Task 02: Mount and Verify Dell Gold Image ISO

DOCUMENT CATEGORY: Runbook SCOPE: Azure Local OS installation PURPOSE: Prepare installation media on all cluster nodes so nodes boot from the gold image ISO after BOSS virtual disk recreation in Task 02 MASTER REFERENCE: Phase 02: OS Installation

Status: Active

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Overview

Mount the Dell Azure Stack HCI OS gold image ISO to all cluster nodes, then verify mount status before proceeding to Task 02. BOSS virtual disk recreation (Task 02) triggers an automatic reboot — nodes must have a valid boot source ready before that reboot occurs.

Mount Media Before BOSS Deletion

Task 02 deletes and recreates the BOSS virtual disk, which triggers an automatic reboot. After reboot the BOSS has no OS and the node falls back to the next boot device. ISO or USB must be in place before Task 02 starts.

On-Site Deployments

If you are physically at the data centre, use the USB Drive (On-Site) tab. It is faster, more reliable, and has no network dependencies.

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Prerequisites

Requirement	Description	Source
Task 01 Complete	BOSS card virtual disk deleted and recreated	Task 01
iDRAC Access	Virtual Console and Virtual Media enabled	variables.yml: nodes.<name>.idrac_ip
Gold Image ISO	Dell Azure Stack HCI OS gold image ISO available	Azure Local Cloud build team
Network Share (iDRAC tabs)	SMB/CIFS share accessible from iDRAC OOB network	Network team

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Variables from variables.yml

Path	Type	Description
nodes.<name>.idrac_ip	string	iDRAC IP address for Virtual Media mount
nodes.<name>.hostname	string	Node hostname for tracking

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Execution Options

Dell iDRAC UI

Perform the following steps on each node:

1. Open https://<idrac-ip> and log in with iDRAC credentials
2. Navigate to Configuration → Virtual Media
3. Select Map Network Share:

• Share Type: CIFS
• Share Address: IP or hostname of the file server
• Share Path: Path to the ISO file on the share
• Image Name: Dell-AzureStackHCI-24H2-Gold.iso
• Username / Password: Share credentials (if required)

4. Click Map Device
5. Verify status shows Connected / Inserted: True

Repeat for all nodes, then verify all mounts with the validation checklist below.

Orchestrated Script (Mgmt Server)

Mount ISO to all nodes simultaneously via Redfish API from the management server. Reads iDRAC IPs from variables.yml.

scripts/deploy/04-cluster-deployment/phase-02-os-installation/task-01-mount-and-verify-dell-gold-image-iso/powershell/Invoke-MountGoldImageISO.ps1

#Requires -Version 7.0
# ============================================================================
# Script: Invoke-MountGoldImageISO.ps1
# Execution: Run FROM management server — Redfish API to each iDRAC
# Prerequisites: powershell-yaml, Az module, iDRAC reachable on port 443
# ============================================================================

param(
 [Parameter(Mandatory = $false)]
 [string]$ConfigPath = ".\config\variables.yml",

 [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]
 [string]$ISOPath, # e.g. \\deploy-server\images\Dell-AzureStackHCI-24H2-Gold.iso

 [Parameter(Mandatory = $false)]
 [PSCredential]$ShareCredential # Optional: SMB share credentials
)

Import-Module powershell-yaml -ErrorAction Stop
Import-Module Az.KeyVault -ErrorAction Stop

$config = Get-Content $ConfigPath -Raw | ConvertFrom-Yaml
$secrets = Get-AzKeyVaultSecret -VaultName $config.key_vault.name

$iDRACUser = ($secrets | Where-Object { $_.Name -eq "idrac-username" }).SecretValue |
 ConvertFrom-SecureString -AsPlainText
$iDRACPass = ($secrets | Where-Object { $_.Name -eq "idrac-password" }).SecretValue |
 ConvertFrom-SecureString -AsPlainText
$credential = [PSCredential]::new($iDRACUser, (ConvertTo-SecureString $iDRACPass -AsPlainText -Force))

$results = @()

foreach ($nodeKey in $config.nodes.Keys) {
 $node = $config.nodes[$nodeKey]
 $ip = $node.idrac_ip
 $baseUri = "https://$ip/redfish/v1"
 $invokeParams = @{ Credential = $credential; SkipCertificateCheck = $true
 Headers = @{ "Content-Type" = "application/json" } }

 Write-Host "$($node.hostname) ($ip) — mounting ISO..." -ForegroundColor Yellow

 try {
 $cdUri = "$baseUri/Managers/iDRAC.Embedded.1/VirtualMedia/CD"

 # Eject if already inserted
 $current = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $cdUri -Method Get @invokeParams
 if ($current.Inserted) {
 Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "$cdUri/Actions/VirtualMedia.EjectMedia" `
 -Method Post -Body '{}' @invokeParams | Out-Null
 Start-Sleep -Seconds 3
 }

 # Build mount payload
 $payload = @{ Image = $ISOPath; Inserted = $true; WriteProtected = $true }
 if ($ShareCredential) {
 $payload.UserName = $ShareCredential.UserName
 $payload.Password = $ShareCredential.GetNetworkCredential().Password
 }

 Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "$cdUri/Actions/VirtualMedia.InsertMedia" `
 -Method Post -Body ($payload | ConvertTo-Json) @invokeParams | Out-Null

 Start-Sleep -Seconds 3
 $verify = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $cdUri -Method Get @invokeParams

 if ($verify.Inserted) {
 Write-Host " Mounted" -ForegroundColor Green
 $results += [PSCustomObject]@{ Node = $node.hostname; Status = "OK"; Inserted = $true }
 } else {
 throw "Mount reported not inserted after InsertMedia"
 }
 } catch {
 Write-Host " FAILED: $_" -ForegroundColor Red
 $results += [PSCustomObject]@{ Node = $node.hostname; Status = "FAIL"; Error = "$_" }
 }
}

Write-Host "`nSummary:" -ForegroundColor Cyan
$results | Format-Table -AutoSize

$failed = $results | Where-Object { $_.Status -eq "FAIL" }
if ($failed) {
 Write-Host "$($failed.Count) node(s) failed — resolve before proceeding to Task 02" -ForegroundColor Red
 exit 1
}
Write-Host "All nodes mounted — proceed to Task 02" -ForegroundColor Green

Verify Mount Status

# Quick verification — confirms Inserted: true on all nodes
foreach ($nodeKey in $config.nodes.Keys) {
 $node = $config.nodes[$nodeKey]
 $uri = "https://$($node.idrac_ip)/redfish/v1/Managers/iDRAC.Embedded.1/VirtualMedia/CD"
 $vm = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $uri -Method Get @invokeParams
 $status = if ($vm.Inserted) { "OK" } else { "NOT MOUNTED" }
 Write-Host "$($node.hostname): Inserted=$($vm.Inserted) — $status"
}

USB Drive (On-Site)

When to use: You are physically present at the data centre. USB drives are faster and more reliable than iDRAC virtual media and have no network dependencies.

Create a Bootable USB Drive

Windows — Rufus

1. Download Rufus and run as Administrator
2. Insert a USB 3.0 flash drive (16 GB minimum, 32 GB recommended) — all data will be erased
3. Configure:

• Device: your USB drive
• Boot selection: Click SELECT → choose the Dell gold image ISO
• Partition scheme: GPT
• Target system: UEFI (non CSM)
• Volume label: DELL-AZL-24H2

4. Click START and confirm any prompts (~10–15 minutes)
5. Safely eject the USB drive

Create Multiple Drives

Create 2–4 identical USB drives so you can install multiple nodes in parallel.

Linux / macOS — dd

# Identify USB device — verify carefully before writing
lsblk # Linux
diskutil list # macOS

# Unmount
sudo umount /dev/sdX* # Linux
diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskN # macOS

# Write ISO
sudo dd if=Dell-AzureStackHCI-24H2-Gold.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress # Linux
sudo dd if=Dell-AzureStackHCI-24H2-Gold.iso of=/dev/rdiskN bs=4m # macOS

sync

Insert USB into Nodes

1. Power off the node (iDRAC: Power → Graceful Shutdown)
2. Insert USB drive into a front USB 3.0 port (blue connector)
3. Optional — verify it appears in Boot Manager:

• Power on and press F11 during POST
• Confirm USB drive is listed as UEFI: <drive name>
• Exit Boot Manager; do not boot yet

4. Proceed to Task 02 — the node will boot from USB after BOSS recreation

Multi-Node On-Site Workflow

Node 1: Insert USB → start BOSS deletion → move to Node 2
Node 2: Insert USB → start BOSS deletion → move to Node 3
Node 3: Insert USB → start BOSS deletion → return to Node 1 (monitor install)

Standalone Script

#Requires -Version 5.1
# ============================================================================
# Script: Invoke-MountGoldImageISO-Standalone.ps1
# Execution: Run FROM any workstation — Redfish API to each iDRAC
# Prerequisites: iDRAC reachable on port 443, admin credentials
# ============================================================================

#region CONFIGURATION
$ISOPath = "\\deploy-server\images\Dell-AzureStackHCI-24H2-Gold.iso"

$iDRACUser = "root"
$iDRACPassSecure = Read-Host "Enter iDRAC password" -AsSecureString
$credential = [PSCredential]::new($iDRACUser, $iDRACPassSecure)

# Node iDRAC IP map
$nodes = @(
 @{ Hostname = "azlocal-node01"; iDRACIP = "10.245.64.11" },
 @{ Hostname = "azlocal-node02"; iDRACIP = "10.245.64.12" },
 @{ Hostname = "azlocal-node03"; iDRACIP = "10.245.64.13" },
 @{ Hostname = "azlocal-node04"; iDRACIP = "10.245.64.14" }
)
#endregion

$invokeParams = @{ Credential = $credential; SkipCertificateCheck = $true
 Headers = @{ "Content-Type" = "application/json" } }

foreach ($node in $nodes) {
 $cdUri = "https://$($node.iDRACIP)/redfish/v1/Managers/iDRAC.Embedded.1/VirtualMedia/CD"
 Write-Host "$($node.Hostname) ($($node.iDRACIP))..." -ForegroundColor Yellow

 try {
 $current = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $cdUri -Method Get @invokeParams
 if ($current.Inserted) {
 Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "$cdUri/Actions/VirtualMedia.EjectMedia" `
 -Method Post -Body '{}' @invokeParams | Out-Null
 Start-Sleep -Seconds 3
 }

 $payload = @{ Image = $ISOPath; Inserted = $true; WriteProtected = $true } | ConvertTo-Json
 Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "$cdUri/Actions/VirtualMedia.InsertMedia" `
 -Method Post -Body $payload @invokeParams | Out-Null
 Start-Sleep -Seconds 3

 $verify = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $cdUri -Method Get @invokeParams
 if ($verify.Inserted) {
 Write-Host " Mounted" -ForegroundColor Green
 } else {
 Write-Host " FAILED: not inserted after mount" -ForegroundColor Red
 }
 } catch {
 Write-Host " ERROR: $_" -ForegroundColor Red
 }
}

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Validation Checklist

• ISO mounted on all nodes (Inserted: True)
• Image path shows correct Dell gold image filename
• WriteProtected: True (read-only mount)
• USB drives inserted in all nodes (on-site deployments)
• All nodes verified — no mount failures

Do Not Proceed Until Verified

Do not start Task 02 (BOSS virtual disk recreation) until all nodes show Inserted: True. Nodes that reboot without a boot source will require manual console intervention.

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Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Resolution
ISO not mounting	Network share not reachable from iDRAC OOB network	Verify share is accessible from OOB VLAN; check firewall
Authentication failure	Wrong share credentials	Verify SMB username/password
Inserted: False after mount	Mount timeout	Retry; increase Start-Sleep delay
No CD/DVD slot found	iDRAC virtual media disabled	Enable in iDRAC: Configuration → Virtual Media
Redfish Unauthorized	Wrong iDRAC credentials	Verify credentials in Key Vault
USB not appearing in boot manager	USB drive not properly written	Re-create bootable USB with Rufus

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Navigation

← Task 01: BOSS Card Config	↑ Phase 02: OS Installation	Task 03: Manual OS Installation →

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Version Control

Version	Date	Author	Changes
1.0	2026-01-31	Azure Local Cloud Azure Local Cloudnology	Initial document
1.1	2026-03-04	Azure Local Cloud Azure Local Cloudnology	Fix tab labels, script paths, Step→Task references, remove duplicate sections, standards alignment
1.2	2026-03-04	Azure Local Cloud Azure Local Cloudnology	Reorder: demoted to Task 02 (BOSS config before ISO mount)