Rescue System Guide

What is a Rescue System?

A Rescue System is a Debian-based Linux live environment that provides administrative access to your server, even if the installed system can no longer boot. This environment boots via network (PXE) and runs in the server's memory without affecting your drives or data. It enables system repairs, data recovery, backups, hardware checks, and operating system installation.

Activating the Rescue System

To boot your server into the Rescue System, activate it through the management interface:

• Navigate to 'Servers' and select the relevant server.
• Open the 'Rescue' tab, choose the desired type and architecture, and activate the system.
• A password will be generated, which you can use to log in as root via SSH.

If you have previously uploaded an SSH key, you can log in without a password.

Restarting the Server

After activation, restart the server to load the Rescue System. If you don't have access to the server, use the reset function in the management interface under the 'Reset' tab. Activation is valid for one boot only and will expire after 60 minutes if the server is not restarted.

Mounting Drives in the Rescue System

To access your drives in the Rescue System:

1. Identify the partitions using the lsblk command.
2. If software RAID is configured, 'raid' will appear in the TYPE column.
3. Mount the relevant partition, e.g., /dev/md2, using mount /dev/md2 /mnt.

For LVM volumes:

• List LVM volumes with ls /dev/mapper/*.
• Mount volumes using mount /dev/mapper/vg0-root /mnt.

Resetting the Root Password

To reset the root password on the installed system:

1. Mount the system partition.
2. Switch to the chroot environment with:

chroot-prepare /mnt
chroot /mnt

3. Change the password using passwd and exit with exit.

Installing an Operating System

Use the Installimage script to install operating systems. This tool provides a user-friendly menu to customize settings like drives, RAID, partitions, and LVM.