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I need to reinstall my linux server to which I don’t have physical access – I can login remotely as root or I can use IPMI. What would be the best way to start the installation?

Thanks.

EDIT:

  1. I tried to do it via GRUB, but I must've done something wrong, because the system won't boot up after selecting any of the GRUB's options.

  2. Via IPMI I managed to boot the installation media, and I am getting this:

    Loading initrd.img..................................
    Probing EDD (edd=off to disable)...   

Unfortunately, that is all even after 30 minutes - nothing more is happening and I can't see any errors.

Vojtěch
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2 Answers2

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You're going to have to use IPMI. You can't login via SSH and wipe a system and re-install.

Ch0ppy35
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    ... for much the same reason as that which prevents you from succeeding in sawing off a tree branch while sitting on it. – MadHatter Oct 12 '14 at 19:32
  • actually you can do this, i saw a senior admin do it to reinstall remote shop systems to get from centos 5 to 6 (and it didnt involve just altering the repos used). Highly not recommended though. – Sirex Oct 12 '14 at 19:40
  • With CentOS you can install from grub - I do it http://serverfault.com/questions/511957/is-there-a-way-to-run-kickstart-scripts-on-a-pre-existing-server/634796#634796 and it's even documented http://wiki.centos.org/TipsAndTricks/InstallFromGRUB – user9517 Oct 12 '14 at 19:42
  • @sirex - definitely in the 'if you have to ask how, *you* don't' category. – Rob Moir Oct 12 '14 at 22:04
  • Please see the edits. – Vojtěch Oct 13 '14 at 16:06
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you can't do it as root. Root will cease to exist during the early stages of reinstalling your system.

  • IPMI's pretty horrible. doable in a pinch, depending on the installer your OS provides. some are more friendly to a (very basic) serial interface than others.

  • A lot of the systems that offer IPMI also offer alternatives. Eg HP's ILO has already been mentioned, and DRAC is Dell's equivalent. I've remotely installed a Dell server based on just getting someone to plug it in, not even turned on, albeit I had access to the router so I could access the DRAC on it's default IP without that needing to be configured. The OS installation media was at my end.

  • People do installs based on PXE/TFTP boots, bootable media that does enough to get the system online, etc, etc. For a one-off job though it's a lot of development and testing effort.

  • There are hardware options that do much the same as ILO and DRAC, that sit external to the server. It's called KVM over IP. Ask the datacenter (or whoever is physically close to the server) if they have any such hardware available for temporary use. They can often be had on ebay, but they're not all that cheap. (and some that look like they are are better avoided). Avocent is probably a good brand choice.

  • Almost any data centre will have someone on hand that can do a minimal OS install of one of the common OS distributions for you, and configure it just far enough for you to ssh in. You'd probably be looking at paying for an hour of their time.

mc0e
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  • IPMI is horrible. True – even though the installation launches, I can't seem to continue with it. The server should be supermicro and I can't find any alternative to IPMI. No ILO, no DRAC. :/ Unfortunately the staff will be available tomorrow evening for me and I would prefer be able to do these things myself :/ – Vojtěch Oct 13 '14 at 17:07