Doing DHCP Kickstart with Windows DHCP Server

[wdtj]

I'm trying to set up a Kickstart system, using DHCP to provide the IP and bootServer info, to a computer lab. Our DHCP server is Windows (not my idea, no flames please). The bootServer is the name of a real Linux server running NFS. The idea is that if the HD is unbootable (been lobotimized), then the boot cd will kick in, which will start up the kickstart process. It will pull up the DHCP record from the windows server, get the ww.xx.yy.zz-kickstart configuration file from our linux server's (named kosh) NFS kickstart export and begin an NFS install.

The problem I'm seeing is that even though we have bootServer set in the Windows DHCP server to kosh, the kickstart install says the bootServer is 0.0.0.0 and apparently attempts to get the kickstart file from the windows DHCP server (the default), which of course is not serving NFS.

My question is, is there a way to query the Windows DHCP server to see what is being returned for bootServer? I don't trust the windows DHCP of course.

Is there something different with the way kickstart works with FC2, the documents I'm going by are for RH9. Are there newer kickstart documents?

Thanks in advance.

[ndv]

not at expert in your config, but when you receive a 0.0.0.0 means that in the dhcp/bootp handshake has the client already a level3 address? (IP)

try ethereal to read the packets payloads and verify the precess

cheers
nicola

[wdtj]

There are several items in the DHCP record, a static IP address, the Boot Server name, the DNS Servers, the Time server, etc.

On the install console, I see that all these are being set but the bootServer, which is set to the DHCP server. I also see that the next server is 0.0.0.0. Should I be setting the next server or the bootServer field. Anyone know what Microsoft calls the next server field? I don't see it in their list.

How do you get ethereal to run during the install's DHCP request? Is there a way to do a DHCP request after the boot so I can see the values?

Thanks.

[Jman]

This list of Win 2000 DHCP options (http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-6268-1041798-2.html) includes boot file and boot server host name. I don't have any Windows server experience so I don't know if these will work.

I would think next-server for Linux and boot server for Windows were the same thing.

You may be able to watch the process from a different machine running ethereal. Getting it to work during the install will be difficult.