Users Guide

Deploying operating systems
You can use any of the following utilities to deploy operating systems to managed systems:
• Remote File Share
• Console
Topics:
• Deploying operating system using remote file share
• Deploying operating system using virtual media
• Deploying embedded operating system on SD card
Deploying operating system using remote file
share
Before you deploy the operating system using Remote File Share (RFS), make sure that:
• Configure User and Access Virtual Media privileges for iDRAC are enabled for the user.
• Network share contains drivers and operating system bootable image file, in an industry standard format such as .img or .iso.
NOTE:
While creating the image file, follow standard network-based installation procedures, and mark the
deployment image as read-only to make sure that each target system boots and runs the same deployment
procedure.
To deploy an operating system using RFS:
1. Using Remote File Share (RFS), mount the ISO or IMG image file to the managed system through NFS or CIFS.
2. Go to Configuration > System Settings > Hardware Settings > First Boot Device.
3. Set the boot order in the First Boot Device drop-down list to select a virtual media such as floppy, CD, DVD, or ISO.
4. Select the Boot Once option to enable the managed system to reboot using the image file for the next instance only.
5. Click Apply.
6. Reboot the managed system and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the deployment.
Managing remote file share
Using Remote File Share (RFS) feature, you can set an ISO or IMG image file on a network share and make it available to the managed
server’s operating system as a virtual drive by mounting it as a CD or DVD using NFS or CIFS. RFS is a licensed feature.
Remote file share supports only .img and .iso image file formats. A .img file is redirected as a virtual floppy and a .iso file is redirected as
a virtual CDROM.
You must have Virtual Media privileges to perform an RFS mounting.
RFS and Virtual Media features are mutually exclusive.
• If the Virtual Media client is not active, and you attempt to establish an RFS connection, the connection is established and the remote
image is available to the host operating system.
• If the Virtual Media client is active, and you attempt to establish an RFS connection, the following error message is displayed:
Virtual Media is detached or redirected for the selected virtual drive.
The connection status for RFS is available in iDRAC log. Once connected, an RFS-mounted virtual drive does not disconnect even if you
log out from iDRAC. The RFS connection is closed if iDRAC is reset or the network connection is dropped. The Web interface and
command-line options are also available in CMC and iDRAC to close the RFS connection. The RFS connection from CMC always overrides
an existing RFS mount in iDRAC.
NOTE:
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