Bootstrap System Configuration Over Network
About
This document aims to provide information on how to configure your device to obtain its configuration over the network.
For an overview of all available boot configuration options refer to the configuration guide:
For a more concrete use-case how to bootstrap the system configuration file over DHCP, see the following page:
Introduction
Allowing the device to obtain its configuration over the network can help with centralizing the distribution of configurations for multiple devices on a larger network. Necessary configuration changes to devices on the network can simply be performed on the server containing the files, when the specific device reboots it will obtain the new configuration.
Another advantageous aspect is that it allows for easier substitution of devices, where a new device can simply obtain the same configuration as the last device that it replaced.
.--------. | | | Server | | | '---+----' | .--.-. ( ( )__ (_, \ ) ,_) Internet/Intranet '-'--`--' | ---------+----------+----------+--------- | | | .-+--. .-+--. .-+--. | H1 | | H2 | | H3 | '----' '----' '----'
Figure 1: The hosts are configured to obtain their configuration files from the server, somewhere on the network.
Configuration
In order to configure the system to attempt obtaining its startup configuration
over the network, the boot config-order
needs to be adjusted:
example:/#> boot example:/boot/#> config-order int:net
The first part of the configured option, int
, dictates that we should mount
the internal media. The second part of the option, net
, states that we should
attempt to obtain the configuration over the network.
Additional settings specific to the net configuration can be controlled in its own sub-context:
example:/boot/#> net example:/boot/net/#>
For more information on these options refer to the boot configuration options page.
Sync
The net sync option allows syncing any configuration file, obtained during the
net boot, to be stored on the mounted medias startup configuration. The specific
media is determined based on how net
was configured in the config-order
:
-
int:net
-> Mounts the internal media and will sync any obtained configuration file to the internal medias startup file. -
ext:net
-> Mounts an external media and will sync any obtained configuration file to the external medias startup file.
The net sync is enabled in the following manner:
example:/boot/#> net example:/boot/net/#> sync example:/boot/net/#> end example:/boot/#>
This allows for configurations where we can use the last obtained configuration
file from the server on the network, if it for some reason would become
unavailable. In order to do this we set the next entry in the config-order
to
match the startup of the media used for the net boot configuration:
example:/boot/#> config-order int:net, int:startup
If the net boot time out, we bootstrap the internal startup file. Because we have enabled sync it will be the last obtained net configuration file.
Note: The
sync
option under thenet
context, is not the be mixed up with theconfig-sync
option. These two are completely different functionalities.
Network Bootstrap Mode
When the device is configured to perform a network bootstrap of a configuration file, it will by default attempt to ask for a configuration file over active link connected to the device. The first file that it receive that it can safely apply to the device will be used.
Further, when the device in network boot mode it is still possible to receive a login prompt to the device, if connected with console cable. This makes it possible to log on to the device even tough the file have not yet been received, this can among other things be useful for debugging.
netboot-12-34-50 login: admin .--.--.--.-----.-----.------.-----.-.--.--------.-----. | | | | -__|__ --|_ _| -__| _| . . | _ | http://www.westermo.com \__/\__/|_____._____| |__| |_____|__| |__|__|__|_____| info@westermo.se Robust Industrial Data Communications -- Made Easy .....................[ NOTICE ]........................ . Network boot in progress, awaiting a valid startup . . configuration to be downloaded and applied . ....................................................... netboot-12-34-50:/#>
When logging into the device when net boot is in progress a Notice will be
displayed informing the user. In addition the hostname can also be used to
identify that the device is in net bootstrap mode. Set to netboot and the MAC
address of the device without the Organizationally Unique Identifier. In the
example above it is netboot-12-34-50
.
Once a valid configuration is obtained or if the net boot times out and the next
config-order
option is applied, that configuration file will be seamlessly
applied to the device.
While the system is in net boot mode, login credentials are the default admin/admin. The password to the device while in network bootstrap mode can also be changed in the following manner:
example:/boot/#> net example:/boot/net/#> password Example