Installing from a Bonded Internet ISO for Debian 8

Warning

Debian 8 (Jessie) leaves LTS support on June 30, 2020 and the installation media may also stop functioning at that time. It is advised to not deploy new nodes on this platform and instead use Debian 9 or Debian 10.

This installation method will be removed in the near future.

Nodes can be provisioned using the ISO images available from the management server. These bootable images automatically install and configure Bonding on a device. Images are available in the ISO format and must be written to a USB disk or burned to a CD-R/CD-RW. 32-bit (i386) and 64-bit (amd64) images are available; choose the correct ISO for the CPU architecture in your target device. All modern CPUs are 64-bit.

Due to its simplicity, this is the recommended installation method for small to medium-sized installations.

Not all installation packages are contained in the ISOs. Packages and configuration are downloaded during the installation process, so you must have Internet access while provisioning with the custom ISOs.

After booting from the ISO, you will need to select your configuration profile, which controls many provisioning steps, including how the node gets Internet access during the installation procedure—see Installation configuration profiles.

ISO types

There are two categories of ISOs available.

Modern (UEFI)

This is the ISO to use for most modern devices. It includes both BIOS and UEFI support. It is only available for 64-bit (amd64) architecture due to common limitations with 32-bit EFI.

Legacy (BIOS)

There is a subset of devices with partial UEFI support that will not boot from the modern ISOs. For these devices, BIOS-only “Legacy” ISOs are provided. This ISO supports both 64-bit (amd64) and 32-bit (i386) architectures.

Downloading ISO files

The provisioning ISOs are available in the Space section of the application, under the Node Setup tab of a space page. This tab is shown only to users who have the “node setup” permission.

First load the list of spaces:

image0

Then select the space whose ISO you want to download:

image1

Finally, load the Node Setup tab:

image2

If no ISOs are listed, the space has been configured not to have its own ISO files. In this case, do one of the following:

  1. Update the space settings so that ISOs are created for the space, or ask an administrator to do so if you don’t have the appropriate permissions.
  2. Ask an administrator in the parent space for the URL of an ISO file from the parent space. The ISO can be used to image a node in your own space, but will have the default root password specified in the parent space.

Mounting the ISO

The ISO file needs to be made available to the node hardware somehow. After loading the ISO, you’ll also need to update the BIOS so the hardware boots from it; please refer to your hardware instructions or review the steps for some common bonder hardware.

Use one of the following methods:

Virtual guest CD-ROM

When imaging a virtual guest, use your virtualization provider’s console to mount the ISO in the guest’s CD drive.

See also

See our documentation on virtualization best practices for configuration requirements and recommendations.

USB disk

Create a bootable USB disk from the ISO file by following the instructions at Creating bootable USB disks from ISO images.

CD

For instructions on burning ISO images to CD, refer to documentation from your CD-ROM drive manufacturer or operating system vendor.

Terminal interface

If the installation disk or CD is not the highest boot priority, the BIOS will have a boot menu that will let you select or reorder device boot order. For Lanners, this may be the tab key. Common keys for other devices, include; F12, F10, F8, F2. Consult manufacturer documentation details.

There are two ways to interface with the device while it is being provisioned: with a monitor and keyboard, or by a serial connection.

Monitor and keyboard (virtual)

If the bonding device is virtualized or is bare metal with video (VGA/DVI/HDMI) and USB ports, use the “virtual” installation mode. If not, use one of the serial console methods described below.

For virtual hosts, open the guest console. For physical devices, connect the monitor and USB keyboard. Boot from the USB disk or CD. When the boot menu appears, select the “virtual” option and then the desired configuration profile (see below).

Serial console

To image a device over a serial console, use the following serial options: 115,200 baud, no parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no flow control. Boot from the USB disk or CD. When the boot menu appears, select one of the “serial” options and then the desired configuration profile.

For normal serial ports, select the Via device serial port option. For USB serial ports, where the device to be imaged provides serial access through a mini-USB port, select the Via device USB port option.

Devices come with a variety of default serial settings. You may need to update the serial settings of the device to 115,200 baud. To change the settings, refer to the manufacturer’s documentation or read these examples.