Often issues during the boot process of a Security Analytics or Solera server are the result of file system issues.  However, in order to troubleshoot file system issues, you need to be able to modify the /etc/fstab to prevent certain file systems from mounting.  You can see what process is hanging by pressing the ESC key at any time during the boot process.

The following steps will boot the appliance to a bash prompt, which will allow you to modify files in the root (/) file system or reset the root password or make any other modifications as directed by Technical Support.  As part of performing these steps, you must agree to not install any scripts, packages, or other applications on the device, and to not modify or remove any Security Analytics installed components.

• Access the GRUB boot loader

Connect a monitor and keyboard directly to the Security Analytics appliance. Power up the device. During the boot up process, the console will show the GRUB boot-menu for approximately 2 seconds.



During that time, hit any key to interrupt the process. This will access the GRUB boot loader menu.


 

• Modify the boot arguments

Once the boot process has been interrupted, the GRUB menu will post the available kernel: Solera (X.X.X.X-solera). Press ‘a’ to modify the grub arguments. 

There is one change you must make.  At the end of the line add the words "init=/bin/bash".    

The resulting line should look something like this:  

grub append> ro acpi=ht pcie_aspm=off root=UUID=xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx rhgb quiet audit=1 init=/bin/bash

After making the changes, hit the Enter key to continue booting. The appliance will boot to a bash prompt (bash-3.2#).

• Mount the root file system in R/W mode

Enter the following command:  mount -o remount,rw /

At this point you can edit the /etc/fstab file and comment out the offending mount lines such as the DSINDEX mount or the /pfs mount.  However, it is highly recommend that if you are having issues with the server hanging during the boot process, you call technical support for guidance.