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<tt>On 1/18/2011 12:33, Binh Thai wrote:</tt>
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<div class="WordSection1"><tt><span style="color: rgb(31, 73,
125);">“</span></tt><tt><span style="font-size: 10pt;">So
having said that, I'd like to ask: _why_ do you want the
drive numbers numbered in this way?</span><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">”<o:p></o:p></span><br>
<span style="font-family: Wingdings; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><span style="">è<span style="font: 7pt "Times New
Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color:
rgb(31, 73, 125);">I have some unattended programs that
capture and deploy OS images. The user may boot a system
from a CDROM/USB Drive and do the capturing. Meanwhile, the
deployment occurs from an iSCSI Windows image, which
currently changes the numbering of the internal hard drives
and this causes the captured images to be deployed to the
wrong drives. I can make the deployment program aware of the
iSCSI drive but I’m looking for a more thorough solution.<o:p></o:p></span><br>
<span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><o:p> </o:p></span><br>
<span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">Could you please
explain for me the relationship between gPXE iSCSI boot and
Windows iSCSI Initiator? When does gPXE end and Windows
iSCSI Initiator pick up?</span><br>
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<tt><br>
gPXE (and iPXE) create the iBFT and mark it up in the memory map
so it is not overwritten before booting the SAN. gPXE (and iPXE)
hook INTerrupt 0x13 to provide INT 0x13 users (such as DOS, the
Windows boot-loaders, other boot-loaders) with access to the disk.<br>
<br>
The Windows boot-loader(s) will use [the hooked] INT 0x13 to load
the OS. Once the OS begins operation, the OS no longer uses INT
0x13, so gPXE's (or iPXE's) work is done; its code is never
invoked again.<br>
<br>
The Windows iSCSI initiator boot-mode driver searches for the iBFT
in memory. Once found, the driver will attempt to reconnect to
the same SAN that the hooked INT 0x13 had previously been
connected to. If successful (networking is sane), like other disk
bus drivers, it creates a disk object.<br>
<br>
In Windows XP, the disk object is then driven by DISK.SYS. I
believe this driver is responsible for the creation of the
\Device\HarddiskX\ object directories (you can see with
WinObj.exe). I believe that it creates the DRx and DP(x)...
devices in those object directories, as well as the symbolic
links. I believe that it also creates the PhysicalDriveX symbolic
links under \GLOBAL??\. I believe that the devices it produces
are enumerated as STORAGE devices (HKLM\SYSTEM\CCS\Enum\STORAGE\).<br>
<br>
I think what happens is that after all boot drivers have been
initialized and all devices in the device tree have been walked
(and possible installed), the kernel checks all disks' MBR
signatures and creates the ARC name [symbolic link] for the boot
disk based on whichever disk matches. It can also thus choose
which volume to boot from.<br>
<br>
I hope this information helps you out. Perhaps you could adjust
your unattended processes to specifically look for the internal
HDDs, perhaps using a disk signature... That seems to be how
Windows does it; perhaps you could use the signature to _exclude_
the iSCSI disk from your processes.<br>
<br>
- Shao Miller</tt><br>
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