VirtualBox Should permit to specify nextserver/filename in DHCP => Fixed in SVN

[Luiz Angelo Daros de Luca]

I know that using vmname.pxe is simple but I can't use my enterprise boot server (tftp) with NAT computer. If I could define those two fields in DHCP response, I could point them easily to the remote boot server.

[Frank Mehnert]

Have a look at the VBox.log file. You will find a configuration entry which is named BootFile. Use the following command to overwrite the bootfile:

VBoxManage setextradata VM_NAME \
   VBoxInternal/Devices/pcnet/0/LUN#0/Config/BootFile "foo"

Note that you have to change the key if you use an E1000 network adapter.

[Luiz Angelo Daros de Luca]

This enhancement depends on

​http://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/3112

[Luiz Angelo Daros de Luca]

Modification of TFTPPrefix to allow external ip address

[Luiz Angelo Daros de Luca]

I added a patch that changes the behavior of

VBoxInternal/Devices/pcnet/0/LUN#0/Config/TFTPPrefix

If it is a dir, it is used as before. If not, if it is an IP address, it replaces the "nextserver" field (siaddr) in DHCP response to point to an external server.

[vasily Levchenko]

please try with 2.2 beta. next server and boot file is configurable

[pvdputte]

Is this functionality still present in current releases? I can get PXE boot to work in NAT mode (using a TFTP/<vmname>.pxe file at the right location), I can change this BootFile filename by configuring "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcnet/0/LUN#0/Config/BootFile", but pointing at an external "next-server" using the above method with TFTPPrefix does not work.

Am I looking in the wrong places? I'm using 3.1.4 r57640.

[Luiz Angelo Daros de Luca]

I don't think so. I guess this feature is broken, or at least the documentation about it. It seems that they changed the network structure but do not updated docs.

[Luiz Angelo Daros de Luca]

I tried today with 3.1.4. It seems that the config is correct:

00:00:00.701 Devices/pcnet/0/LUN (level 4) 00:00:00.704 Driver <string> = "NAT" (cb=4) 00:00:00.704 00:00:00.704 Devices/pcnet/0/LUN (level 5) 00:00:00.704 BootFile <string> = "/pxelinux.0" (cb=12) 00:00:00.704 NextServer <string> = "150.162.64.204" (cb=15) 00:00:00.704 TFTPPrefix <string> = "/home/luizd/.VirtualBox/TFTP" (cb=29)

But PXE client claims that it got no boot filename and, this way,no TFTP package comes out of my host network interface.

[Frank Mehnert]

Please attach the whole VBox.log file.

[Luiz Angelo Daros de Luca]

Log of a failed pxe boot

[pvdputte]

Another log of a failed pxe boot

[pvdputte]

I notice we use different settings. I thought the NextServer var only configures the IP of the integrated TFTP server, and wasn't meant to point at an external one? At least that's what I conclude if I read "2009-01-23 16:23:25 changed by luizluca" above.

I totally love VirtualBox, having this work would make it that much cooler :-)