Dell Networking SONiC OS Fresh Install using ONIE Install
Summary: Dell Networking SONiC OS fresh installation using ONIE Install.
Instructions
SONiC OS Fresh Install using ONIE Install
Prerequisites:
- Active console connection to the switch
- Access to the ONIE > ONIE Install.
- File Server details with operating system loaded with HTTP, TFTP, or FTP services must be available to the switch (HTTP is used for this article).
Instructions:
ONIE Uninstall: If the switch has any operating system installed, before ONIE installing a new operating system, ONIE uninstall must be performed.
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As the switch boots up, there is a screen with the installed software version or a choice to enter ONIE. Use the up or down arrows to select ONIE. Using the arrows also stops the automated countdown timer (Figure 1).

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Once the ONIE menu is available, use the up and down arrows to select ONIE: Uninstall OS and press ENTER. Again, there is a countdown timer, which stops once the arrows are used (Figure 2)

Figure 2: ONIE Sub-Menu
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ONIE uninstalls all the existing operating system (Figure 3)

Figure 3: ONIE Uninstall Example.
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The switch reboots and starts the ONIE Install process.
ONIE Auto OS Install: The switch starts an ONIE install process automatically (ONIE Service Discovery).
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The switch defaults to ONIE: Install OS, if no operating system is installed, or it may be selected using the up and down arrows from the ONIE menu (Figure 4)

Figure 4: ONIE: Install OS.
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The ONIE Service Discovery is looking for an install file by HTTP. It has found a software image file named
onie-installer, has checked the file checksum, and is starting the download process (Figure 5)

Figure 5: ONIE-installer
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The partitions are created, and the install begins (Figure 6)

Figure 6: Partition Creation
ONIE Manual OS Install: Installing an operating system manually with a specific IP address, service, and file name.
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The switch defaults to ONIE: Install OS, if no operating system is installed, or it may be selected using the up and down arrows from the ONIE menu. ONIE Rescue mode can be used, but we are using ONIE install mode for this example (Figure 7)

Figure 7: Manual Install, ONIE Install OS.
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At the ONIE prompt, the autodiscovery process must be halted with the
onie-stopcommand.
onie-discovery-stop\start. This command is deprecated in later ONIE versions.
Please press Enter to activate this console. Info: eth0: Checking link... up. Info: Trying DHCPv4 on interface: eth0
To check the install status inspect /var/log/onie.log. Try this: tail -f /var/log/onie.log
** Installer Mode Enabled ** ONIE:/ # onie-stop discover: installer mode detected. Stopping: discover... done. ONIE:/ # Warning: Unable to configure interface using DHCPv4: eth0
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If a DHCP process has not obtained an IP, the IP address of the management interface can be manually configured with
ifconfig eth0. Verify reachability of the address by pinging the server (Figure 8)ONIE:/ # ONIE:/ # ifconfig eth0 10.0.0.219 netmask 255.255.255.0 up ONIE:/ #

Figure 8: ifconfig Example
- If a route out of the local subnet is required to reach the install server, use the
ip route addcommand. Check the route usingip routecommand.
ONIE:/ # ip route add default via 10.0.0.254 ONIE:/ # ONIE:/ # ip route default via 10.0.0.254 dev eth0 10.0.0.254/24 dev eth0 src 10.0.0.219 ONIE:/ #
- Use the
onie-nos-installcommand to install the specific operating system file from the specific server (Figure 9)
ONIE:/ # ONIE:/ # onie-nos-install http://10.0.0.200/Enterprise_SONiC_OS_4.0.3_vs_Standard.bin discover: installer mode detected. Stopping: discover... done. Info: Attempting http://10.0.0.200/Enterprise_SONiC_OS_4.0.3_vs_Standard.bin ... Connecting to 10.0.0.200 (10.0.0.200:80) installer 100% |*******************************| 913M 0:00:00 ETA ONIE: Executing installer: http://10.0.0.200/Enterprise_SONiC_OS_4.0.3_vs_Standard.bin Verifying image checksum ... OK. Preparing image archive ... OK. Installing SONiC in ONIE

Figure 9: ONIE-nos-install Example
This concludes the steps required to install SONiC OS through ONIE. If further assistance is required, contact Dell Technical Support.