KNOWN ISSUE: Receiving error "Unable to boot to DOS/Linux/WinPE automation" when running jobs that use PXE redirection
Article ID: 176737
Updated On:
Products
Issue/Introduction
When using PXE Redirection in Deployment Solution 6.9 after a client computer is assigned a job that uses a PXE Shared Configuration, it will successfully reboot, and then PXE boot into the redirected PXE Local Configuration. When the client computer reports its inventory and checks into the Deployment Solution server while booted into the PXE Local Configuration, it will not start the job but will update the status in the Deployment Solution console to "Booting to Automation".
The client computer will then cycle through again rebooting and automatically selecting the PXE Local Configuration. After attempting this a few times, the Deployment Solution server will finally tell the client to boot back into its regular production operating system and then fail. It will then show in the Deployment Solution console for that job schedule "Unable to boot into ____ automation" (either DOS, Linux, or WinPE).
Cause
This feature was added so that when a client computer is booted into an automation environment already, but not the correct boot image, the Deployment Solution server can tell the client computer to reboot into the proper boot image. An example of this would be if a PXE server that has two WinPE boot images. One is a generic small WinPE boot image with default settings, and the other is a larger boot image with additional drivers needed for certain types of tasks. If a client computer was already booted into the generic WinPE because it was the default automation/initial deployment, but then a job is assigned to the client that uses the other larger WinPE boot image, the server will tell the client to reboot out of the one WinPE boot environment, and the client will PXE boot into the other WinPE boot image. This functionality was non-existent in previous versions of Deployment Solution.
This new feature unfortunately causes problems with PXE redirection. The Deployment Server job schedule shows to use the Shared Configuration boot image, and the client computer reports up the Local Redirected Configuration, and this causes the Deployment Server (which does not know about the redirection) to think that the client needs to be rebooted into a different PXE boot image.
The problem can also occur if not using redirection, but the needed drivers have been excluded from the boot image.
Resolution
This bug is fixed in Deployment Server 6.9 SP1
There is a workaround to this issue that will cause the new feature described in the Cause section of this article to not function. The following explains how to prevent any given PXE boot image type from sending up to the Deployment Solution server in its inventory the PXE ID. You can make these changes for just your Local PXE Boot images one by one, or you can change it for all of your PXE boot images by modifying the base templates and regenerating all of your boot images.
The following are links to other articles that explain the workaround for any one of the following automation environments.
DOS Automation: Article 41043
Linux Automation: Article 41044
WinPE Automation: Article 41047
Check the NIC vendor and Device ID on the client computer and make sure that the correct driver is not being excluded from the boot image. (a red X appears next to the driver in the Boot Disk Creator)
Applies To
Deployment Solution 6.9
Using PXE Redirection, that is, using shared and local PXE configuration where the shared configuration redirect to a local configuration and assigning jobs to the shared configuration.
All automation environments are affected (DOS, Linux, WinPE 1.6, and WinPE 2.0).
Feedback
