Boot and run

Boot via BMC virtual media (Dell iDRAC example)

1. Open the BMC web console and go to Virtual Console > Virtual Media.
2. Map azl-beacon-<version>-<date>.iso as CD/DVD.
3. Set a one-time boot to Virtual CD/DVD (UEFI).
4. Power on or reboot the node.
5. The Beacon menu appears in about 30 to 60 seconds.

Boot from USB

.\src\Build-WinPEImage.ps1 -BuildUSB -UsbDriveLetter F     # erases F:

or write the ISO with a UEFI-capable tool, then one-time boot from the USB device.

What happens at boot

wpeinit                    <- WinPE network stack init
startnet.cmd               <- tries PowerShell 7 from X:\Tools, falls back to Windows PowerShell 5.1
  Start-AzlBeacon.ps1      <- menu
    Start-NetworkBootstrap <- DHCP detect, or a prompted static address (validated)
    Menu                   <- AD / Local Identity / Networking+Firewall / Full sweep / Arc / Export / Settings

Network bootstrap

Beacon waits 15 seconds for a DHCP lease. If none arrives you are asked for:

Prompt	Example
IP address	192.0.2.50
Subnet mask	255.255.255.0
Default gateway	192.0.2.1
Primary DNS	192.0.2.10

Each value is validated (dotted quad, contiguous mask); invalid input applies nothing. The address is only for Beacon; it has nothing to do with how the cluster nodes will be addressed later.

Results

Saved to X:\results\ for the WinPE session: .json, .log, .html.

WARNING

Results are lost on reboot. Use menu option 8: a USB drive letter, an SMB share (\\server\share) or an HTTPS URL, with an optional redaction. From a command prompt, Start-AzlValidation.ps1 -ExportTo E -Redact does the same.

Walkthrough with sample output: Walkthrough.