[intro | bootstrap | linux kernel | root filesystem | network boot | install on flash card ]

# Linux on net4501

This page explains how to install Red Hat Linux 7.2 on the net4501.

The net4501 is a small computer designed for firewalls and VPN routers, made by Soekris Engineering. It has three network ports and a slot for a flash card, but no hard disk, floppy disk or CD-ROM drive. You can install Linux onto the flash card either by using a machine with appropriate hardware, or by using PXE (network boot). The PXE method is described here.

## Prerequisits

Before you begin, you will need the following hardware and software:

- A machine on which to build and export the filesystem
- A net4501 with flash card installed
- A serial cable

- Linux 2.4 kernel source
- Red Hat 7.2 RPMS for i386
- NFS server
- DHCP server
- PXE server
- TFTP server
- PXELINUX
- C compiler
- Perl interpreter
- A terminal emulator (eg. minicom)

Red Hat doesn't ship pxelinux in their syslinux package. Get it from kernel.org or an old copy from this page, below.

## Installation

1. Set up the bootstrap environment (PXE, DHCP etc.)
2. Create a network boot kernel
3. Construct a root filesystem on another machine
4. Boot the net4501 from the network
5. Copy the root filesystem onto the net4501's flash card

## Download

- soekris.tar.gz [12K] (View contents)
- pxelinux [8K]

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Peter Benie <peterb+linux-net4501@chiark.greenend.org.uk>
Linux