CentOS Rescue Install

If the CentOS Linux operating system that was installed on a system purchased from Netgate is corrupted or otherwise needs to be reinstalled, the following instructions can be followed to initiate reinstallation over the Internet.

The first set of instructions indicate how to use a USB drive to boot to an image that will automatically initiate an install. There is also a procedure listed for manually initiating an install by typing commands on the iPXE command prompt that can be used on an RCC-VE or an APU.

Contents

• CentOS Rescue Install

  • Installation using a USB memstick

  • Installation from the iPXE command prompt

Installation using a USB memstick

Make sure the server is powered off. Depending on the particular model of server you are attempting to reinstall, you can either connect a VGA monitor and USB keyboard or access the server using the serial console port.

If you choose to use a monitor and a keyboard, connect the monitor’s VGA cable to the VGA port and connect the keyboard to one of the USB ports on the front of the C2758.

If you choose to access the serial console port, attach the proper cabling to the serial port. On the C2758 or APU this would be a null modem cable (or the proper combination of cabling and null modem adapter) to the DB-9 serial port on the front of the server. On an RCC-VE this would be a USB cable with a mini-USB connector. Connect the other end of the cable to another system (serial-to-USB adapter for the C2758/APU, USB type A port for the RCC-VE). Use a terminal program on the other system to connect to the system console through the serial port. Putty is a free application that can be used for this purpose that will work on Windows, Linux or Mac OS X. Other choices include minicom (Linux), dterm (Linux), screen (Linux, Mac OS X), or cu (Mac OS X). The speed should be set to 115200 baud, data bits to 8, parity to none, stop bits to 1.

Retrieve the iPXE rescue image from http://install.netgate.com/rescue/CentOS7/ipxe.usb. Save the image to a USB memstick.

See also

Writing Flash Drives

Writing an OS installation image to flash media

Insert the memstick in one of the USB ports on the server and power the server on. The server should automatically boot from the memstick. A screen will display a warning that the OS is about to be reinstalled.

After the warning message is displayed for 5 seconds, a menu will display that has choices for which type of server you are reinstalling to. Highlight the correct type of server and press enter.

The required files to launch a CentOS 7 install will be retrieved over the internet.

The installation process will complete fully without any further need for input. The amount of time this takes is dependent on the speed of the internet connection and the type of server being reinstalled. On a C2758 with a gigabit internet link, it may take as little as 10 minutes. On an APU with a 2 Mbps DSL connection, it make more than an hour. When installation has completed, a message will be displayed prompting you to press return to quit. Press return.

The system will reboot. CentOS 7 should automatically load when it resets.

Installation from the iPXE command prompt

Make sure the server is powered off.

Attach the proper cabling to the serial port. On the APU this would be a null modem cable (or the proper combination of cabling and null modem adapter) to the DB-9 serial port on the front of the server. On an RCC-VE this would be a USB cable with a mini-USB connector. Connect the other end of the cable to another system (serial-to-USB adapter for theAPU, USB type A port for the RCC-VE) .

Use a terminal program on the other system to connect to the system console through the serial port. Putty is a free application that can be used for this purpose that will work on Windows, LInux or Mac OS X. Other choices include minicom (Linux), dterm (Linux), screen (Linux, Mac OS X), or cu (Mac OS X). The speed should be set to 115200 baud, data bits to 8, parity to none, stop bits to 1.

Attach an ethernet cable to one of the network ports. On an APU, you should use the leftmost ethernet port (labeled ‘OPT1’). On a 4 port RCC-VE, you should use the leftmost ethernet port (labeled ‘ETH0’). On a 6 port RCC-VE, you should use the third leftmost ethernet port (labeled ‘ETH2’). Connect the other end of the cable to a local LAN segment that has connectivity to the Internet.

Attach the power cable to the system power port. The system should power on and you should start to see output indicating the system is starting up in your terminal program.

You will need to initiate iPXE. If no bootable media is installed in the system, iPXE may automatically start. Otherwise, you will need to press F12 to reach the boot menu when you see the message “Press F12 for boot menu” and select the number associated with iPXE when the menu is displayed. On the APU there will only be one choice for iPXE, on the RCC-VE there will be 4 choices for the 4 onboard ports. Select the first iPXE listed on the RCC-VE. Type the correct number and press enter.

iPXE should start up. You will need press control-B to get a command prompt to appear. There is a message indicating this displayed on the screen, but it only gets displayed for about 2 seconds before iPXE automatically starts trying to use DHCP for configuration. Press control-B immediately to get to the prompt.

At the iPXE command prompt, first type dhcp and press enter. This will cause the port to be configured with an IP address using dhcp. If this succeeds, the screen will have a message saying ‘ok’ and return to the prompt. Now type chain http://install.netgate.com/rescue/CentOS7/centos7-rescue.ipxe and press enter. iPXE will download the script from that URL. A warning will appear that the OS is about to be reinstalled.

After the warning message is displayed for 5 seconds, a menu will display that has choices for which type of server you are reinstalling to. Highlight the correct type of server and press enter. There are 2 entries for the RCC-VE that contain the type of storage you are attempting to install to. If the unit has an MSATA drive installed and you wish to install to it, select RCCVE-MSATA. Otherwise select RCCVE-EMMC to install to the onboard EMMC drive.

The required files to launch a CentOS 7 install will be retrieved over the internet. The installation process will complete fully without any further need for input. When installation has completed, a message will be displayed prompting you to press return to quit. Press return.