vmPRO uses the GRUB as a boot loader.
bash-4.1# grub --version
grub (GNU GRUB 0.97)
The GRUB configuration files can be found in /boot/grub/
bash-4.1# pwd
/boot/grub
bash-4.1# ls -alh
total 284K
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root 4.0K Feb 27 12:54 .
dr-xr-xr-x. 4 root root 4.0K Mar 15 2012 ..
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 63 Dec 16 2011 device.map
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 13K Dec 16 2011 e2fs_stage1_5
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 13K Dec 16 2011 fat_stage1_5
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 12K Dec 16 2011 ffs_stage1_5
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1.2K Feb 27 12:54 grub.conf
-rw------- 1 root root 1.2K Feb 27 12:54 grub.conf.orig
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 12K Dec 16 2011 iso9660_stage1_5
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 13K Dec 16 2011 jfs_stage1_5
lrwxrwxrwx. 1 root root 11 Dec 16 2011 menu.lst -> ./grub.conf
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 12K Dec 16 2011 minix_stage1_5
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 14K Dec 16 2011 reiserfs_stage1_5
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1.4K Nov 14 2010 splash.xpm.gz
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 512 Dec 16 2011 stage1
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 111K Dec 16 2011 stage2
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 12K Dec 16 2011 ufs2_stage1_5
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 12K Dec 16 2011 vstafs_stage1_5
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 14K Dec 16 2011 xfs_stage1_5
bash-4.1#
The main configuration file can be found by viewing grub.conf. A backup file .orig is also made in this directory.
bash-4.1# cat grub.conf
# grub.conf generated by anaconda
#
# Note that you do not have to rerun grub after making changes to this file
# NOTICE: You do not have a /boot partition. This means that
# all kernel and initrd paths are relative to /, eg.
# root (hd0,0)
# kernel /boot/vmlinuz-version ro root=/dev/sda1
# initrd /boot/initrd-[generic-]version.img
#boot=/dev/sda
1)default=0
2)timeout=5
#splashimage=(hd0,0)/boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz
3)hiddenmenu
4)title Quantum (2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.x86_64)
root (hd0,0)
4a)kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.x86_64 ro root=UUID=e0019fb9-e5c1-44d9-adc1-85ceaf84f5b5 rd_NO_LUKS rd_NO_LVM rd_NO_MD rd_NO_DM LANG=en_US.UTF-8 SYSFONT=latarcyrheb-sun16 KEYBOARDTYPE=pc KEYTABLE=us crashkernel=auto quiet vmalloc=448m vga=785 logo.nologo max_loop=256
4b)initrd /boot/initramfs-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.x86_64.img
title Quantum (2.6.32-220.el6.x86_64)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-220.el6.x86_64 ro root=UUID=e0019fb9-e5c1-44d9-adc1-85ceaf84f5b5 rd_NO_LUKS rd_NO_LVM rd_NO_MD rd_NO_DM LANG=en_US.UTF-8 SYSFONT=latarcyrheb-sun16 KEYBOARDTYPE=pc KEYTABLE=us crashkernel=auto quiet vmalloc=448m vga=785 logo.nologo max_loop=256
initrd /boot/initramfs-2.6.32-220.el6.x86_64.img
bash-4.1#
Here is the breakdown of the configuration file.
1. States the first "title" entry will boot after the timeout period is exceeded
2. Time out period to boot the default value, 5 seconds here.
3. Hides the option to toggle between kernels. This could be reached by "pressing any key" to interrupt the default boot.
4. The Default Kernel boot image.
a. This is the kernel image that we boot. It can be found in the parent directory to grub/boot/
b. We use initrd (Initial RAM disk) to load modules from an image rather than /lib/modules.
After the vmPRO machine is powered on you will see GRUB starting up before landing in the command UI. If you miss the boot, you can see it in /var/log/boot.log.
Troubleshooting GRUB:
· Removing the quiet string from the default title in the grub.conf file will result in verbose logging of the boot loader. This can be helpful if a failed boot occurs.
· Compare the boot.log against a healthy boot of the same kernel.
· Boot into the second kernel as provided by the config file by pressing any key during the boot.
· There are extensive GRUB recovery documents for the first generation GRUB if needed. However, if the customer has a good copy of the .db, we can deploy a new OVF file much easier than fixing boot. See the article on .db file exporting.
· Proper shutdown of vmPRO services is important. If the machine is shut down improperly, you will need to run fsck. Improper shutdown will cause the system to fail to start SSH or the GUI. If that happens, access from the virtual environment is a must.
Quantum