Manual OS Installation (ISO)

DOCUMENT CATEGORY: Runbook SCOPE: Azure Local OS installation from an ISO or OEM image PURPOSE: Install the OS on every node through the BMC virtual console MASTER REFERENCE: Microsoft Learn — Install the Azure Stack HCI OS

Status: Active

Overview

This is the GA route: prepare the Dell BOSS boot disk, mount the ISO through iDRAC virtual media, and run the installer on each node. Use it for production deployments and for any hardware in the Azure Local catalog.

After the OS is installed, this route continues with every task in Phase 03: OS Configuration and then Phase 04: Arc Registration. The decision matrix shows how that differs from simplified provisioning.

Important notes

BOSS deletion triggers a reboot. Deleting and recreating the BOSS virtual disk creates a configuration job that needs a reboot to apply.
Automatic boot to the ISO. After that reboot, the server boots from the ISO, because the BOSS disk has no OS yet.
Manual installation. The installer runs through the iDRAC virtual console on each node.
Don't domain join before Phase 05 unless you follow Learn's domain-join-before-deployment steps (2604 and later). The deployment joins the nodes.

Tasks

Task	Description	Duration
1	Delete and Recreate Virtual Disk on Dell BOSS Card	15 min
2	Mount and Verify Dell Gold Image ISO	15 min
3	Manual OS Installation	30–45 min
4	Verify OS Deployment	15 min

Prerequisites

Requirement	Description	Source
Phase 01 complete	BIOS and iDRAC settings validated and compliant	Phase 01
Dell BOSS cards	Boot Optimized Storage Solution cards in all nodes	Hardware
iDRAC access	Virtual Console and Virtual Media available	`variables.yml: nodes.<name>.idrac_ip`
OS image	Dell Azure Local gold image ISO, or the Microsoft ISO plus your OEM's drivers	Build team, Learn

Dell BOSS card

The Dell Boot Optimized Storage Solution (BOSS) card provides dedicated boot storage for Azure Local nodes:

Feature	Description
Configuration	Two M.2 SATA SSDs configured as a RAID-1 mirror
Purpose	OS boot resilience: an OS failure doesn't affect the data drives
Controller	Dell BOSS controller, separate from the storage RAID controller
Presentation	A single virtual disk to the OS
Requirement	A full delete, create and initialize cycle before a fresh OS install

Dell gold image

Dell's Azure Local gold image includes Dell's drivers, and from the June 2025 image the SBE files are already in C:\SBE. Images from 2609 also update firmware during imaging. Check Dell's SBE release notes for your image before you go on.

Workflow

graph TD
  A[Phase 01 complete] --> B[Task 1: Delete and recreate the BOSS virtual disk]
  B --> C[Task 2: Mount the ISO through iDRAC]
  C --> D[Task 3: Install the OS]
  D --> E[Task 4: Verify the installation]
  E --> F{All nodes done?}
  F -->|No| B
  F -->|Yes| G[Phase 03: OS Configuration, all tasks]
  G --> H[Phase 04: Arc Registration]

Quick check before you start

Verify iDRAC access for all nodes. iDRAC addresses are in variables.yml under nodes.<name>.idrac_ip.

# Test iDRAC connectivity for all nodes
Import-Module powershell-yaml
$config = Get-Content ".\config\variables.yml" -Raw | ConvertFrom-Yaml
$config.nodes.Values | ForEach-Object {
  $result = Test-NetConnection -ComputerName $_.idrac_ip -Port 443 -WarningAction SilentlyContinue
  $status = if ($result.TcpTestSucceeded) { "Reachable" } else { "Unreachable" }
  Write-Host "$($_.hostname) iDRAC ($($_.idrac_ip)): $status"
}

Validation

BOSS virtual disks deleted and recreated on all nodes
Gold image ISO mounted and verified on all nodes (Inserted: true)
Nodes rebooted and booted from the ISO after the BOSS recreation
Azure Stack HCI OS installed on the BOSS RAID-1 volume of every node
Administrator passwords set and stored in Key Vault
All nodes boot to the Server Core prompt
Task 4 checklist passed


← Phase 02: OS Installation	↑ Phase 02: OS Installation	Task 01: BOSS Card →

Version	Date	Author	Changes
1.0	2026-11-06	Azure Local Cloud	Split from the Phase 02 overview into its own path

Overview​

Tasks​

Prerequisites​

Dell BOSS card​

Workflow​

Quick check before you start​

Validation​

Navigation​