ICT – Blog – [20230112] – Installing Fedora 37 on an APU2 [ham-sdr01.jdj]

ICT – Blog

Today, working from mmc2.jdj [private], I installed Fedora 37 Server on an SSD in an APU2, viz., ham-sdr01.jdj. This blog entry merely touches on the issues I encountered and how I solved them, as far as I can remember.

Pictures are here [local].

Notes

  • Create a Live image [on mmc2.jdj] on a USB stick; I used Fedora MediaWriter.
    • Select Fedora 37 Server [x86_64] and write it to the USB stick.
    • Note: The netinst ISO did not work for me, it made the installer hang on the Installation Source selector, despite the presence of Internet access on the APU2.
  • Make sure to have a working serial connection, e.g. through minicom, to the APU2. Use 115200 for the speed.
  • When the APU2 boots, through some unknown magic, you get to see what’s happening in minicom; even before setting any configuration.
  • When the APU2 boots, press F10 to enter the boot menu.
  • Select the USB disk (Live Media) for booting.
  • From the GRUB menu, select the default entry for editing:
    • If present, remove the “rhgb” and “quiet” kernel command-line arguments.
    • Add “console=ttyS0,115200” to the kernel command line. This will ensure that a suitable serial console is present during the installation process.
    • Add “text” to the kernel command line. This will ensure that the installer [anaconda] pops up in text mode; the APU2 has no graphics on board…
  • Now boot the modified entry.
  • Set the required installation parameters [TimeZone, KeyBoard, installation source/destination, etc.] in the text-based anaconda installer. Make sure to set the ‘root’ password.
  • Start the installation.
  • When the installation has finished, the installer sort-of unexpectedly forces you into a reboot.
  • Now select the SSD as boot device.
  • Despite the fact that we did not set the console parameters this time, we still get, in the end, a login prompt in the serial console. We are lucky!
  • Login from the serial console, and setup networking and SSH until you can reliable login to the APU2 with SSH.
  • Proceed from there (disable SELinux, disable firewalld, etc.).