PXE Imaging from a Satellite fails if parent server is down

  • 7006602
  • 09-Aug-2010
  • 27-Apr-2012

Environment

Novell ZENworks 10 Configuration Management with Support Pack 3 - 10.3 Imaging
Novell ZENworks 10 Configuration Management with Support Pack 2 - 10.2 Imaging
Novell ZENworks 10 Configuration Management with Support Pack 1 - 10.1 Imaging

Situation

If a Satellite's Parent server is down, PXE boot will fail to load the PXE Boot Menu

Resolution

This is fixed in version 10.3.1 - see KB 7006265 "ZENworks Configuration Management 10.3.1 - update information and list of fixes" which can be found at https://www.novell.com/support
 
To make use of the fix in this version, add the following configuration options to novell-pbserv.conf on the satellite

USELOCALSETTINGS=YES
PXEMENUSTATE=1

Pxemenustate can be 0 (do not show menu), 1 (show menu when ctrl+alt is pressed), 2 (always show menu), similar to the options in ZCC

As long as these configuration options are in place, the PXE menu will display even when the primary is down. 
 
Automatic imaging will still fail when the parent primary server is down, as the satellite cannot query for work to do.