Always boot from mounted CD

PiKVM PiKVM V4 Mini
,
1

Hi everyone,

I have a bare-metal server connected to a PiKVM Mini v4 and I’m trying to automate the boot process. Here’s my current workflow and the issue I’m facing:

Current Setup:

  • Baremetal server connected to PiKVM Mini v4

  • When the system is blank (no OS), I mount an ISO via PiKVM and it boots from it successfully

  • After OS installation, I unmount the ISO and the system boots into the installed OS as expected

The Problem: When I need to boot from the mounted ISO again (e.g., for reinstallation or recovery), the system defaults to booting from the installed OS on the internal drive. Currently, I have to manually intervene by pressing F11 during boot and changing the boot order to prioritize the virtual CD/DVD drive.

What I’m Looking For: Is there a way to programmatically force the system to boot from the mounted ISO without manual intervention? Ideally through:

  • PiKVM API

  • Redfish support

  • Any other automation method

I’d like to automate the entire reinstallation process without needing to interact with the boot menu manually.

Has anyone solved this? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

2

The PiKVM has ZERO control of the target system’s boot preferences, it can present a virtual device, but it is ENTIRELY up to the BIOS/EFI firmware of that device what to do with it.

3

A more consistent way to do this in a deterministic fashion is to look into PXE and things like Cobbler that allow you to specify install media for a system by MAC address or other details, and you can also enable/disable the media per device without needing to manipulate it via the PiKVM. You would still use the PiKVM for initiating and proceeding with the install process using whatever media your PXE server (or EFI HTTPS server) was presenting to the target.