Network (Ethernet) Boot for Pi4

[MrMas]

This web page, https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/view ... 7&t=246027, states that the Pi4's bootloader (now on the EEPROM) does not yet support network boot but that Ethernet boot will be supported in a future update.

I see that a new bootloader is in testing (https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=117). I'm not sure if this announcement from @PhilE is related to the statement by @timg236 found here:(https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/view ... t#p1525259) which states that and a new bootloader may be released as early as today.

In any case, I'm curious if the update supports Ethernet boot. If not, is there an expected time when it will be available? Are we talking weeks? Months? Years?

Thanks!

[andrum99]

If you read the release notes for that new version of the bootloader, you will see that it does not add any new boot modes. As has been stated on other threads, Raspberry Pi do not announce timescales for future products or product features: this includes Pi 4 Ethernet boot.

[jamesh]

Indeed, the ethernet boot is not yet in the release bootloader - still quite a lot of work to do.

[timg236]

Ethernet boot is weeks away maybe a month for general beta. It’s approaching feature complete but lots of debug/test left to do. General firmware stability issues are still higher priority than advanced boot modes.

Anyway the first boot related thing will be the beta EEPROM updated apt package. The config editor and new update mechanism will make it much easier to test new bootloader releases. Maybe tomorrow or early next week for that.

[mwrich4]

Since this thread has had no updates, is it safe to assume Network (Ethernet) Boot for Pi4 is not available yet?

[rpdom]

Have you read this thread? https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/view ... p?t=252501

[epoch1970]

That is a user initiated thread it is safe to assume it would not be updated.
A thread initiated by a forum mod might. In fact if you search the forum you’ll find a thread dealing with NetBoot beta.

[mwrich4]

Thanks for the updates ..

Yes I did see the discussion of beta support, it didn't seem like that thread discussion led to a discussion of a stable version. That was back in September.

Searching for network boot or netboot, didn't show any more recent mentions.

EDIT: the RPI Hardware Doc still says "Network booting is available on Raspberry Pi 3B, 3B+, and 2B v1.2 only."

[andrum99]

Netboot is in beta. It works for some people, and ultimately will be compatable with a wider conbination of hardware and software than previous versions, since the code is not burned directly into the SoC, as with previous models. If you want to know whether it works on your systems, the best way is to try it and report back what happens.

[andrum99]

Since this thread has had no updates, is it safe to assume Network (Ethernet) Boot for Pi4 is not available yet?

There will be some sort of announcement when it comes out of beta, don't worry.

[mwrich4]

Since the Mythic Beasts blog a few days ago, does the mean network boot is moving from beta soon?

Is it reliable enough for userland to start tinkering with it?

[dickon]

For me, it's been fine since November. The one issue I had with it was when they introduced the USB boot part, and I discovered that if the netboot timed out but the next thing succeeds, the kernel would crash when attempting to bring up the ethernet. All fixed now, in a typically responsive fashion.

If you've got a netboot setup working for earlier Pis, the Pi 4 is basically the same thing. Just make sure you have a complete /boot available over tftp, and it should all just work.

[timg236]

Network boot was out of beta back in September - USB boot will be out of beta in the next few weeks. Obviously, there will be more bugs to fix and subsequent releases still go through beta->stable->production (+ critical updates).

If you want to use the 'self-update' mode for the bootloader with network boot (i.e. allow rpi-eeprom-update to work) then you need to make sure the nfs mount for /boot is writable and you need to be careful to get the permissions correct on the server so that the files are readable by TFTP.

[mwrich4]

Ethernet boot is weeks away maybe a month for general beta. It’s approaching feature complete but lots of debug/test left to do. General firmware stability issues are still higher priority than advanced boot modes.

Anyway the first boot related thing will be the beta EEPROM updated apt package. The config editor and new update mechanism will make it much easier to test new bootloader releases. Maybe tomorrow or early next week for that.

The hardware docs still have not been modified since I mentioned it last in this thread.

"Network booting is available on Raspberry Pi 3B, 3B+, and 2B v1.2 only."
(the hardware doc like for network boot)https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentati ... des/net.md

I would consider this to be the definitive 'out of beta' testament. The blog about Mythic Beasts was the first clue I've noticed.

EDIT: Raspberry Pi 4 Diskless/SDless PXE Boot Tutorialhttps://linuxhit.com/2019/11/28/raspber ... n-sd-card/