How to map a network share to boot from ISO, moving Supermicro Java iKVM to browser-only HTML5 iKVM
This is one of those simple tips that I think Supermicro SuperServer owners will really appreciate. You will need to have a Supermicro system / X10SDV motherboard that is capable of running IPMI 3.3.x, or later. This includes all Xeon D systems that Supermicro makes, which are now at 3.46.
If you're used to licensing fees for remote console capabilities for enterprise server vendors like IBM, HP, Dell, and Lenovo, a nice perk with Supermicro is that their flavor out-of-band IPMI-based remote control is free. Recently, the new and slightly buggy browser-only remote control UI finally frees you from the need for Java as well. Given HTML5 is Supermicro's stated direction going forward, one can only hope more of those little bugs get squashed with future IPMI releases, especially for this beloved, home lab friendly Xeon D / Broadwell-DE, with some models featuring a 7 year Product Life SoC design.
In the short video below, you'll learn the following:
- While the iKVM/HTML5 in IPMI 3.46 doesn't currently have any ISO mount ability, future upgrades to iKVM/HTML5 might add native point-and-click ISO mounting capabilities.
- Meanwhile, Supermicro's IPMI web interface has a Virtual Media, CD-ROM Image mounting ability that lets you get around this limitation.
- This method only uses a network share that you mount your ISO or bootable ISO files from, meaning you no longer need Java installed for iKVM's ability to boot from ISOs!
- Java for sysadmin has been plagued by security vulnerabilities. See:
- You should read the IPMI 3.46 release notes before upgrading.
- My demonstration video below shows me kicking off an actual VMware ESXi 6.5 hypervisor install. I'm booting right from the installer ISO named
VMware-VMvisor-Installer-6.5.0-4564106.x86_64.iso
for the installation of the hypervisor onto my TinkerTry'd Bundle 2 included USB flash drive.
Step-by-step
- Create a folder on a system on the same network as the workstation running a browser for iKVM/HTML5 access to the SuperServer.
eg.c:\isos - Copy or move the ISOs you wish to share into this new folder.
eg.VMware-VMvisor-Installer-6.5.0-4564106.x86_64.iso
- Right-click the new folder, select Properties > Sharing tab > Share... button > Share button > Done.
eg.\\WIN10MULTIBOOT\isos
Note - you can share a folder from the same system you're using to run iKVM, and you can share a folder on a NAS or from Linux (CIFS/Samba), doesn't really matter how. - Log into the IPMI interface of your SuperServer using a browser.
- Click the Virtual Media tab, select CD-ROM Image.
- Fill out the fields as pictured below, using your Windows system name or IP address for the Share Host.
Share Host:
eg.WIN10MULTIBOOT(case insensitive)
Path to Image:
eg.\isos\VMware-VMvisor-Installer-6.5.0-4564106.x86_64.iso
User: the username of the system where the network share resides
Password: the password of the system where the network share resides
- Click the Remote Control drop-down menu, select iKVM/HTML5.
- Boot or reboot your SuperServer, choose Press [F11] to invoke Boot Menu.
- Select UEFI: ATEN Virtaul CDROM YS0J or similar.
- Finish installing or using the bootable ISO's operating system.
- When done, remember to use the Virtual Media tab's unmount button to eject the "CD-ROM" which is really an ISO image.
Note: All of these mapped network drive settings are preserved, even across reboots and power cycles, and even after a power loss. When upgrading your IPMI, you may want to back up your now-customized IPMI config first, to be restored after the proper wipe-all-settings upgrade.
Video
Nov 22 2016 Update
YouTuber Mahmood Alganadi has some NAS-related ISO Share tips that you might appreciate:
Thanks Paul , I also figured it out by using an ISO Share feature in my QNAP TS-453 Pro and also get the same results :)
There are two ways in most famous NAS Devices like QNAP or Synology that they have something called ISO Mount shares it is better than the simple folder shares like we used to use :)
See also at TinkerTry
-
New Supermicro BIOS 1.1c and IPMI 3.46 for Xeon D SuperServers features HTML5 iKVM
Nov 04 2016 -
Supermicro SuperServer Xeon D / X10SDV BIOS Release Notes Changelog
Nov 07 2016 -
Supermicro SuperServer Xeon D / X10SDV IPMI Release Notes Changelog
Nov 07 2016 -
Supermicro Redfish API in IPMI firmware 3.3 also supports HTML5 UI
Jun 04 2016 - Supermicro's beloved iKVM Console Redirection is dumping problem-ridden Java for HTML5, yay!
Mar 08 2016
All Comments on This Article (13)
yeah, decisions decisions, and the answers: depends heavily on their biggest buyers' wallet's decisions..
I just "suffered" through a X10DRT-PS's setup to be automated, and the ISO over SMB (to Linux host) wasn't easy, but not the decision I wanted, so I started looking around especially on the 10GigE side -
So iPXE works.. you can push a floppy image too :) .. either via the BMC's webUI though I got the CSRF_TOKEN reverse engineered to push via script that too..
and I eventually got a PVE 8.2 ISO pushed into the ATEN IPMI.. SCMIPMItool
That said: if you don't like the SuperMicro choices, go pay for the Dell iDRAC enterprise .. that is the Rolls Royce for reasons :)
I have set up samba shares before you were born, so sorry to disappoint you on that one. I did not say that it can't be done, I just called out Super Micro for making strange choices...
The fact that you think god is incompetent is irrelevant...
>i larp as being a real admin because i pretend to know linux
>but im too retarded to setup a samba share
god you're incompetent
How are we going to install the VMware Hypervisor to USB flash drive if we can't load the .ISO as a CD-ROM image to boot from?
I was able to follow the work around (thanks for posting!) but clearly it's no fun.
Is the alternative to create a bootable USB flash of the VMware Hypervisor .ISO using, for example, UNetbootin https://unetbootin.github.io/, and then select it as the boot device?
Yeah, there is a convoluted work-around that Supermicro sent me when I inquired:
https://community.spiceworks.com/how_to/155954-resolve-sharing-a-network-folder-after-windows-10-1803-update
Sadly, Supermicro has said there are no plans to implement ISO mounting directly from the HTML5 iKVM at this time, for the X10 family of SuperServers.
On SuperMicro servers this only works if you have SMBv1 enabled, which has known vulnerabilities. GG
Actually I've had good luck with OpenJDK - just make sure you have icedtea-netx (package name for debian based systems) or whichever package provides javaws.
Ba-da-bum-TISS!
https://twitter.com/stephenking/status/958838371723431936
It turns out that the actual Java KVM app doesn't like open OpenJDK! Once I actually installed Oracle Java, I could use the classic mount ISO option in the KVM window to install the OS.
As to the other matter:
We like to remind our customers that good server rooms don't have windows... ;-)
Yeah, I agree, it will be good to (hopefully) see easier mounting of ISOs without needing Java. You can see me install ESXi 6.7 using a fileshare from Windows here:
https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=_1DicD4qajY
and to your point, not everybody has Windows.
Thanks for article. However, I find it completely bizarre that SuperMicro think that real admins have windows servers available to mount ISOs from! (We don't use any windows servers in our organisation at all.) You call out Java for being a security risk, but gosh! Windows it the worst in that respect. It's the one thing about ILOM / RMM designers that has always irked me. Why can't they just have a simple ssh of sftp connection to the ISO source. Is would make life so much simpler.
Paul Braren | TinkerTry.com
Well, that’s quite the thorough comment, thank you for sharing your story and perspective!