OpenPOWER servers have Petitboot bootloader to manage the bootup options / preferences.
Since petitboot is relatively new I am putting together this guide to help walk through on how to set up devices to boot from any device (network or disk).
Step 1.
Power on the server and wait for Petitboot to come up via the VGA console (or OOB)
Step 2:
Select and click “system configuration” using the key-board arrows and enter key.
Setup 3:
You will find below menu to customize the boot up options. In order to boot from any device, select and press enter on ” Clear and boot Any” option as below
Setup 4:
Once you finish step 3, you will see that Boot Order in the first line of the screen short below changes to “(0) Any Device”
Step 5:
Now let’s save this boot config. For saving the boot order we have to go all the way down to the boot menu with down arrow key and select and press enter on “OK”
Step 6:
At this point you will be returned to petitboot menu and you have successfully set to boot from any device. From your next power on your server will automatically boot into an image that it finds first.
Power-off, Unrack and rack your server (or hard reboot) to test that “boot from any device” preference is working. When you un-rack and re-rack your server, you will have to wait few minutes (for BMC orange light to go off) before you press the host power on button.
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