linux-kernel - Inquiry Regarding PXE Installation Issue with Network Driver Configuration

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Message-ID: <tencent_99262A4B390D43E22441268D3D8CC0AF2E05@qq.com>
Date: Thu, 31 Oct 2024 15:58:49 +0800
From: Gang Yan <gang_yan@...mail.com>
To: "David S. Miller" <davem@...emloft.net>,
	David Ahern <dsahern@...nel.org>,
	Eric Dumazet <edumazet@...gle.com>,
	Jakub Kicinski <kuba@...nel.org>, Paolo Abeni <pabeni@...hat.com>,
	Simon Horman <horms@...nel.org>
Cc: netdev@...r.kernel.org, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Inquiry Regarding PXE Installation Issue with Network Driver
 Configuration

Dear Maintainers:

I am writing to seek your expertise regarding an issue I have encountered 
recently while using PXE (Preboot Execution Environment) for system 
installation.

Specifically, the problem arises when the PXE network card driver is 
compiled as a kernel module (.ko file). During the installation process, 
the kernel gets stuck in the 'ip_auto_config' stage, waiting for the network
interface to become ready, displaying the message "Waiting up to xx more 
seconds for network." However, it appears that the system does not proceed 
to the ramdisk stage to load the .ko driver, ultimately leading to a failed
 installation.

Based on my analysis, it seems that for a successful PXE installation,
 the corresponding network card driver must be compiled directly into the 
kernel rather than as a loadable module. I would like to confirm if my
 understanding is correct. If so, would it be necessary to adjust the 
relevant code? Because it is not suitable to compile too much ehernet drivers into vmlinux.

Best regards,

Gang Yan