Proxmox VE 4.2 setup on Supermicro X11SSH-CTF

[hoppel118]

Hello guys,

I want to install (initial setup) proxmox onto my server:

Mainboard: Supermicro X11SSH-CTF
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1240Lv5 4x 2.10GHz So.1151 TRAY
RAM: 64GB ECC
System-SSD: Crucial MX200 250GB

I try to install Proxmox VE 4.2 via ipmi webui - virtual media - cd-rom image.

This method works fine for installing debian 8.6 netinstall and other os (like openmediavault) but not for proxmox. After booting the virtual media I see the following screen and press enter to "Install Proxmox VE":

After "Loading Proxmox Installer..." and "Loading initial ramdisk..." I see the following on my screen:

The boot stops here. Nothing happens in the iKVM Viewer. If I press "ctrl+alt+del" the boot process goes on and stops again with the following screen:

After a short period of time (1 minute) without doing anything the boot goes on, but stops again here:

going on with..., the same message is coming up again and again (looping):

I expect a (graphical) user interface to come up, like it does with the other os's, but this doesn't happen.

What is your recommandation?

Greetings Hoppel

 

[wolfgang]

Hi,

install on top debian jessie
see
https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Install_Proxmox_VE_on_Debian_Jessie

 

[hoppel118]

Hello Wolfgang,

thanks for answering that fast. I already saw this wiki-howto and it also was my plan b to install proxmox that way.

But why isn't it possible to see the graphical user interface of the proxmox setup media with my environment? Do you have any idea?

Greetings Hoppel

 

[wolfgang]

It can be that some driver or modules are missing in the iso.
We do not update the iso with every kernel we build.
So in the last iso there is a 4.4-6 kernel.

 

[hoppel118]

Ok, but why does the plain debian jessie 8.6 netinst iso with kernel 3.16 show me the graphical setup user interface and proxmox with kernel 4.4 does not?

Don't you use the standard drivers and modules from the default kernel?

I also saw the graphical setup ui with debian jessie 8.3 netinst some month ago.

Greetings Hoppel

 

[fabian]

Ok, but why does the plain debian jessie 8.6 netinst iso with kernel 3.16 show me the graphical setup user interface and proxmox with kernel 4.4 does not?

Don't you use the standard drivers and modules from the default kernel?

what is standard and default here? if you mean, do we use a stock Debian Jessie kernel? then the answer is no..

we use a kernel based on Ubuntu's 4.4 kernel from Xenial, with some additional patches, config changes and modules on top. the 4.2 installer uses a modified 4.2 kernel based on Ubuntu Wily's kernel, but on first upgrade you're switched to the current 4.4.x based kernel.

 

[hoppel118]

Ok, I installed proxmox on top of a debian jessie 8.6 netinst. This worked really flawless. Now, I am working on pci passthrough, to pass through my onboard lsi 3008 sas controller (I already see it in the kvm, but also on the host), my cine s2 dvb tuner card and a sata-ssd-disk to different kvms or lxcs.

In the first step I am trying to get that working with kvm and in a second step with lxc. Are there any known issues I should be aware of?

Thanks for your help!

Greetings Hoppel

 

[DzAirmaX]

Hi hoppel118,

I have the same MB as you and encountering stability problem every 2 days when LXC containers are running on host. Let me know if you have the same type of problems.

 

[hoppel118]

Hi DzAirmaX,

in the first phase of virtualising my server I am going the way with kvm only. In the second phase, when it's clear that everthing works as stable as without virtualising, I am going to try lxc. So you have to wait maybe some month until I can give you that feedback. I don't have much time at the moment.

Did you also have the problem with the iso? Did you install proxmox on top of debian jessie?

Greetings Hoppel

 

[DzAirmaX]

I didn't encounter any trouble during the installation (I did install directly with Proxmox install 4.2).

 

[hoppel118]

FYI: the installer iso for proxmox pve 4.3 also doesn't work for me. But it's ok, I have the way to install the debian netinstall and the proxmox repo. Both isos work fine, if try to install them in a kvm on my already installed proxmox host.

 

[hoppel118]

I didn't encounter any trouble during the installation (I did install directly with Proxmox install 4.2).

Did you install via cd-rom, usb or ipmi? I didn't test the cd-rom and usb methods? Maybe my installer error is related to ipmi...

Greetings Hoppel

 

[DzAirmaX]

I installed Proxmox 4.2 via IPMI. The only problem I encountered was linked to the "screen" resolution: the buttons "next" and "Previous" didn't appear in my iKVM but I was still able to install by using the shortcuts. I can confirm I had no error during the process.

 

[hoppel118]

interesting, I am confused... Which ipmi-/bios-firmware do you use?

I use the following...

Firmware Revision : 01.15
Firmware Build Time : 02/19/2016
BIOS Version : 1.0a
BIOS Build Time : 03/22/2016
CPLD Version : 02.b1.01
Redfish Version : 1.0.1

Greetings Hoppel

 

[DzAirmaX]

Hi Hoppel,

I thought we had the same Mb! After looking at my BIOS build time version, I understood it was not the case.

I have a X11SSL-CF (https://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon/C236_C232/X11SSL-CF.cfm)

Not the same as you, sorry for the confusion.

 

[hoppel118]

OK, thanks for reporting back. Bye

 

[hoppel118]

By the way, it's still not possible to use the current installation medium (PVE 4.4) with this mainboard.

Which information do you need to debug that issue?

It would be nice to use the installation medium in proxmox future versions. I would like to setup the proxmox host system to a zfs. This is nearly unpossible (very complex procedure) if you start with a plain debian setup.

Greetings Hoppel

 

[fabian]

By the way, it's still not possible to use the current installation medium (PVE 4.4) with this mainboard.

Which information do you need to debug that issue?

It would be nice to use the installation medium in proxmox future versions. I would like to setup the proxmox host system to a zfs. This is nearly unpossible (very complex procedure) if you start with a plain debian setup.

Greetings Hoppel

a complete log without gaps would be interesting. since you seem to be able to run PVE on that board just fine when installing on top of Debian Jessie, it must be something specific to the installer environment..

• also, does it display anything before the errors start? (there are some messages about "Loading XXX", but those disappear pretty quickly)
• if you boot into debug mode, do you get dropped into the first debug shell (which happens still in the initrd, before switching to the installer environment)?

 

[MaddinB]

By the way, it's still not possible to use the current installation medium (PVE 4.4) with this mainboard.

Which information do you need to debug that issue?

It would be nice to use the installation medium in proxmox future versions. I would like to setup the proxmox host system to a zfs. This is nearly unpossible (very complex procedure) if you start with a plain debian setup.

Greetings Hoppel

With the following kernel options I was able to boot from PVE 4.4 ISO on my X11SSH-CTF: nomodeset i915_bpo.modeset=0
You can press "e" while the Proxmox boot menu (grub) is displayed (booting from iso) to add the kernel options.

To avoid updating the kernel options each time the system is booted, update the
GRUB settings as below, after PVE install:

`sudo vi /etc/default/grub`
`GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="nomodeset i915_bpo.modeset=0 quiet`

Greetz
MaddinB

 

[hoppel118]

Hello @MaddinB

thanks for this hint. Now I did the following:

• mounted the iso file via supermicro ipmi web ui
• bootet the virtual cd rom
• pressed "e" while in proxmox boot menu
• configured grub as shown in the following screenshot
• pressed F10 (also tried STRG+X) to boot

It still doesn't boot. What am I doing wrong?

Greetings Hoppel