Hello,

My Fog server is behind several switches but is on the same VLAN as my Host computers. The Multicast starts and continues until the Partclone page appears and nothing happens from there. I read another post that indicated that the multi-switch environment must be the problem but no solution was offered. Does anyone know how I should approach troubleshooting?

Process stuck here.

Multicast log:

[05-21-24 8:02:53 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test is new
[05-21-24 8:02:53 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test image file found, file: /images/Peruswin11-21032024
[05-21-24 8:02:53 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test 3 clients found
[05-21-24 8:02:53 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test sending on base port 63632
[05-21-24 8:02:53 am]  | Command: /usr/local/sbin/udp-sender --interface ens18 --min-receivers 3 --max-wait 300 --portbase 63632 --full-duplex --ttl 32 --nokbd --nopointopoint --file /images/Peruswin11-21032024/d1p1.img;/usr/local/sbin/udp-sender --interface ens18 --min-receivers 3 --max-wait 30 --portbase 63632 --full-duplex --ttl 32 --nokbd --nopointopoint --file /images/Peruswin11-21032024/d1p2.img;/usr/local/sbin/udp-sender --interface ens18 --min-receivers 3 --max-wait 30 --portbase 63632 --full-duplex --ttl 32 --nokbd --nopointopoint --file /images/Peruswin11-21032024/d1p3.img;/usr/local/sbin/udp-sender --interface ens18 --min-receivers 3 --max-wait 30 --portbase 63632 --full-duplex --ttl 32 --nokbd --nopointopoint --file /images/Peruswin11-21032024/d1p4.img;
[05-21-24 8:02:53 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test has started
[05-21-24 8:03:04 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test is already running with pid: 107832
[05-21-24 8:03:14 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test is already running with pid: 107832
[05-21-24 8:03:24 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test is already running with pid: 107832
[05-21-24 8:03:34 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test is already running with pid: 107832
[05-21-24 8:03:44 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test is already running with pid: 107832
[05-21-24 8:03:54 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test is already running with pid: 107832
[05-21-24 8:04:04 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test is already running with pid: 107832
[05-21-24 8:04:14 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test is already running with pid: 107832
[05-21-24 8:04:24 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test is already running with pid: 107832
[05-21-24 8:04:34 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test is already running with pid: 107832
[05-21-24 8:04:44 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test is already running with pid: 107832
[05-21-24 8:04:54 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test is already running with pid: 107832
[05-21-24 8:05:04 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test is already running with pid: 107832
[05-21-24 8:05:15 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test is already running with pid: 107832
[05-21-24 8:05:25 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test is already running with pid: 107832
[05-21-24 8:05:35 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test is already running with pid: 107832
[05-21-24 8:05:45 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test has been cancelled
[05-21-24 8:05:45 am]  | Task ID: 1 Name: Multi-Cast Task - multicast-test is now cancelled 

Multicast.log.udpcast.1

Udp-sender 20200328
Using mcast address 236.28.1.80
UDP sender for /images/Peruswin11-21032024/d1p1.img at 172.28.1.80 on ens18
Broadcasting control to 224.0.0.1
New connection from 172.28.171.148  (#0) 00000009
New connection from 172.28.171.94  (#1) 00000009
New connection from 172.28.171.96  (#2) 00000009
Starting transfer: 00000009
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Timeout notAnswered=[0,1,2] notReady=[0,1,2] nrAns=0 nrRead=0 nrPart=3 avg=10000
Dropping client #0 because of timeout
Disconnecting #0 (172.28.171.148)
Dropping client #1 because of timeout
Disconnecting #1 (172.28.171.94)
Dropping client #2 because of timeout
Disconnecting #2 (172.28.171.96)
bytes=                re-xmits=0000000 (  0.0%) slice=0112 -   0
Transfer complete.

Udp-sender 20200328
Using mcast address 236.28.1.80
UDP sender for /images/Peruswin11-21032024/d1p2.img at 172.28.1.80 on ens18
Broadcasting control to 224.0.0.1

Fog Setting:

## Start of FOG Settings
## Created by the FOG Installer
## Find more information about this file in the FOG Project wiki:
##     https://wiki.fogproject.org/wiki/index.php?title=.fogsettings
## Version: 1.5.10.16
## Install time: Mon Mar 18 12:14:11 2024
ipaddress='172.28.1.80'
copybackold='0'
interface='ens18'
submask='255.255.0.0'
hostname='fog'
routeraddress='#   No router address added'
plainrouter=''
dnsaddress='#   No dns added'
username='fogproject'
password='K8lkIMmJgjfwkdnvs'
osid='2'
osname='Debian'
dodhcp='N'
bldhcp='0'
dhcpd='isc-dhcp-server'
blexports='1'
installtype='N'
snmysqluser='fogmaster'
snmysqlpass='2sGsklsjldsjXXXXXXkdM7zq'
snmysqlhost='localhost'
mysqldbname='fog'
installlang='0'
storageLocation='/images'
fogupdateloaded=1
docroot='/var/www/html/'
webroot='/fog/'
caCreated='yes'
httpproto='http'
startrange=''
endrange=''
packages='apache2 bc build-essential cpp curl g++ gawk gcc genisoimage git gzip htmldoc isolinux lftp libapache2-mod-php libc6 libcurl4 liblzma-dev m4 mariadb-client mariadb-server net-tools nfs-kernel-server openssh-server php php-bcmath php-cli php-curl php-fpm php-gd php-json php-ldap php-mbstring php-mysql tar tftp-hpa tftpd-hpa unzip vsftpd wget zlib1g '
noTftpBuild=''
tftpAdvOpts=''
sslpath='/opt/fog/snapins/ssl/'
backupPath='/home/'
armsupport='0'
php_ver='8.1'
sslprivkey='/opt/fog/snapins/ssl//.srvprivate.key'
sendreports='N'
## End of FOG Settings

Storages:

Multicast settings:

@Tom-Elliott,

Thank you for clarifying the situation. That makes sense now that you mention it.

One issue is still puzzling me. When I’m debugging, I notice that the “hd” parameter is always passed as /dev/nvme0n1 even when I’ve configured it as /dev/nvme1n1 in the iPXE menu parameters. I understand that NVMe names might not remain consistent across boots, but shouldn’t the hd parameter at least reflect the correct path set in the iPXE menu?

Another question is: how difficult is it to create an interactive deployment process where users can choose the disk for image deployment after the boot? Given that PCI naming persists after boot, can FOG simply use the variable set by the user as the target disk? Are there any limitations that would prevent implementing such a feature?

I’m encountering an issue with my iPXE menu configuration when specifying the target disk for FOG image deployment. It works smoothly on computers with a traditional hard disk and Legacy BIOS. However, the same setup fails on machines equipped with NVMe SSDs and running UEFI. I suspect that either the hd parameter isn’t recognized in the case of SSDs or there’s an underlying UEFI compatibility issue.

I’ve been struggling to resolve this for quite some time now and would greatly appreciate any assistance.

Here’s the configuration for computers with HDD:

kernel bzImage loglevel=4 initrd=init.xz root=/dev/ram0 rw ramdisk_size=275000 web=http://192.168.1.1/fog/ consoleblank=0 rootfstype=ext4 nvme_core.default_ps_max_latency_us=0 mac= ftp=192.168.1.1 storage=192.168.1.1:/images/ storageip=192.168.1.1 osid=9 irqpoll chkdsk=0 img=Peruswin10 imgType=n imgPartitionType=all imgid=4 imgFormat=5 capone=1 type=down hd=/dev/sdb isdebug=yes
imgfetch init.xz
boot

And for the target computers with UEFI and SSD:

kernel bzImage loglevel=4 initrd=init.xz root=/dev/ram0 rw ramdisk_size=275000 web=http://192.168.1.1/fog/ consoleblank=0 rootfstype=ext4 nvme_core.default_ps_max_latency_us=0 mac= ftp=192.168.1.1 storage=192.168.1.1:/images/ storageip=192.168.1.1 osid=9 irqpoll chkdsk=0 img=Windows10 imgType=n imgPartitionType=all imgid=5 imgFormat=5 capone=1 type=down hd=/dev/nvme1n1 isdebug=yes
imgfetch init.xz
boot

@sami-blackkite

I’m not an expert on this but I have been successfully capturing my images from nvme drives.

Do you set your Image Type as Single Disk?

PS: I changed BOOT EXIT TYPE and EFI BOOT EXIT TYPE and the rEFInd menu appeared and the Windows was booted.

Just curious to know if that fixed the situation or renaming the files which I mentioned before.

Hi,

Our HP Elite mini 600 G9 halts when “Boot from hard disk” in the FOG menu is selected. At first, it went to the initializing refind message. Then I replaced the refind_x65.efi file with the latest one. Now selecting “Boot from hard disk” goes to a black screen for a few seconds and then returns to the HP UEFI menu.

Any idea how I should proceed to fix this?

Cheers!

@george1421 Hello again,

The issue arises solely when Windows is on disk0 and Ubuntu is deployed on disk1. Hence, I believe your assessment is accurate. It’s possible that UEFI is readjusting itself due to these modifications.

Interestingly, the problem doesn’t occur when Ubuntu is already present, and then Windows is deployed. Anyway, that is not a big problem at this moment.

There’s another problem.

Your suggestion works well for putting Linux on Disk1, but if the user needs to reinstall Windows, it’ll also go to /dev/nvme1n1, messing everything up

Any suggestions?

@george1421,

Thank you for the clear explanation. I have successfully deployed the images as I intended and have gained some understanding of the process.

I have a question regarding the current situation: when I attempt to boot Ubuntu for the first time (by selecting it from the UEFI boot menu using F9 on the HP machine), I encounter a “Reset System” message and the machine reboots. However, upon reboot, it successfully boots into Ubuntu. Is this behaviour normal?

@george1421,

Thanks for your response.

I’ve explored various FOG capturing methods without success. The complexity led me to consider using installation media. Here’s a summary of my goal:

• Default: Windows 11 on disk one (nvme0n1).
• Users occasionally need Linux on the second disk.
• Users should be able to delete the Linux drive later while keeping Windows on disk one intact.

So the main challenge at this moment is having Windows and Linux coexist. When I deploy a Linux (from a disk image - Single disk - Everything) to disk2, the system doesn’t boot the Linux, possibly due to the EFI partition on disk1 lacking the necessary boot entries. To address this, I captured our Windows 11 image (single disk- Everything) after I had deployed Linux, ensuring the EFI partition had the required entries. The results were the same. The Linux doesn’t appear in the UEFI firmware as a boot entry. (Our new computers have only UEFI)

So, I thought using an installation media might fix the bootloader issue. But before testing, I’m curious to know what will happen when we delete the Linux disk.

The funny thing is that our older FOG server is handling all the requirements I mentioned above perfectly. The differences are that the default image is a Windows 10 and the client computers have BIOS.

Any insights on achieving this would be greatly appreciated.

Hi,

My goal is to allow the users to do a fresh installation of their desired Linux distro directly from the FOG menu. (Users don’t have access to FOG credentials). I want to learn how to build these installation media so that FOG can use them.

This post explains how to create favourite installer images for legacy systems. I want to know if the same thing can be achieved for UEFI systems and newer Ubuntu Desktop versions such as 22.04.

On the Canonical page, they provide some guidance on the netbooting can be achieved in the newer releases but I can’t translate that to something that FOG could use. Can someone explain if that is possible?

@george1421, We have an old FOG server that is configured to deploy Windows 10 images to /dev/sda and other images to /dev/sdb, and it’s working as expected. Just to clarify, the users can choose which image they want from the menu and the FOG does the rest.

What I’m aiming for is exactly the same as what I previously shared, and this similarity boosts my confidence that I’m not attempting something beyond FOG’s capabilities.

The only difference I’ve noticed is that my disk image is for Windows 11 and the disks are SSD (nvme). I suspect I might be missing some parameters in the menu entry. How can I make sure I’ve included all the necessary parameters correctly? The values of the URL and IDs are correct because I have copied them from the FOG debug dump.

@george1421, I appreciate your prompt response, and your explanation was quite helpful.
I’m still grappling with the last question, specifically about adding a new iPXE menu entry to enable users to deploy a disk image to a particular disk.

The link you shared seems to emphasize installers, correct? In my scenario, there are no installers; only disk clones.

In this discussion, you proposed certain parameters that appeared effective for other users.

kernel bzImage loglevel=4 initrd=init.xz root=/dev/ram0 rw ramdisk_size=127000 web=http://${fog-ip}/fog/ consoleblank=0 rootfstype=ext4 mac= ftp=${fog-ip} storage=${fog-ip}:/images/ storageip=${fog-ip} irqpoll chkdsk=0 capone=1 type=down img=Dell3630Base imgType=n imgPartitionType=all imgid=39 osid=9 imgFormat=5 
imgfetch init.xz

I keyed these and changed the values to match my setting. Something like this:

kernel bzImage loglevel=4 initrd=init.xz root=/dev/ram0 rw ramdisk_size=275000 web=http://10.255.66.1/fog/ consoleblank=0 nvme_core.default_ps_max_latency_us=0 mac= ftp=10.255.66.1 storage=10.255.66.1:/images/ storageip=10.255.66.1 irqpoll chkdsk=0 img=Windows_11_Pro imgType=n imgPartitionType=all imgid=9 osid=9 imgFormat=5 hd=/dev/nvme1n0
imgfetch init.xz
boot

I’m pretty sure I have misconfigured many of these parameters because I get this error.

Can you hep me spot my mistakes?

Thank you!

Hi,

We are looking to implement FOG for managing our laboratory. All computers in the lab are from the same manufacturer with the same specs. I’ve been going through the documentation and Wiki pages to address some specific questions we have but found little information. I would appreciate your guidance on the following:

Capturing Process:

Our laboratory requires various images for different use cases, such as Windows 11 and Ubuntu 22.04. Could you please clarify the process for capturing multiple images? Do we install each operating system individually and then capture them into FOG?

Deployment to Second Disk:

When a user selects a Linux image, we want FOG to automatically deploy it to the second disk without affecting the default Windows image on the first disk. Is there a specific configuration or setting for achieving this?

Sysprep Considerations:

Our images contain user accounts that we need to retain, making Generalized Sysprep unsuitable for our needs. Does it matter if Sysprep is set to Specialized in this case? Any recommendations or best practices for our scenario?

New Menu Item Configuration:

I noticed the option to create a new menu item, but I’m unsure about configuring the parameters to correctly point to the desired image. Could you direct me to the documentation that covers the parameters and menu configuration in detail?

Thank you very much.