Mender-convert creating unbootable Ubuntu Server image

General Discussions
1

Hello!

I have attempted using the mender ecosystem in different setups (raspberry & qemu) and these have worked, however, running mender-convert on an Ubuntu Server image fails to boot.

What I have done is:

  • Install an Ubuntu Server image on a x86_64 gateway (Ubuntu 20.04)
  • Clone the image (following the “golden image” principle), using dd to an external drive (the image size is around 100GB)
  • Run sgdisk -e /iso/ubuntu-server-clone-from-gateway.img (as listed in the x86-64-hdd-config)
  • Run mender-convert with the following command:
sudo MENDER_ARTIFACT_NAME=base-release-1 ./docker-mender-convert     --disk-image input/ubuntu-server-clone-from-gateway.img     --config configs/generic_x86-64_hdd_gateway_config --overlay rootfs_overlay_demo/

Variables set in the config:

MENDER_STORAGE_TOTAL_SIZE_MB="102400"
MENDER_BOOT_PART_SIZE_MB="256"
MENDER_DATA_PART_SIZE_MB="256"
IMAGE_ROOTFS_SIZE="-1"
  • Putting the finished mender-convert image onto the gateway using sudo dd if=/usb/mender-image.img of=/dev/sda bs=1M status=progress
  • Run sgdisk -e /dev/sda

After finishing, rebooting the gateway.

On boot-up, the device drops back to the grub menu:

image

I have come across this topic: Can't create Mender images for Ubuntu Server x64 - #16 by krystof which listed issues when using mender with Ubuntu Server, however, I haven’t managed to get it working on my end. (The grub menu fallback, is the same as in the linked forum topic)

Any help would be appreciated

2 Likes
2

Hi,
Still running into this issue, would anyone have any possible ideas?

Thanks

3

For anyone reading and running into this issue.

A solution was found, by going into the Bios settings (on boot) and removing all the boot order options. This forces it to run the “fallback” Bios file, on boot, that mender-convert actually produces.

This would be nicer if a specific UEFI option would be created instead (or in addition) that would allow the selection of the file in the Bios settings (currently everything needs to be removed in the boot order, so as to call the “fallback” file)