Express Share Mount Fails in Linux Preboot Environment - Ghost Solution Suite
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Express Share Mount Fails in Linux Preboot Environment - Ghost Solution Suite

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Article ID: 270756

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Updated On:

Products

Ghost Solution Suite

Issue/Introduction

When executing automation tasks or booting client systems into a Linux preboot environment (Lin64 / Linux Automation) in Ghost Solution Suite (GSS) 3.3, client machines fail to mount the deployment server eXpress share.

During the preboot boot sequence, the client terminal displays mount failures such as:

mount error(22): Invalid argument
CIFS VFS: cifs_mount failed w/return code=-22
Unable to mount eXpress share from server

This issue occurs when the Windows Server host hosting the eXpress share does not have the legacy SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support feature enabled, preventing SMBv1 client requests originated by the Linux preboot kernel from establishing a connection.

Symptoms

  • Linux preboot halts during initialization before launching Ghost / Deployment Agent.

  • Screen output shows mount error(22): Invalid argument or Host is down when attempting to map //<GSS_Server_IP>/eXpress.

Environment

Ghost Solution Suite (GSS) 3.3.11 and later

Cause

The Windows Server hosting the Ghost Solution Suite Express Share lacks the SMB1Protocol / SMB1Protocol-Client / SMB1Protocol-Server feature installation.

Windows missing SMB1.0/CIFS feature installation on the server.

Resolution

During Ghost Solution Suite deployment tasks, client machines boot into the Linux preboot environment to run scripts and process image deployment. The Linux preboot kernel uses the Samba/CIFS virtual file system (cifs.ko) to establish an authenticated mount point back to the GSS Server's eXpress network share.

By default, legacy Linux preboot automation scripts attempt negotiation using SMB 1.0 dialect. On modern Windows Server releases (Windows Server 2016 and newer), SMB 1.0 is disabled by default for security. When the Linux preboot client sends an initial SMBv1 connection request, the Windows Server rejects the dialect, resulting in a CIFS mount failure.

Method 1: Enable SMB 1.0 via Windows PowerShell 

  1. Log in to the Windows Server hosting the GSS eXpress share as an Administrator.

  2. Open an elevated Windows PowerShell prompt.

  3. Check the current status of SMB 1.0 by running:

    Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName SMB1Protocol

  4. Enable SMB 1.0/CIFS server support by running:

    Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName SMB1Protocol -All -NoRestart

  5. Reboot the GSS Server to apply changes:

    Restart-Computer -Force

Method 2: Enable SMB 1.0 via Server Manager

  1. Open Server Manager on the GSS Server.

  2. Click Manage > Add Roles and Features.

  3. Advance to the Features step.

  4. Expand SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support and check SMB 1.0/CIFS Server.

  5. Click Install, then restart the server upon completion.

Windows SMB1.0/CIFS feature to be installed for linux preboot configuration being able to mount to the express share.

NOTE: Post installation will require a server reboot.

Verification

  1. Boot the target client system into the GSS Linux Preboot environment.

  2. Open the Linux preboot terminal (Press Alt + F2 if interactive shell is enabled).

  3. Verify that the share mounts without error by inspecting kernel messages:

    dmesg | grep -i cifs

  4. Verify directory contents of the mounted share:

    ls -la /mnt/express

    Successful output displays the contents of the eXpress share directory.

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