os-variant id=http://alpinelinux.org/alpinelinux/3.13</pre>

	</li>		</li>

Danielfdickinson: Add topic "Netboot Alpine Linux using iPXE"

2022-07-10T05:26:38Z

Add topic "Netboot Alpine Linux using iPXE"

New page

<h2>Copy the files needed by iPXE to a web server</h2>
<ul>
<li><p>For this guide we will provide the files at http://ipxe-boot.example.com/ from the directory <code>/var/www/ixpe-boot.example.com/</code> on the web server, which is writable by your non-root admin user. We also assume the web server follows symlinks within <code>/var/www/ipxe-boot.example.com</code> (but not outside that directory tree).</p>
</li>
<li><p>Copy the netboot tarball (for example the [https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.16/releases/x86_64/alpine-netboot-3.16.0-x86_64.tar.gz 3.16.0 stable release of Alpine's netboot image for x86_64]) to your non-root admin user on your web server.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Extract the netboot tarball to your webserver directory. For example:</p>

<pre>tar -C /var/www/ipxe-boot.example.com -xzf alpine-netboot-3.16.0-x86_64.tar.gz</pre>

</li>
<li><p>This will create a directory structure such as:</p>

<pre>boot/
boot/initramfs-lts
boot/config-virt
boot/dtbs-virt/
boot/System.map-lts
boot/vmlinuz-virt
boot/System.map-virt
boot/config-lts
boot/initramfs-virt
boot/modloop-lts
boot/modloop-virt
boot/dtbs-lts/
boot/vmlinuz-lts</pre>

</li>
</ul>
<h2 class="atx" id="create-an-ipxe-boot-script">Create an iPXE boot script</h2>
<p>For example, create a script called <code>boot.ipxe</code> with contents:</p>

<pre>#!ipxe

set base-url http://ipxe-boot.example.com

kernel ${base-url}/boot/vmlinuz-virt console=tty0 modules=loop,squashfs quiet nomodeset alpine_repo=https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.16/main modloop=http://ipxe-boot.example.com/boot/modloop-virt
initrd ${base-url}/boot/initramfs-virt
boot</pre>

<h2 class="atx" id="boot-using-the-ipxe-boot-script">Boot using the iPXE boot script</h2>
<h3 class="atx" id="using-qemu-for-testing">Using QEMU (for testing)</h3>
<p>Assuming you have the binary <code>qemu-system-x86_64</code> on your system:</p>

<pre>qemu-system-x86_64 -boot n -m 512M -enable-kvm -device virtio-net,netdev=n1 -netdev user,id=n1,tftp=$(pwd),bootfile=/boot.ipxe</pre>

<h3 class="atx" id="using-libvirt">Using Libvirt</h3>
<ul>
<li><p>Copy the <code>boot.ipxe</code> script to your webserver at <code>/var/www/ipxe-boot.example.com/boot.ipxe</code> (substituting for your actual directory, of course).</p>
</li>
<li><p>Create a new NAT network with XML such:</p>
<pre><network>
<name>ipxeboot</name>
<forward mode="nat">
<nat>
<port start="1024" end="65535"/>
</nat>
</forward>
<bridge name="virbr1" stp="on" delay="0"/>
<mac address="52:54:00:a4:10:b3"/>
<domain name="ipxeboot"/>
<ip address="192.168.129.1" netmask="255.255.255.0">
<dhcp>
<range start="192.168.129.128" end="192.168.129.254"/>
<bootp file="http://ipxe-boot.example.com/boot.ipxe"/>
</dhcp>
</ip>
</network></pre>

</li>
<li><p>Use <code>virt-install</code> such as:</p>

<pre>virt-install -n vm-name --memory 512 --vcpus 1 --pxe --disk size=5,bus=virtio --network network=ipxeeboot,model=virtio --input tablet --video virtio --os-variant id=http://alpinelinux.org/alpinelinux/3.13</pre>

</li>
</ul>
<h3 class="atx" id="on-vultrcom">On Vultr.com</h3>
<p><em>NOTE</em>: Other cloud providers have similar features, but I haven't used them.</p>
<p>[https://www.vultr.com/docs/ipxe-boot-feature/ iPXE Boot Feature - Vultr.com]</p>
<h2 class="atx" id="see-also">See Also</h2>
<p>[https://boot.alpinelinux.org/ Alpine linux netboot server]</p>