[SOLVED] Cannot start Proxmox without a network

[bogdan.solga]

Hello, everyone!

I have recently moved my Proxmox PC from the office where I've made the setup. As a consequence, the network where it was connected is no longer available.

Today I tried to start the PC, without a network cable attached to it; the result - the boot process got stuck somewhere, and I could not obtain a TTY console in which I could run any commands. I tried to boot in 'Rescue mode'; several attempts resulted in the 'compression not supported' issue, several attempts continued the boot process, but got stuck after a few seconds (I have attached an example).

I have also tried to boot the Proxmox installer (from an USB stick), both in default installation and in the safe mode. Both modes worked properly, I could see the ZFS pool and datasets, but I do not know how to proceed from there.

Two main questions:

• is there any possibility to start Proxmox without a network connection? if yes - how?
• I will soon attach the Proxmox host to a new network, which will have a different network configuration. What is the recommended way to change the network settings (after I will connect it to the network)?

Thank you!

 

[mmenaz]

[cut]

Two main questions:

• is there any possibility to start Proxmox without a network connection? if yes - how?

In my experience, booting with no network connected is possible without problems, maybe is some hw problem instead? Try to connect the cable to another PC or a switch just to have the hardware sensing the connection, maybe it can solve.
Of course you have a single server here, with local storage, not a node cluster, right?
Btw, have you tried to hit "Enter" multiple time at that point? Maybe an error message is not visible due to a mismatching setup of the screen output...

• I will soon attach the Proxmox host to a new network, which will have a different network configuration. What is the recommended way to change the network settings (after I will connect it to the network)?

How good are you with GNU/Linux? You can simply log in the console and edit the /etc/network/interfaces configuration file, save and reboot.
Or you can attach a PC directly to Proxmox server, configure it's interface as belonging to the same lan of Proxmox (no need to configure gateway or dns in the PC), then enter Proxmox Web Gui and do the changes from there.

 

[bogdan.solga]

Thank you very much for your suggestions, @mmenaz ! I will answer to each of them, onward.

booting with no network connected is possible without problems

I also thought & hoped the same, but @oguz mentioned (in another thread) that the installer may not start / work properly without a network cable attached to the host. Moreover - even if the host would boot properly, the only way to start and access the VMs would be from the command line, as there would not be an easy way to access the web interface.

maybe is some hw problem instead?

I thought about that possibility as well. As far as I can see (for now), everything works properly:

• the motherboard, CPU and RAM are working properly (at least as far as th BIOS is reporting)
• the SSD and NVMe drives are recognized and displayed properly in BIOS + the `rpool` pool is accessible, mountable and healthy
• the graphics card is working properly

you have a single server here, with local storage, not a node cluster, right?

(Unfortunately) yes, for now. I intend to create a cluster, in the future, but it won't be cheap to create an identical node

have you tried to hit "Enter" multiple time at that point?

Yes, I tried that as well. Nothing happened, unfortunately.

My suspicion is that the boot sequence is not working until the end because Proxmox attempts to establish the NFS connection to one of the storage configs that I have defined, and, since the network is not available, that is hanging the boot process. I am aware that this should not stop / block the boot process, of course.

How good are you with GNU/Linux? You can simply log in the console and edit the /etc/network/interfaces configuration file, save and reboot.

Good enough to be able to mount the pool in an alternate root and to use vi very easily I have already done that (mounting the pool + viewing the /etc/network/interfaces file). I haven't changed it yet, I will change it after I will connect to the new network (tomorrow).

you can attach a PC directly to Proxmox server, configure it's interface as belonging to the same lan of Proxmox (no need to configure gateway or dns in the PC), then enter Proxmox Web Gui and do the changes from there.

If nothing else will work... I will try this solution, albeit it seems that I will still have the same initial issue (that the Proxmox host is not booting correctly).


I have attached two photos taken during the ZFS rescue boot process, which also freezes after a few seconds.
Any other recommendations are more than welcome.

 

[mmenaz]

When I wrote "maybe an hardware problem" was not about RAM or other stuff, I asked you to plug a lan cable connected to something working, so the nick had at least the signal. I had a server (not proxmox) that was unable to boot until the nick was connected. Try this please.
Second, have you tried ^C at that boot stage (when hangs)?
Tried a different console (ctrl+alt+F1-8), just in case (I dubt will have the login prompt, but who knows?)
Having a NFS mount could be part of the problem (that's why I asked if your server was really "stand alone"), should timeout sooner or later (there is a parameter in nfs mount to specify how long wait, I don't know if is "wait forever" if not specified)
Try to boot with Proxmox install CD and follow some guide in this forum about mount the host FS and modify /etc/fstab or whatever tries to mount the NFS share, then reboot.
I've no more ideas, sorry

 

[bogdan.solga]

Thank you very much for your ideas, @mmenaz

After I have connected to a working network and after some further trial & error steps, I managed to connect to the server and to change the IP. I still don't know why I couldn't connect to it before connecting to a network, but I'm glad that I could (finally) revive it.

After restarting the Proxmox host, the VMs that I had configured have disappeared, but the ZFS datasets are there. I have no idea why; I will create a new thread for that issue.

 

[Narcka]

Hi I'm new to proxmox, but after installation I can't move past the screen with the IP address and login prompt. Can anyone assist please

 

[Dunuin]

Thats what a normal running Proxmox VE looks like. There is nothing more to see. Only thing you can do now is login and use the linux commandline for whatever you want to do or get another machine connected to your LAN and open the URL shown to access the WebUI.