RHEL 8.2.0 install gets error boot loader install failed

[rer-ccc]

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xCAT Version 2.16.0 Attempting install of rhels8.2.0 on a Supermicro:SYS-4029GP-TVRT with four NVMe volumes

rinstall command goes through full Install, including "configuring" and "verifying", and then gets

Configuring storage . Configuring Red Hat subscription .. Installing boot loader

================================================ Question

The following error occurred while installing the boot loader. The system will not be bootable. Would you like to ignore this and continue with installation?

boot loader install failed

Please respond 'yes' or 'no':

This same OS install has worked on a Lenovo 7158AC1, a Lenovo 5465AC1, and a Lenovo 5455AC1. The same hardware configuration (Supermicro:SYS-4029GP-TVRT) worked with RHEL 7.6.

In the failed RHEL 8.2 install, the partitionfile has

ignoredisk --only-use=/dev/nvme2n1 part /boot --fstype=ext4 --asprimary --ondisk=/dev/nvme2n1 --size=1024 part pv.000997 --grow --asprimary --ondisk=/dev/nvme2n1 --size=1024 volgroup xcatvg --pesize=4096 pv.000997 logvol swap --name=swap --vgname=xcatvg --size=65536 --fstype=swap logvol / --fstype=ext4 --name=root --vgname=xcatvg --size=1024 --grow bootloader --boot-drive=nvme2n1

In the successful RHEL 8.2 installation on a Lenovo server, the partitionfile has

ignoredisk --only-use=/dev/sda part /boot/efi --fstype=efi --ondisk=/dev/sda --size=256 part /boot --fstype=ext4 --asprimary --ondisk=/dev/sda --size=1024 part pv.000997 --grow --asprimary --ondisk=/dev/sda --size=1024 volgroup xcatvg --pesize=4096 pv.000997 logvol swap --name=swap --vgname=xcatvg --recommended logvol / --fstype=ext4 --name=root --vgname=xcatvg --size=1024 --grow bootloader --boot-drive=sda

In the successful RHEL 7.6 installation on a Supermicro server, the partitionfile has

ignoredisk --only-use=/dev/nvme1n1 part /boot --size 512 --fstype xfs --ondisk /dev/nvme1n1 part swap --recommended --ondisk /dev/nvme1n1 part pv.01 --size 1 --grow --ondisk /dev/nvme1n1 volgroup xcatvg pv.01 logvol / --vgname=xcatvg --name=root --size 1 --grow --fstype xfs bootloader --boot-drive=nvme1n1

When I was doing the RHEL 7.6 installation, I encountered the problem described in https://github.com/xcat2/xcat-core/issues/6346 . I was able to resolve that problem by applying the update shown by the original poster. Applying this update with RHEL 8.2. has no effect.

The Supermicro server is configured with

Boot mode select = DUAL Legacy to EFI Support = Disabled

Any other combination of options dumps it into a UEFI Interactive Shell when I do rinstall.

[gurevichmark]

Have you tried the solution proposed by #6816 ?

[rer-ccc]

As far as I can tell, https://github.com/xcat2/xcat-core/pull/6816 is offering the same solution as https://github.com/xcat2/xcat-core/issues/6346 , but uses case instead of if, so that it will work with Ubuntu. I'm working with RHEL8, so it doesn't make any difference in my situation.

I don't even know for certain that the problem has anything to do with NVMe devices and getinstdisk. I just know I encountered problems in that area once before, and pre.rhels8 has had a major rewrite. I also know that on a Lenovo system, the line with "part /boot/efi --fstype=efi --ondisk=/dev/sda --size=256" gets generated, and pre.rhels8 will only do that if directory /sys/firmware/efi exists - and that will only be there if efibootmgr-16-1.el8.x86_64 is installed - and I can't figure out why efibootmgr-16-1.el8.x86_64 is installed on a Lenovo system and not a Supermicro system - even though both are using the same kickstart and template.

[rer-ccc]

One more observation here. If I use an SSD or HDD, the install works. So it appears the problem is NVMe-related.