I'm struggling to remotely install FreeBSD 14.1 via IPMI+KVM.
The server has 4 HDDs.
I can use the standard installer if I install (via OVH's system) the memstick image to one of the HDDs, but since the install boots from that HDD, that device is effectively locked out - I can only install to the other 3 HDDs.
I tried the mini memstick image, in the hope that it would not need to read anything local after boot. I set kern.geom.debugflags=16, but when I try to delete the partition it says it's in use, and the install freezes.
I've also tried mfsbsd and its zfsinstall command. The command completes successfully, and there is a valid zfs pool which is populated with system files, but it never actually boots. (Weirdly, the console just goes completely blank for a minute, then loops back to POST. No apparent output from any FreeBSD loader.)
So yeah, I've tried multiple things at this point. It would be so much easier if I could attach a USB stick just for five minutes.
What I need is an installer that can load from local storage, but then release the device by running entirely from RAM (and fetching install files via network). Like a hybrid of mfsbsd and the standard mini memstick install.
Is there some magic way to do that? Thanks.
SOLUTION: Turns out I was so close to getting it, and hit on the solution right after I started this thread. I'll leave the above text in case anyone else faces a similar issue.
1. Install mfsbsd, boot and log in as root.
2. Run bsdinstall. Now, it's a standard install, with all storage devices (including the one that booted mfsbsd) available for install.
The server has 4 HDDs.
I can use the standard installer if I install (via OVH's system) the memstick image to one of the HDDs, but since the install boots from that HDD, that device is effectively locked out - I can only install to the other 3 HDDs.
I tried the mini memstick image, in the hope that it would not need to read anything local after boot. I set kern.geom.debugflags=16, but when I try to delete the partition it says it's in use, and the install freezes.
I've also tried mfsbsd and its zfsinstall command. The command completes successfully, and there is a valid zfs pool which is populated with system files, but it never actually boots. (Weirdly, the console just goes completely blank for a minute, then loops back to POST. No apparent output from any FreeBSD loader.)
So yeah, I've tried multiple things at this point. It would be so much easier if I could attach a USB stick just for five minutes.
What I need is an installer that can load from local storage, but then release the device by running entirely from RAM (and fetching install files via network). Like a hybrid of mfsbsd and the standard mini memstick install.
Is there some magic way to do that? Thanks.
SOLUTION: Turns out I was so close to getting it, and hit on the solution right after I started this thread. I'll leave the above text in case anyone else faces a similar issue.
1. Install mfsbsd, boot and log in as root.
2. Run bsdinstall. Now, it's a standard install, with all storage devices (including the one that booted mfsbsd) available for install.