Re: get gPXE to retry connections

Miller, Shao wrote:
> Good day Matthew,
> 
>  
> 
> You asked about getting gPXE clients to retry startup actions until such 
> time as they can boot successfully.  You did mention that resetting the 
> computers was not really an option.  Why is that?  For example, suppose 
> gPXE rebooted upon failure of any kind.  Would that support your 
> requirements?
> 
>  
> 
> - Shao Miller
> 
Dear Shao,

Thank you for your suggestion.

My setup is to boot a large amount of clients (ranging from hundreds to 
thousands of nodes). These clients will have no keyboard or monitor 
attached, and in the situation we have now, it will halt whenever it can 
not get any DHCP or HTTP response. This means resetting them by hand or 
APC / IPMI. This will make them go through the BIOS POST again, losing a 
bit of time (depending on the type of machine).

I rather have it simply loop in DHCP or loop HTTP, so they can resume 
booting whenever the server or servers are available again. An 
alternative is of course a reset, given on any failure. As long as it is 
consistent (no need for a manual intervention), it would be OK.

Regards,

Matthew

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