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Failed PXE Installations

Installation failed because of network connectivity issues

Typical error messages

This only affects dedicated servers. PXE installations for virtual servers are usually not affected.

  • no response after x secs - giving up
  • No configuration methods succeeded (http://ipxe.org/040ee119) [Screenshot]
  • Failed to retrieve the preconfiguration file [Screenshot]
  • TFTP open timeout
  • Media test failure, check cable
  • Connection timed out (https://ipxe.org/4c116035)

Symptoms

In most cases, the server can obtain an IP from the DHCP server during PXE boot, but re-requesting the IP address fails either during iPXE chainloading or within the OS installer.

The problem mostly occurs on Debian installations, because the Debian-Installer expects a fast IP address assignment. Anaconda-based installations (e.g. CentOS), on the other hand, usually work, although even that must not be the case if PXE chainloading already fails.

Possible causes

The issue is nearly always tied to either a failure in network connectivity or a misconfiguration of the switch. We try to increase the default timeouts if technically possible, but if the network is not configured optimally, problems may still occur.

The most common cause for issues like these is that the interface is in a blocking state due to STP.

  • If, during the PXE boot process, the server successfully obtains an IP address via DHCP, but then encounters a failure when chainloading a newer iPXE version (i.e., the PXE process restarts and fails to renew the IP request via DHCP), this is usually indicative of a problem with the STP configuration.
  • If the server receives an IP address via DHCP during PXE boot, but the process times out during the HTTP data download, this scenario also often points to potential issues with the STP configuration.

The following article delves into all common causes and provides further information about the STP below.


Media test failure, check cable

If you encounter the "Media test failure, check cable" error message, it usually means that the NIC currently being used for PXE booting is not connected to the network.

To fix the issue, access the server's BIOS and enable PXE boot for the appropriate network card.


STP Configuration (Cisco: PortFast)

A common cause is the STP configuration on the side of the switch. If you don't use RSTP (or adequate protocols like MSTP), the network traffic to the server's interface will be blocked for up to 50 seconds when the interface comes up. This is too long for some installers and a timeout occurs.

Each switch manufacturer describes in its documentation how to enable RSTP. If STP is currently used and everything works, we still recommend switching to RSTP (or a similar protocol) as this will result in faster PXE boots and most switch vendors advise the same.

Juniper Networks has an excellent article explaining the benefits of RSTP, you can find the article here.

Please note that RSTP should only be enabled for edge ports. Edge ports are ports that connect an end device. For example, if the cable from interface ge-0/0/1 is plugged into a server, it is an edge port.

Click to view additional information.
Also click if you still have issues, even after activating RSTP.

Sometimes it is assumed that a correct STP configuration is in place. However, when troubleshooting the issue, it often becomes apparent that this is not the case. In addition to checking the logs on the switch to verify that the server's interface is not in a blocking state, you can manually check how long it takes for an IP address to become accessible once it has been brought up:

  1. Boot the server into a rescue system such as grml. This can be achieved in several ways: By trying to start grml via PXE, manually mounting the ISO through your PC, or using Tenantos's ISO functionality to mount the grml ISO via the NoVNC console.
  2. After the server has booted, enter the ifconfig command to determine the name of the interface. Then, take down the interface using ifconfig <name> down and wait for up to 1 minute.
  3. From your PC, start pinging the server IP by executing ping <server-ip>
  4. Manually bring up the IP address on the server. This can be done by executing ifconfig <name> <ip>/<cidr> up; route add default gw <gateway-ip> (e.g. ifconfig ens18 10.10.10.2/24 up; route add default gw 10.10.10.1).
  5. Begin counting the time it takes for the IP to respond to pings.

If it takes longer than a few seconds for the IP to become pingable, it is likely that the issue lies with the STP configuration. Although other causes will be discussed further in this article, it is impossible to list every single cause. However, a network administrator should be able to identify and solve the issue.

protocols {
    rstp {
        interface ge-0/0/1.0 {
            edge;
        }
    }
}


Slow port speed auto-negotiation

This is rather rare, but the network timeout may also be related to a slow port speed auto-negotiation. If the STP mode has already been changed and the problem persists, switching to a fixed port speed might solve the problem.


LACP Configuration

If you have configured LACP for the affected server on the switch, it is important to also configure LACP fallback. This is because during PXE boot, no BPDU packets can be transmitted. BPDUs are used to exchange information between switches in a network using STP. Without BPDUs, the switch cannot determine the topology of the network and may not allow traffic to flow through the ports.

To establish network connectivity, LACP fallback must be configured. The specific steps for configuring LACP fallback do vary depending on the manufacturer and model of the switch. Please consult the documentation provided by the manufacturer for detailed instructions.

Windows installation hangs at "Prepare Networking"

Screenshot (the error message can also be different)

This problem is mostly related to missing drivers for the network card and is often caused by an incorrect cache directory configuration. If the cache directory is correctly defined, Tenantos will automatically add common drivers to the Windows installer (Tenantos automatically suggests a correct cache directory when adding Windows profiles).

If the problem occurs at virtual servers, you can also try changing the NIC model. Drivers for Virtio are added by default (provided the cache directory is correct). If it works with another NIC, you can be sure that the necessary drivers are missing and add them as described on the page linked above.

Error: "No space left on device" (affects only VMs)

Screenshot

This error message is typically encountered by virtual machines that have not been allocated enough RAM. In contrast to an ISO installation, a PXE installation loads all installation files into the RAM, and there's no feasible workaround for this.

To solve this issue, more RAM needs to be assigned to the virtual machine. Smaller virtual machines with, for example, only 1 GB of RAM, are unable to be provisioned via PXE due to insufficient memory.

For example, Ubuntu 22.04, with its new "autoinstall" system, currently demands the highest amount of memory (~3.5 GB RAM) during the PXE installation process, as it loads the entire ISO into RAM. Conversely, other operating systems, like CentOS 8, require less memory - CentOS 8, for instance, needs 2103 MiB of RAM. Please keep in mind that these RAM requirements are approximations and can vary with updates to the installation files.

The recommendation is to allocate at least 4 GB of RAM to virtual machines to be ready for future operating systems as well. However, this recommendation is without guarantee, as it is not possible to predict or influence the system requirements of the operating systems.

If enough RAM has been assigned

If the issue persists despite having sufficient memory and if Proxmox is being used, it might be due to the "Enable Hotplug" setting being activated in the "Memory Configuration". As explained in the tooltip at the VPS plan configuration, hotplugged memory may result in only a portion of the RAM being available to the installer system.

Please note that disabling this setting in the VPS plan does not automatically update existing VMs. You either need to re-apply the VPS plan to the affected VM, or change the hotplug setting directly in Proxmox.

"But the installation via ISO file works"

As outlined above, the system requirements for ISO and PXE installations differ. We do not have control over these system requirements, and the VMs must be equipped with sufficent memory to successfully carry out PXE installations.

If there's enough demand for template-based installations on virtual servers, we can integrate this feature. Please vote for this in the feature tracker. However, bear in mind that while template-based installations may be quicker and less memory-intensive, PXE installations offer significantly greater flexibility.

Proxmox: Kernel panic when installing RHEL 9 (and derivatives such as AlmaLinux 9)

Screenshot

When attempting to install RHEL 9, or its derivatives such as AlmaLinux 9 or Rock Linux 9, on Proxmox, the installation process may fail with a kernel panic if the CPU type is set to "kvm64" or to a type that does not support the "x86-64-v2" CPU flag. RHEL 9 and its derivatives require the "x86-64-v2" CPU flag for a successful installation.

To resolve this issue, please adjust the CPU type of the affected VM and set the CPU type in the VPS plan configuration to a type that supports "x86-64-v2", such as "host".

Please note that changing this setting in the VPS plan does not automatically update existing VMs. You will either need to re-apply the VPS plan to the affected VM, or change the CPU type directly in Proxmox.

For additional information, please refer to this discussion on the Proxmox forum.