Facing error when deploying RH8.10: "Could not prepare Boot variable: No such file or directory" failing to mount /tmp/tmpfs1of9z3/target

I am currently deploying a new batch of Supermicro hosts equipped with KIOXIA drives, using Red Hat 8.10 as the target OS.

  • I built the Red Hat 8.10 image with packer-maas . This image has been reliable for over six months and has been used successfully in dozens of previous installations.
  • The image was uploaded to MAAS using the following command:
maas boot-resources create \
name='custom/rh810-py3' \
title='Red Hat 8.10-py3 Custom' \
architecture='amd64/generic' \
base_image='rhel/8' \
filetype='tgz' \
content@=rhel810-py.tar.gz

The ISO source was: rhel-8.10-x86_64-dvd.iso

  • These new Supermicro hosts also image correctly when I use the default MAAS CentOS 7.9 image.

I have reviewed earlier posts and consulted the packer-maas documentation, but I have not found useful next steps to resolve my issue.

Any suggestions for further troubleshooting or guidance would be appreciated.

Here is a snippet from the error logs:

finish: cmd-install/stage-curthooks/builtin/cmd-curthooks/install-grub: FAIL: installing grub to target devices
finish: cmd-install/stage-curthooks/builtin/cmd-curthooks/configuring-bootloader: FAIL: configuring target system bootloader
finish: cmd-install/stage-curthooks/builtin/cmd-curthooks: FAIL: curtin command curthooks
Traceback (most recent call last):
File “/curtin/curtin/commands/main.py”, line 202, in main
ret = args.func(args)
File “/curtin/curtin/commands/curthooks.py”, line 1918, in curthooks
builtin_curthooks(cfg, target, state)
File “/curtin/curtin/commands/curthooks.py”, line 1883, in builtin_curthooks
setup_grub(cfg, target, osfamily=osfamily,
File “/curtin/curtin/commands/curthooks.py”, line 821, in setup_grub
install_grub(instdevs, target, uefi=uefi_bootable, grubcfg=grubcfg)
File “/curtin/curtin/commands/install_grub.py”, line 444, in install_grub
in_chroot.subp(cmd, env=env, capture=True)
File “/curtin/curtin/util.py”, line 792, in subp
return subp(*args, **kwargs)
File “/curtin/curtin/util.py”, line 280, in subp
return _subp(*args, **kwargs)
File “/curtin/curtin/util.py”, line 144, in _subp
raise ProcessExecutionError(stdout=out, stderr=err,
curtin.util.ProcessExecutionError: Unexpected error while running command.
Command: [‘unshare’, ‘–fork’, ‘–pid’, ‘–’, ‘chroot’, ‘/tmp/tmpfs1of9z3/target’, ‘efibootmgr’, ‘–create’, ‘–write-signature’, ‘–label’, ‘redhat’, ‘–disk’, ‘/dev/nvme0n1’, ‘–part’, ‘2’, ‘–loader’, ‘/EFI/redhat/shimx64.efi’]
Exit code: 5
Reason: -
Stdout: ‘’
Stderr: Could not prepare Boot variable: No such file or directory

given that this image works in other servers and that CentOS works in this server, my first hypothesis is that the RHEL 8.10 kernel lacks support for these disks.

Can you try to manually install RHEL 8.10 in this server?

I intended to include in my initial comment that I have successfully provisioned hosts from this batch of servers booting from that ISO as virtual media.

Interesting,

can you share the full installation log?

The full log is here:

https://paste.ubuntu.com/p/9Qm8BY3dwM/

can you deploy Ubuntu successfully in this server?

Yes, I was able to deploy Ubuntu 20.04.6 ( the Canonical package )
Additionaly I am able to deploy the Canonical provided Centos7.9