[9fans] boot.c -> bad nvram key

[9fans] boot.c -> bad nvram key

[Alberto Cortés]

I have make a new installation of a plan 9 terminal in a clean disk
(actually, it is a vmware "machine").

After loading the kernel, boot(8) prints these lines:

> root is from (il, tcp, local)[local!#S/sdC0/fs]:
> user[none]: glenda
> kfs...bad nvram key
> bad authentication id
> bad authentication domain
> version...time...

And then init(8) is executed and everything seems to work ok. I do
not know what those "bad foo bar" lines mean. Does it have something
to do with boot(8) trying authenticate with the local root server?

I have been looking at /sys/src/9/boot/boot.c and
/sys/src/9/boot/bootauth.c but i can not identify the problem, i think
it is somewhere between these lines (from boot.c):

> /*
> * pick a method and initialize it
> */
> mp = rootserver(argc ? *argv : 0);
> (*mp->config)(mp);
> islocal = strcmp(mp->name, "local") == 0;
> ishybrid = strcmp(mp->name, "hybrid") == 0;
> 
> /*
> * authentication agent
> */
> authentication(cpuflag);
>
> /*
> * connect to the root file system
> */
> fd = (*mp->connect)();
> if(fd < 0)
>       fatal("can't connect)();
> if(getenv("srvold9p"))
>       fd = old9p(fd);
> if(!islocal && !ishybrid){
>        if(cfs)
>              fd = (*cfs)(fd);
> }

I am not skilled enough for solving this, any pointers, explanations
or recommendations?

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url: http://163.117.15.158/~acortes/index.html

Re: [9fans] boot.c -> bad nvram key

[David Presotto]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 223 bytes --]

You're booting a cpu kernel that doesn't expect a user to be around
and does expect to find its key (and other stuff) either in nvram
or in a disk paritition called nvram.

Boot a terminal kernel (like 9pcdisk or 9pcf).

[-- Attachment #2: Type: message/rfc822, Size: 3619 bytes --]

From: "Alberto Cortés" <alcortes@coitt.es>
To: 9fans <9fans@cse.psu.edu>
Subject: [9fans] boot.c -> bad nvram key
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2004 15:12:50 +0100
Message-ID: <20040307141250.GC879@shire>

I have make a new installation of a plan 9 terminal in a clean disk
(actually, it is a vmware "machine").

After loading the kernel, boot(8) prints these lines:

> root is from (il, tcp, local)[local!#S/sdC0/fs]:
> user[none]: glenda
> kfs...bad nvram key
> bad authentication id
> bad authentication domain
> version...time...

And then init(8) is executed and everything seems to work ok. I do
not know what those "bad foo bar" lines mean. Does it have something
to do with boot(8) trying authenticate with the local root server?

I have been looking at /sys/src/9/boot/boot.c and
/sys/src/9/boot/bootauth.c but i can not identify the problem, i think
it is somewhere between these lines (from boot.c):

> /*
> * pick a method and initialize it
> */
> mp = rootserver(argc ? *argv : 0);
> (*mp->config)(mp);
> islocal = strcmp(mp->name, "local") == 0;
> ishybrid = strcmp(mp->name, "hybrid") == 0;
> 
> /*
> * authentication agent
> */
> authentication(cpuflag);
>
> /*
> * connect to the root file system
> */
> fd = (*mp->connect)();
> if(fd < 0)
>       fatal("can't connect)();
> if(getenv("srvold9p"))
>       fd = old9p(fd);
> if(!islocal && !ishybrid){
>        if(cfs)
>              fd = (*cfs)(fd);
> }

I am not skilled enough for solving this, any pointers, explanations
or recommendations?

-- 
url: http://163.117.15.158/~acortes/index.html

Re: [9fans] boot.c -> bad nvram key

[Alberto Cortés]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 698 bytes --]

Some time ago, David said:

> You're booting a cpu kernel that doesn't expect a user to be around
> and does expect to find its key (and other stuff) either in nvram
> or in a disk paritition called nvram.
> 
> Boot a terminal kernel (like 9pcdisk or 9pcf).

term% 9fat:
term% cat /n/9/plan9.ini
bootfile=sdC0!fs!/386/9pcdisk
.
.
.

9load finds this kernel and loads it to memory, or so it seems,
something like:

Found 9pcdisk...
Plan 9
...

from the booting secuence displayed information.

Is there any way to know what kernel is loaded (cpu or terminal) from
a runing system? maybe my kernels have wrong names.


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url: http://163.117.15.158/~acortes/index.html

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Re: [9fans] boot.c -> bad nvram key

[Alberto Cortés]

Some time ago, David said:

> You're booting a cpu kernel that doesn't expect a user to be around
> and does expect to find its key (and other stuff) either in nvram
> or in a disk paritition called nvram.
> 
> Boot a terminal kernel (like 9pcdisk or 9pcf).

I have tried with /386/9pcdisk and /386/9pcf but both kernels give me
the same results:

> root is from (il, tcp, local)[local!#S/sdC0/fs]:
> user[none]: glenda
> kfs...bad nvram key
> bad authentication id
> bad authentication domain
> version...time...

Any advice?

-- 
url: http://163.117.15.158/~acortes/index.html

Re: [9fans] boot.c -> bad nvram key

[lucio]

> I have tried with /386/9pcdisk and /386/9pcf but both kernels give me
> the same results:
> 
Don't worry about it, it is harmless.  You may even want to get rid of
the warning by executing auth/wrkey once the terminal is running.  I
suspect something has crept into the startup that always checks for
NVRAM and the installation seems always to create an NVRAM partition.
But, as I mentioned, it does no harm whatsoever.

>> root is from (il, tcp, local)[local!#S/sdC0/fs]:
>> user[none]: glenda
>> kfs...bad nvram key
>> bad authentication id
>> bad authentication domain
>> version...time...
> 
> Any advice?
> 
Of course, somebody may want to get to the bottom of this, but I'm not
sure it's worth the effort.

++L

Re: [9fans] boot.c -> bad nvram key

[Fco.J.Ballesteros]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 206 bytes --]

Use our 9pcdisk.gz, it's up to date and works.
Also, zero out your nvram block (if any). It seems that you
have one and it seems to have a bad password (although AFAIK,
a 9pcdisk would not check that).

[-- Attachment #2: Type: message/rfc822, Size: 2883 bytes --]

From: "Alberto Cortés" <alcortes@coitt.es>
To: 9fans@cse.psu.edu
Subject: Re: [9fans] boot.c -> bad nvram key
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2004 13:05:40 +0100
Message-ID: <20040308120540.GB2405@shire>

Some time ago, David said:

> You're booting a cpu kernel that doesn't expect a user to be around
> and does expect to find its key (and other stuff) either in nvram
> or in a disk paritition called nvram.
> 
> Boot a terminal kernel (like 9pcdisk or 9pcf).

I have tried with /386/9pcdisk and /386/9pcf but both kernels give me
the same results:

> root is from (il, tcp, local)[local!#S/sdC0/fs]:
> user[none]: glenda
> kfs...bad nvram key
> bad authentication id
> bad authentication domain
> version...time...

Any advice?

-- 
url: http://163.117.15.158/~acortes/index.html

Re: [9fans] boot.c -> bad nvram key

[David Presotto]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 268 bytes --]

My mistake, I missed the
	kfs...
and thought it was the kenrel complaining.  I'm an 
idiot, sorry for causing someone to go off and check
what kernel they where running.

Rename the nvram partition to something else and
the messages should go away.  Man 8 prep.

[-- Attachment #2: Type: message/rfc822, Size: 2779 bytes --]

From: lucio@proxima.alt.za
To: 9fans@cse.psu.edu
Subject: Re: [9fans] boot.c -> bad nvram key
Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2004 14:17:24 +0200
Message-ID: <d9bb927d083025142cd90279eca5fd7d@proxima.alt.za>

> I have tried with /386/9pcdisk and /386/9pcf but both kernels give me
> the same results:
> 
Don't worry about it, it is harmless.  You may even want to get rid of
the warning by executing auth/wrkey once the terminal is running.  I
suspect something has crept into the startup that always checks for
NVRAM and the installation seems always to create an NVRAM partition.
But, as I mentioned, it does no harm whatsoever.

>> root is from (il, tcp, local)[local!#S/sdC0/fs]:
>> user[none]: glenda
>> kfs...bad nvram key
>> bad authentication id
>> bad authentication domain
>> version...time...
> 
> Any advice?
> 
Of course, somebody may want to get to the bottom of this, but I'm not
sure it's worth the effort.

++L

Re: [9fans] boot.c -> bad nvram key

[Zhen Lin]

You need to put a key into nvram. That is the easiest thing to do.
Boot up as normal, and run the following command:

wrkey

I've found that not having a proper nvram key doesn't seem to affect
anything, for a standalone Plan 9 system.

Re: [9fans] boot.c -> bad nvram key -> solved! (workaround, not fixed)

[Alberto Cortés]

Some time ago, lucio said:

> > I have tried with /386/9pcdisk and /386/9pcf but both kernels give me
> > the same results:
> > 
> Don't worry about it, it is harmless.  You may even want to get rid of
> the warning by executing auth/wrkey once the terminal is running.  I
> suspect something has crept into the startup that always checks for
> NVRAM and the installation seems always to create an NVRAM partition.
> But, as I mentioned, it does no harm whatsoever.

Thats right!, the last ISO i downloaded from Plan9 web site creates a
small (1 sector, 512 B) partition for nvram. Also, the boot(8) process
for terminals check keys in it.

Maybe something crept in boot(8) on the last versions, because in a
previous version of plan9 i didn't see that behaviour (maybe some code
from cpu kernel leaked in???).

Anyway, i have get rid of the warnings by deleting/renaming the nvram partition
with disk/prep /dev/sdC0/9fat as Presotto & Nemo suggested.

It can also be solved with the auth/wrkey trick that Lucio and
Zhen Lin mentioned (not sure, i didn't try it).

As Lucio said, the warnings were quite harmless as the systems boot
normally, but i were a little worried (newbie thoughts).

Thanks you all for your help.

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url: http://163.117.15.158/~acortes/index.html