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Finalize a maintenance intervention on your dedicated server

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Our maintenance interventions are limited to the hardware aspect of your server. Following a maintenance intervention, actions may be required on your server's software.

 

Requirements

 

Instructions

Info

Find out how to identify the names of your network interfaces in this subpart of this guide.

Continue reading this guide by clicking on the link for your installation:

  • Operating system

    • Ubuntu/Debian 12+
    • CentOS/Alma Linux
    • SmartOS
    • FreeBSD
    • Gentoo

  • Virtualization

    • Proxmox/Debian (excluding Debian 12+)
    • XenServer
    • ESXi
    • Windows (Hyper-V)
Info

If you experience an operating system boot problem that appears to be related to its EFI boot partition, go directly to this section.

 

Operating System

Tip

Click each tab for your operating system.

Ubuntu/Debian 12+
CentOS / Alma Linux
SmartOS
FreeBSD
Gentoo

If you are experiencing network connectivity issues (for example, no ping after a motherboard replacement), perform the following steps:

1. Reboot the server in rescue mode.
2. Mount the partition /:

root@rescue:~# mount /dev/my_system_disk /mnt

If the 70-persistent-net.rules file does not exist (refer to the section of this guide on the names of your network interfaces), check the following files in the /etc/systemd/network/ tree:

  • 50-default.network
  • 50-public-interface.link
root@rescue:~# cat /mnt/etc/systemd/network/50-default.network
# This file sets the IP configuration of the primary (public) network device.
# You can also see this as "OSI Layer 3" config.
# It was created by the OVH installer, please be careful with modifications.
# Documentation: man systemd.network or https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/systemd.network.html

[Match]
MACAddress=xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx

[Network]
Description=network interface on public network, with default route
DHCP=no
Address=1.2.3.4/24
Gateway=1.2.3.254
IPv6AcceptRA=no
NTP=ntp.ovh.us
DNS=127.0.0.1
DNS=213.186.33.99
DNS=2001:41d0:3:163::1
Gateway=2001:41d0:0203:4bff:ff:ff:ff:ff

[Address]
Address=2001:41d0:0203:1234::/64

[Route]
Destination=2001:41d0:0203:4bff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
Scope=link
root@rescue:~#
root@rescue:~# cat /mnt/etc/systemd/network/50-public-interface.link
# This file configures the relation between network device and device name.
# You can also see this as "OSI Layer 2" config.
# It was created by the OVH installer, please be careful with modifications.
# Documentation: man systemd.link or https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/systemd.link.html

[Match]
MACAddress=xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx

[Link]
Description=network interface on public network, with default route
MACAddressPolicy=persistent
NamePolicy=kernel database onboard slot path mac
#Name=eth2    # name under which this interface is known under OVH rescue system
#Name=eno3    # name under which this interface is probably known by systemd
root@rescue:~#

3. Save and edit the files to enter the new value for your MAC address:

root@rescue:~# cp /mnt/etc/systemd/network/50-default.network /mnt/etc/systemd/network/50-default.network.link.bak-`date +%s`
root@rescue:~# cp /mnt/etc/systemd/network/50-public-interface.link /mnt/etc/systemd/network/50-public-interface.link.bak-`date +%s`
root@rescue:~# nano /mnt/etc/systemd/network/50-default.network
root@rescue:~# cat /mnt/etc/systemd/network/50-default.network | grep MACAddress
MACAddress=xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
root@rescue:~#
root@rescue:~# nano /mnt/etc/systemd/network/50-public-interface.link
root@rescue:~#
root@rescue:~# cat /mnt/etc/systemd/network/50-public-interface.link | grep MACAddress
MACAddress=xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
root@rescue:~#

4. Unmount the partition / before rebooting the server.

 

Special cases

In some cases, it is necessary to propagate the new MAC address to the following files:

  • /mnt/etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml
  • /mnt/etc/netplan/50-cloud-init.yaml
  • /mnt/etc/systemd/network/10-eno1.link
  • /mnt/etc/systemd/network/10-eno1.network

 

Virtualization

Tip

Click the tab for your virtualization option.

Proxmox/Debian (excluding Debian 12+)
XenServer
ESXi
Windows (Hyper-V)

If you are experiencing network connectivity issues (for example, no ping after a motherboard replacement), this may be related to an error during system startup caused by the old MAC address value still present:

Troubleshooting finalize maintenance - step 0

Do the following:

1. Reboot the server in rescue mode.

root@rescue:~# cat /mnt/etc/network/interfaces
# This file describes the network interfaces available on your system
# and how to activate them. For more information, see interfaces(5).

# The loopback network interface
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

iface enp3s0f0 inet manual

auto vmbr0
iface vmbr0 inet dhcp
  bridge-ports enp3s0f0
  bridge-stp off
  bridge-fd 0

auto vmbr1
iface vmbr1 inet static
  address  192.168.22.254
  netmask  255.255.255.0
  bridge_ports none
  bridge_stp off
  bridge_fd 0
  post-up echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward
root@rescue:~#
root@rescue:~# cat /mnt/var/log/messages | grep renamed
Aug  8 14:27:20 s22 kernel: [    1.527563] igb 0000:04:00.0 eno1: renamed from eth0
Aug  8 14:27:20 s22 kernel: [    1.550622] igb 0000:04:00.1 eno2: renamed from eth1
Aug  8 14:27:34 s22 kernel: [   88.148303] eth0: renamed from vethGRELEP
Aug  8 14:27:36 s22 kernel: [   90.444727] eth0: renamed from vethVMV0MH
Aug  8 14:27:40 s22 kernel: [   94.116739] eth0: renamed from vethQWYCXT
Aug  8 14:27:43 s22 kernel: [   97.469199] eth0: renamed from vethAIWWWX
Aug  8 14:27:48 s22 kernel: [  102.101324] eth0: renamed from vethB2DGCS
Aug  8 14:27:48 s22 kernel: [  102.139437] eth1: renamed from vethRSNNKL
root@rescue:~#

2. Create the 70-persistent-net.rules file again and add:

  • The network interface name found in the /mnt/etc/network/interfaces file.
  • The new MAC address (viewable in the tab Network interfaces in the OVHcloud Control Panel or in the return of the command ip link).
root@rescue:~# cat /mnt/etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules
SUBSYSTEM=="net", ACTION=="add", DRIVERS=="?*", ATTR{address}=="xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx", NAME="enp3s0f0"
root@rescue:~#

 

Locate the name of your network interfaces

After the motherboard is replaced, the server cannot be reached because the network interface controller has been renamed by the operating system.

1. Restart the server in rescue mode, mount the partition / and then use the chroot command:

root@rescue:~# mount /dev/my_disk /mnt
root@rescue:~# for i in /dev /dev/pts /proc /sys; do mount -B $i /mnt$i; done
root@rescue:~# chroot /mnt

2. Check if the interfaces have been modified. Check the var/log/messages logs or var/log/kern.log if the interface has been renamed:

Oct  9 22:25:49 node1 kernel: [    5.479916] ixgbe 0000:03:00.1 eno4: renamed from eth1
Oct  9 22:25:49 node1 kernel: [    5.504285] ixgbe 0000:03:00.0 eno3: renamed from eth0

3. Check your configuration file /mnt/etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent.-net.rules and replace the new values (MAC addresses) if necessary:

root@rescue:~# cat /mnt/etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules
SUBSYSTEM=="net", ACTION=="add", DRIVERS=="?*", ATTR{address}=="xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx", ATTR{dev_id}=="0x0", ATTR{type}=="1", KERNEL=="eth*", NAME="public"
SUBSYSTEM=="net", ACTION=="add", DRIVERS=="?*", ATTR{address}=="xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx", ATTR{dev_id}=="0x0", ATTR{type}=="1", KERNEL=="eth*", NAME="private"

4. Go to the directory /boot/grub/ and create a backup of the file grub.cfg.
5. Edit the /etc/default/grub file and edit the line beginning with GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX to get this:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="net.ifnames=0 biosdevname=0"

6. Run the command:

root@rescue:~# grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

7. Exit the chroot environment using the exit command and unmount all partitions:

root@rescue:~# umount /mnt/sys
root@rescue:~# umount /mnt/proc
root@rescue:~# umount /mnt/dev/pts
root@rescue:~# umount /mnt/dev
root@rescue:~# umount /mnt

 

Problems with your EFI partition

The following steps are indicated if you experience a boot problem related to the partitions present on your disks.

There are two methods, via rescue mode or via BIOS.

Tip

Click the tab for the method you want to use.

Via rescue mode
Via BIOS
  • Use case: The installed system (in this case Proxmox) is no longer bootable after the disk has been replaced (no EFI input is visible through the BIOS).

1. Reboot the server in rescue mode.
2. Locate the disk with the original EFI partition:

Disk /dev/nvme1n1: 894.3 GiB, 960197124096 bytes, 1875385008 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk /dev/nvme0n1: 894.3 GiB, 960197124096 bytes, 1875385008 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: A28EAF07-248B-4CEB-86D4-92F75A36F1B0

Device              Start        End    Sectors   Size Type
/dev/nvme0n1p1         34    1048609    1048576   512M EFI System
/dev/nvme0n1p2    1050624 1875368589 1874317966 893.8G Solaris /usr & Apple ZFS
/dev/nvme0n1p9 1875368590 1875384974      16385     8M Solaris reserved 1

3. Mount the partition concerned.

root@rescue:~# ls /mnt/EFI/proxmox/grubx64.efi
/mnt/EFI/proxmox/grubx64.efi
root@rescue:~#
root@rescue:~# umount /mnt

4. Use the following command to make this partition functional again:

root@rescue:~# efibootmgr -v --create --disk /dev/nvme0n1 --part 1 --label "proxmox2" --loader '\EFI\proxmox\grubx64.efi'
BootCurrent: 0005
Timeout: 1 seconds
BootOrder: 0000,0005,0007,0006,0008,0001
Boot0001* proxmox    Vendor(99e275e7-75a0-4b37-a2e6-c5385e6c00cb,)
Boot0005* UEFI: PXE IP4 P0 Intel(R) Ethernet Controller X550    ACPI(a0341d0,0)PCI(1b,4)PCI(0,0)MAC(MAC(d05099d5e395,1)..BO
Boot0006  UEFI: PXE IP4 P1 Intel(R) Ethernet Controller X550    ACPI(a0341d0,0)PCI(1b,4)PCI(0,1)MAC(MAC(d05099d5e394,1)..BO
Boot0007  UEFI: Built-in EFI Shell    Vendor(5023b95c-db26-429b-a648-bd47664c8012,)..BO
Boot0008* UEFI: PXE IP4 P0 American Megatrends Inc.    ACPI(a0341d0,0)PCI(14,0)USB(7,0)USB(2,1)MAC(MAC(2ab925859a66,0)..BO
Boot0000* proxmox2    HD(1,22,100000,0df658ff-5461-470a-9d92-5d95208d5c0f)File(\EFI\proxmox\grubx64.efi)

 

Go further

Browse all the Dedicated Servers guides.

Browse the rest of the OVHcloud US documentation for guides on our other products and services.

Learn more about Dedicated Servers on the OVHcloud US website.