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    iPXE Setup For Many OS's Under BIOS and UEFI

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      Zer0Cool
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                  Zer0Cool
                  last edited by Zer0Cool

                  Fedora Workstation 28

                  Works with: UEFI or BIOS

                  To start we need the installation files in our /tftpboot/os/fedora/ws28 directory. I was unable to find an ISO with the proper file structure to allow instllation, so instead I did an rsync to get the files needed. I will provide the directions for using the ISO in case it works for others. A list of official Fedora mirrors can be found here. The following presumes Fedora Workstation 28 but could apply to other versions and spins.

                  You do not have to do the steps in BOTH “Using Files from ISO” and “From rsync”, its one or the other.

                  Using Files from ISO:

                  1. Create the directory for fedora if it doesnt already exist:
                  mkdir -p /tftpboot/os/fedora/ws28
                  1. Mount the ISO and copy the required files to the above directory:
                  mount /{path to the iso}/filename.iso /mnt/iso/
cp -R /mnt/iso/* /tftpboot/os/fedora/ws28
umount /mnt/iso

                  Using rsync:

                  1. Create the directory for fedora if it doesnt already exist:
                  mkdir -p /tftpboot/os/fedora/ws28
                  1. run the rsync command using a rsync url from the list of mirrors you want to use. This can take hours to run:
                  rsync -avzP --log-file=/var/log/rsync_cron/rsync_fedora_ws28_mirror.log --delete rsync://mirrorurl/pub/fedora/linux/releases/28/Workstation/x86_64/os/ /tftpboot/os/fedora/ws28

                  Change the rsync path to your selected rsync mirrors path and adjust the lof path/filename as desired. I placed the rsync command above in my crontab -e without the -P switch for rsync and have it sync once a day. Doing so is a bit beyond the context of this guide though.

                  Also note that if the mirror is down the command can fail, you may need to switch to another mirror or if setting up cron having it sync multiple mirrors just in case.

                  Adding iPXE entry:

                  From the FOG web GUI, create a new iPXE entry (or edit an existing one) as follows:

                  1. Menu Item: name as desired (ex: os.fedoraws)
                  2. Description: as desired (ex: Fedora Workstation 28 - Install). Note: This is what is seen in the iPXE menu on the host machine!
                  3. Parameters:
                  kernel http://${fog-ip}/os/fedora/ws28/images/pxeboot/vmlinuz
initrd http://${fog-ip}/os/fedora/ws28/images/pxeboot/initrd.img
imgargs vmlinuz initrd=initrd.img repo=http://${fog-ip}/os/fedora/ws28
boot || goto MENU
                  1. Menu Show With: as desired.
                  2. Save changes

                  Alternate directions here.

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                  • Z
                    Zer0Cool
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                    • Z
                      Zer0Cool
                      last edited by Zer0Cool

                      WinPE

                      Preparing Windows for PXE

                      Windows requires some additional setup to PXE boot. First off it will load WinPE which in turn runs the setup of the desired Windows version. This part of the guide will detail how I do this, what adjustments you may consider and I will provide other links to supporting information.

                      When WinPE boots, we have it run startnet.cmd which is a batch file in the WinPE image containing commands to connect to our Samba share and get the instillation files to run the install. At least thats the basic description, it can be scripted to do much more.

                      The first thing for us to do is create a custom WinPE image. I use a batch file to do this. Following is the overall setup required to do this.

                      Requirements

                      • Windows machine (I use a Server 2016 box, you may use Windows 10 or possibly other versions).
                      • Windows ADK installed (Official link here). Usually the latest available, 1803 as of this post.
                      • WinPE10 Driver Pack (Official link here). More info found here. Despite being from Dell, they are generically useful it seems. Feel free to check with your OEM to see if they have their own packs. My guide presumes this file however.

                      I am not going to cover the installation of ADK, as many sources including some links I have provided detail it. After installation dism should be usable from the command line on the Windows machine.

                      Whatever media you want to use to PXE install Windows, you will want to copy the iso contents including install.wim and boot.wim to the Windows machine we are prepping from to get information about it. Run the following command on the install.wim file:

                      Dism /Get-WIMInfo /WimFile:C:\pathtowinfiles\sources\install.wim
Dism /Get-WIMInfo /WimFile:C:\pathtowinfiles\sources\boot.wim

                      replacing C: and pathtowinfiles with your drive and path to the root of the ISO contents. This command will list all of the images in the wim file along with index number(s) which we will need in our script to point to the correct install. You could for example have an ISO for Windows 10 Pro x64 with the ability to install many different versions of Windows 10. Its possible the one you want has the index number 1 or 5 or 7, etc. This command lists them all and lets us find out which index number to use later.

                      Generating WinPE Image with Batch File

                      My batch file to generate the WinPE image is based on the post found here (Thanks to @Quazz). I have adjusted it to meet my needs, which may or may not benefit you. I took out the x86/x64 portion and assume x64. I also added a portion to check if the destination folder exists and to delete it if it does prior to running. I also added a loop mechanism to the mounting of the share in case it fails (as for me it 99% of the time eventually connects). I also added a line to inject the WinPE10 drivers from the driver pack.

                      @echo off

rem The fileserver IP
set FILESERVER=10.0.0.2

rem Share on the fileserver.
set SHARE=pxeshare\os\win\10

rem Username for the share
set SHAREUSER=fogpxeu

rem Password for the share
set SHAREPASS=yourpassword

rem amd64 or x86
set ARCH64=amd64

rem Path to hold working files. Needs about 500MB of free space.
set PEPATH64="D:\winpe\%ARCH64%"

rem ##########################################################
rem     Don't edit anything below here
rem ##########################################################

rem *********** x64 ***********************

echo Remove old amd64 directory
IF EXIST %PEPATH64% rmdir /S /Q %PEPATH64%

echo Creating the PE image
call copype.cmd %ARCH64% %PEPATH64% > NUL

echo Mounting the image
dism /Mount-Wim /WimFile:%PEPATH64%\media\sources\boot.wim /index:1 /MountDir:%PEPATH64%\mount /quiet

echo Adding commands to the startup script in PE
echo. >> %PEPATH64%\mount\windows\system32\startnet.cmd

echo :loop >> %PEPATH64%\mount\windows\system32\startnet.cmd
echo ping %FILESERVER% >> %PEPATH64%\mount\windows\system32\startnet.cmd
echo net use i: \\%FILESERVER%\%SHARE% /user:%SHAREUSER% %SHAREPASS% ^|^| goto :loop >> %PEPATH64%\mount\windows\system32\startnet.cmd

echo i: >> %PEPATH64%\mount\windows\system32\startnet.cmd

echo i:\setup.exe >> %PEPATH64%\mount\windows\system32\startnet.cmd

echo Creating the pxeboot directory
mkdir %PEPATH64%\pxeboot > NUL
mkdir %PEPATH64%\pxeboot\Fonts > NUL
copy /y %PEPATH64%\mount\windows\boot\Fonts\*.* %PEPATH64%\pxeboot\Fonts\ > NUL
copy /y "%WinPERoot%\%ARCH64%\Media\Boot\boot.sdi" %PEPATH64%\pxeboot\ > NUL
copy /y "%WinPERoot%\%ARCH64%\Media\Boot\BCD" %PEPATH64%\pxeboot\ > NUL

echo Adding WinPE Driver Pack
dism /add-driver /image:D:\winpe\amd64\mount /driver:C:\Users\user\Downloads\winpe_3620\x64 /recurse /forceunsigned

echo Unmounting the image
dism /unmount-Wim /MountDir:%PEPATH64%\mount /Commit /quiet

echo Optimizing the image
imagex /EXPORT %PEPATH64%\media\sources\boot.wim 1 %PEPATH64%\pxeboot\boot.wim > NUL

echo.
echo All the files you need for your PXE server are in: %PEPATH64%\pxeboot\

                      The script should have its variables adjusted as needed, including IP, share path (remember this is a Samba share on the FOG server), and smb user and password. Change the index # in the script to match the index number discovered with the dism commands earlier in this post. Adjust any paths to match the drive and path you have on your machine to the needed contents.

                      Warning!!

                      Be aware that the username AND password for that user for Samba will be visible when PXE booting on the screen. This is why I do not use a user that can login to the server. Its a limited account I use only for connecting to the share from WInPE and I dont care if others PXE booting know the password as the only thing they can do with it is connect to the share. If anyone knows of a way to prevent the credentials from appearing when startnet.cmd runs let me know.

                      I run this batch file using the following command:

                      cmd /k winpe.bat

                      This will run it and leave the command window open until complete, making it easier to follow the process and troubleshoot issues.

                      Presuming it completes as intended, the result will be a folder called amd64. I simply copy this whole folder to the /tftpboot/os/win/10 directory on my FOG server. Many of the files we reference in the iPXE menu entry will be within this folder (and its subfolders). I also copy the boot.wim over as it has had the drivers from the driver pack injected.

                      I repeat this batch file for each version of Windows I want to install via PXE, editing the batch with correct paths, files, etc for that version.

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                      • Z
                        Zer0Cool
                        last edited by Zer0Cool

                        Windows 7, Windows 10, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016

                        Works with: UEFI or BIOS (Windows 7 only with BIOS in my testing, hypothetically could be modified to UEFI boot))

                        To start we need the installation files in our /tftpboot/os/win directory. This can be done by manually copying the required content from a Windows iso. I will be providing directions for Windows 10 Pro x64, but the same general steps apply to all versions of Windows mentioned in this posts “title” and likely other versions as well. I had only tested x64 versions for myself.

                        Using Files from ISO:

                        1. Create the directory for Windows/version if it doesnt already exist:
                        mkdir -p /tftpboot/os/win/10
                        1. Mount the ISO and copy the required files to the above directory:
                        mount /{path to the iso}/filename.iso /mnt/iso/
cp -R /mnt/iso/* /tftpboot/os/win/10
umount /mnt/iso

                        Preparing Windows for PXE:

                        See the post on WinPE. It is assumed going forward that you have a working WinPE image that connects to the Samba share setup in the first post, correctly pointed to the version of Windows to install and with the proper drivers injected to run.

                        Adding iPXE entry:

                        From the FOG web GUI, create a new iPXE entry (or edit an existing one) as follows:

                        1. Menu Item: name as desired (ex: os.winlatest)
                        2. Description: as desired (ex: Windows 10 Pro - Install). Note: This is what is seen in the iPXE menu on the host machine!
                        3. Parameters:
                        iseq ${platform} efi && goto win10_efi || goto win10_bios
:win10_efi
kernel http://${fog-ip}/os/win/wimboot gui
initrd --name segmono_boot.ttf http://${fog-ip}/os/win/10/amd64/media/Boot/Fonts/segmono_boot.ttf segmono_boot.ttf
initrd --name segoe_slboot.ttf http://${fog-ip}/os/win/10/amd64/media/Boot/Fonts/segoe_slboot.ttf segoe_slboot.ttf
initrd --name segoen_slboot.ttf http://${fog-ip}/os/win/10/amd64/media/Boot/Fonts/segoen_slboot.ttf segoen_slboot.ttf
initrd --name wgl4_boot.ttf http://${fog-ip}/os/win/10/amd64/media/Boot/Fonts/wgl4_boot.ttf wgl4_boot.ttf
initrd --name BCD http://${fog-ip}/os/win/10/amd64/media/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/BCD BCD
initrd --name boot.sdi http://${fog-ip}/os/win/10/amd64/media/Boot/boot.sdi boot.sdi
initrd --name boot.wim http://${fog-ip}/os/win/10/amd64/media/sources/boot.wim boot.wim
boot || goto MENU
:win10_bios
kernel http://${fog-ip}/os/win/wimboot gui
initrd --name segmono_boot.ttf http://${fog-ip}/os/win/10/amd64/media/Boot/Fonts/segmono_boot.ttf segmono_boot.ttf
initrd --name segoe_slboot.ttf http://${fog-ip}/os/win/10/amd64/media/Boot/Fonts/segoe_slboot.ttf segoe_slboot.ttf
initrd --name segoen_slboot.ttf http://${fog-ip}/os/win/10/amd64/media/Boot/Fonts/segoen_slboot.ttf segoen_slboot.ttf
initrd --name wgl4_boot.ttf http://${fog-ip}/os/win/10/amd64/media/Boot/Fonts/wgl4_boot.ttf wgl4_boot.ttf
initrd --name BCD http://${fog-ip}/os/win/10/amd64/media/Boot/BCD BCD
initrd --name boot.sdi http://${fog-ip}/os/win/10/amd64/media/Boot/boot.sdi boot.sdi
initrd --name boot.wim http://${fog-ip}/os/win/10/amd64/media/sources/boot.wim boot.wim
boot || goto MENU

                        Note: for something like Windows 7 that may not be able to UEFI boot, you can do something like (for the efi label, similar to ESXi examples):

                        :win7_efi
prompt --timeout 30000 Host must be BIOS booted for this option. Press any key to return to the menu... && goto MENU || goto MENU
                        1. Menu Show With: as desired.
                        2. Save changes

                        Alternate directions here.

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                        • Z
                          Zer0Cool
                          last edited by Zer0Cool

                          ESXi 6.5 U1 and 6.7

                          Works with: UEFI (BIOS booting is only possible if you compile your own undionly.kpxe iPXE kernel to include the IMG_COMBOOT parameter. FOG does not ship with an iPXE kernel supporting this. I have not tested this and compiling is outside the scope of this guide)

                          To start we need the installation files in our /tftpboot/os/esxi directory. This can be done by manually copying the required content from an ESXi iso. The following will presume ESXi 6.7 but altering the version to your desired version in the steps should work.

                          Using Files from ISO:

                          1. Create the directory for CentOS/version if it doesnt already exist:
                          mkdir -p /tftpboot/os/esxi/6.7
                          1. Mount the ISO and copy the required files to the above directory:
                          mount /{path to the iso}/filename.iso /mnt/iso/
cp -R /mnt/iso/* /tftpboot/os/esxi/6.7
umount /mnt/iso

                          Preparing ESXi Media for PXE

                          ESXi is a bit unique in that we need to modify some of its files to work with PXE booting. This seems to be one of the bigger areas of confusion for those trying to setup iPXE to boot ESXi.

                          The file to modify is boot.cfg and ESXi has 2 of these files, one is used for BIOS booting and the other for UEFI booting. We are only concerned with the UEFI version of the file, but it may be worthwhile to do both to avoid issues or if you do want to compile your own kernel to support BIOS installs.

                          The UEFI version of the file is located at /tftpboot/os/esxi/6.7/efi/boot/boot.cfg

                          I will be editing it with vi/vim but you can use whatever text editor you like:

                          1. First we need to remove all of the / characters from the boot.cfg file using:
                          sed -i.org 's&/&&g' /tftpboot/os/esxi/6.7/efi/boot/boot.cfg
                          1. Open the file to edit:
                          vi /tftpboot/os/esxi/6.7/efi/boot/boot.cfg
                          1. add the prefix line between timeout and kernel (change FOG-IP to your FOG servers IP address, ie: 10.0.0.2…hostname may work too):
                          prefix=http://FOG-IP/os/esxi/6.7/
                          1. change the kernelopt line to:
                          kernelopt=runweasel
                          1. Save and close the boot.cfg

                          Adding iPXE entry:

                          From the FOG web GUI, create a new iPXE entry (or edit an existing one) as follows:

                          1. Menu Item: name as desired (ex: os.esxilatest)
                          2. Description: as desired (ex: ESXi 6.7 A01 - Install (UEFI Only). Note: This is what is seen in the iPXE menu on the host machine!
                          3. Parameters:

                          Supporting only UEFI:

                          iseq ${platform} efi && goto esxi67_efi || goto esxi67_bios
:esxi67_efi
kernel http://${fog-ip}/os/esxi/6.7/efi/boot/bootx64.efi -c http://${fog-ip}/os/esxi/6.7/efi/boot/boot.cfg
boot || goto MENU
:esxi67_bios
prompt --timeout 30000 Host must be UEFI booted for this option. Press any key to return to the menu... && goto MENU || goto MENU

                          Supporting BIOS and UEFI (assuming you compiled your own kernel for it to work and edited both the /tftpboot/os/esxi/6.7/efi/boot/boot.cfg and /tftpboot/os/esxi/6.7/boot.cfg files as per the above steps):

                          iseq ${platform} efi && goto esxi67_efi || goto esxi67_bios
:esxi67_efi
kernel http://${fog-ip}/os/esxi/6.7/efi/boot/bootx64.efi -c http://${fog-ip}/os/esxi/6.7/efi/boot/boot.cfg
boot || goto MENU
:esxi67_bios
kernel http://${fog-ip}/os/esxi/6.7/mboot.c32 -c http://${fog-ip}/os/esxi/6.7/boot.cfg
boot || goto MENU
                          1. Menu Show With: as desired.
                          2. Save changes

                          Alternate directions here.

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                          • Z
                            Zer0Cool
                            last edited by Zer0Cool

                            CentOS 7.4 and 7.5

                            Works with: UEFI or BIOS

                            To start we need the installation files in our /tftpboot/os/centos directory. This can be done by manually copying the required content from a CentOS iso or by using rsync to sync from an online mirror. A list of official mirrors with rsync links can be found here. The following will presume the latest version of CentOS (at this time 7.5.1804) but altering the version to your desired version in the steps should work.

                            You do not have to do the steps in BOTH “Using Files from ISO” and “From rsync”, its one or the other.

                            Using Files from ISO:

                            1. Create the directory for CentOS/version if it doesnt already exist:
                            mkdir -p /tftpboot/os/centos/7.5.1804
                            1. Mount the ISO and copy the required files to the above directory:
                            mount /{path to the iso}/filename.iso /mnt/iso/
cp -R /mnt/iso/* /tftpboot/os/centos/7.5.1804
umount /mnt/iso

                            Using rsync:

                            1. Do not create the subdirectory for the CentOS version, just have /tftpboot/os/centos ready, rsync will create the subdirectory.

                            2. run the rsync command using a rsync url from the list of mirrors you want to use. This can take hours to run:

                            rsync -avzP --log-file=/var/log/rsync_cron/rsync_yum_mirror.log --delete --include="/7.5.1804" --include="/7.5.1804/**" --exclude="*" rsync://mirrorurl/centos/7.5.1804/os/x86_64/ /tftpboot/os/centos

                            feel free to change the path/name of the log file. I use this rsync to also pull updates allowing me to use my FOG server as a local YUM repo as well. If interested in doing so change the rsync path to be rsync://mirrorurl/centos/ instead. This will make the amount of data downloaded much greater, but will later let you use the FOG server as a YUM repo. I placed the rsync command above in my crontab -e without the -P switch for rsync and have it sync once a day. Doing so is a bit beyond the context of this guide though.

                            Also note that if the mirror is down the command can fail, you may need to switch to another mirror or if setting up cron having it sync multiple mirrors just in case.

                            Adding iPXE entry:

                            From the FOG web GUI, create a new iPXE entry (or edit an existing one) as follows:

                            1. Menu Item: name as desired (ex: os.centoslatest)
                            2. Description: as desired (ex: CentOS 7.5.1804 - Install). Note: This is what is seen in the iPXE menu on the host machine!
                            3. Parameters:

                            Manual or rsync without wanting YUM server too:

                            kernel http://${fog-ip}/os/centos/7.5.1804/images/pxeboot/vmlinuz
initrd http://${fog-ip}/os/centos/7.5.1804/images/pxeboot/initrd.img
imgargs vmlinuz initrd=initrd.img root=live:http://${fog-ip}/os/centos/7.5.1804/LiveOS/squashfs.img repo=http://${fog-ip}/os/centos/7.5.1804
boot || goto MENU

                            With rsync pulling all data for YUM:

                            kernel http://${fog-ip}/os/centos/7.5.1804/os/x86_64/images/pxeboot/vmlinuz
initrd http://${fog-ip}/os/centos/7.5.1804/os/x86_64/images/pxeboot/initrd.img
imgargs vmlinuz initrd=initrd.img root=live:http://${fog-ip}/os/centos/7.5.1804/os/x86_64/LiveOS/squashfs.img repo=http://${fog-ip}/os/centos/7.5.1804/os/x86_64
boot || goto MENU
                            1. Menu Show With: as desired.
                            2. Save changes

                            Alternate directions here.

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