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Mass Storage Drive

This is an important feature that is available on all PiKVM V2+ devices. It is provides possibility to emulate a CD-ROM or Flash Drive to connect removable media to the target host which will be available evein in BIOS/UEFI if you need live disk to revive the OS or even reinstall it.

!!! info "The size of the CD-ROM image is limited to 2.2 GB" This is a Linux kernel limitation on PiKVM, which currently cannot emulate a DVD drive. To use a larger boot image, please use a Flash Drive emulation. If this is not possible (the image does not support Flash, for example, for Windows), you can try this recipe.

!!! info "Changing the media type between CD-ROM and Flash is possible only when the device is reconnected" For PiKVM V3, this can be done using the System -> Connect main USB switch.

In this case, the **media type is determined at the time of connecting the image, and not by clicking on the switch**.

The switch affects the settings of the future connection. For non-V3/V4 devices,
you need to either reboot your target host or otherwise reinitialize the drive.

!!! warning "Legacy note" This document is relevant for KVMD >= 3.249. If you are using an older version, please update the PiKVM OS.

Manual image uploading without Web UI

Remount internal storage to read-write mode:

[root@pikvm ~]# kvmd-helper-otgmsd-remount rw

Upload the image(s) to /var/lib/kvmd/msd using scp or some other tool.
Remount internal storage back to safe read-only mode:
```
[root@pikvm ~]# kvmd-helper-otgmsd-remount ro
```

NFS storage

It is possible to create a shared image storage for an entire fleet of PiKVMs using NFS.

!!! note Configuring an NFS server is beyond the scope of this guide.

If you have some shares, you can easily connect them to PiKVM by creating mount points and adding relevant records to /etc/fstab. At the same time, you will be able to upload images via PiKVM Web UI to NFS, and still use local storage.

??? example "Step by step: Connecting NFS storage"

1. Make some preparations:

    ```
    [root@pikvm ~]# rw
    [root@pikvm ~]# pacman -Syu
    [root@pikvm ~]# pacman -S nfs-utils
    [root@pikvm ~]# kvmd-helper-otgmsd-remount rw
    [root@pikvm ~]# mkdir -p /var/lib/kvmd/msd/NFS_Primary
    [root@pikvm ~]# mkdir -p /var/lib/kvmd/msd/NFS_Secondary
    [root@pikvm ~]# kvmd-helper-otgmsd-remount ro
    ```

2. Add NFS shares to `/etc/fstab`:

    ```fstab
    server:/srv/nfs/NFS_Primary    /var/lib/kvmd/msd/NFS_Primary    nfs vers=3,timeo=1,retrans=1,soft,nolock  0 0
    server:/srv/nfs/NFS_Secondary  /var/lib/kvmd/msd/NFS_Secondary  nfs vers=3,timeo=1,retrans=1,soft,nolock  0 0
    ```

3. Perform `reboot` to apply all changes.

Make sure that the kvmd user has the read access from these directories. You can also give the write access if needed. For the best performance, it is required to ensure reliable connectivity with NFS server and use minimum timeo and retrans values. Using the soft option is mandatory, nolock is recommended.

Note if an image is added to the NFS storage from the outside, PiKVM will not be able to track this event, so it is required to use Drive -> Reset in the Web UI to update the list of images.

Multiple drives

By default, PiKVM creates one virtual drive for Mass Storage emulation. However, if necessary, you can create additional ones and manage them using console utility. This is useful if there is a need to boot the target host from the first drive, and then connect the second to exchange files.

!!! note The first virtual drive is available for management both in the web interface (in the Drive menu) and using the console utility.

Additional drives are controlled only from console.

The issue of additional drives concerns compatibility. There is an assumption that multiple drives on the same USB may confuse some BIOS/UEFI. So for paranoid reasons, this feature requires manual activation. It is recommended setting up the drives in advance, making sure that booting from ISO CD or Flash is still working with your specific target host, and then using the drives as planned.

Also additional drives consumes extra endpoints, read more under the spoiler:

{!_usb_limits.md!}

So, to add a second virtual drive, follow this:

??? example "Step by step: Enabling the additional drive"

1. Switch the filesystem to read-write mode:

    ```
    [root@pikvm ~]# rw
    ```

2. Edit `/etc/kvmd/override.yaml` and add the extra drive config section:

    ```yaml
    otg:
        devices:
            drives:
                enabled: true  # Set it to true to enable
                count: 1  # +1 drive, default value
                default:  # Default configuration for the all extra drives
                    cdrom: false  # Default value (false for the generic flash drive)
                    rw: false # Read-only by default
    ```

    The `count` parameter determines the number of additional drives (remember the limit on endpoints).
    Each of the drives will be created with the same initial parameters described in the `default` section.

3. Perform reboot:

    ```
    [root@pikvm ~]# reboot
    ```

Second writable flash drive

The kvmd-otgmsd console utility is used to manage additional (and the first main one) drives. The full list of options can be found by running kvmd-otgmsd --help.

??? example "Step by step: Creating the flash drive image to get some files from the target host"

1. Switch the filesystem to read-write mode:

    ```
    [root@pikvm ~]# rw
    ```

2. Create an empty image file with desired size (1GB in this example):

    ```
    [root@pikvm ~]# dd if=/dev/zero of=/root/flash.img bs=1M count=1000 status=progress
    ```

3. Connect it to the drive `1` (the creation process is described in the previous section):

    ```
    [root@pikvm ~]# kvmd-otgmsd -i 1 --set-rw=1 --set-cdrom=0 --set-image=/root/flash.img
    ```

4. On this step, you will be able to access the flash drive from the target host.

    !!! note
        Index `0` represents the main drive that is controlled via a web interface and API

5. View the drive state:

    ```
    [root@pikvm ~]# kvmd-otgmsd -i 1
    Image file:  /root/flash.img
    CD-ROM flag: no
    RW flag:     yes
    ```

6. To disable the flash drive and view the files on it from the PiKVM, run:

    ```
    [root@pikvm ~]# kvmd-otgmsd -i 1 --unlock --eject
    ```

7. Don't forget to remount the root filesystem to read-only mode:

    ```
    [root@pikvm ~]# ro
    ```

8. You can download the resulting image via SCP or mount it as a loop device on the PiKVM:

    ```
    [root@pikvm ~]# mount -o loop /root/flash.img /mnt
    [root@pikvm ~]# ls /mnt
    [root@pikvm ~]# umount /mnt
    ```

!!! tip The main drive can also be switched to read-write mode, this can be done from the web interface.

In this case, the image will have to be prepared outside of PiKVM, and upload it to use,
then download it back to your local host for files extraction.

Disabling Mass Storage

In rare cases, it may be necessary to disable Mass Storage emulation if the BIOS/UEFI does not recognize it correctly and even refuses to work with USB keyboard and mouse.

??? example "Step by step: Permanent disabling Sass Storage"

1. Switch the filesystem to read-write mode:

    ```
    [root@pikvm ~]# rw
    ```

2. Edit `/etc/kvmd/override.yaml` and add the extra drive config section:

    ```yaml
    kvmd:
        msd:
            type:  disabled

    ```

3. Perform reboot:

    ```
    [root@pikvm ~]# reboot
    ```

!!! tip An alternative method may be to use the dynamic USB configuration method, which allows you to temporarily disable any of the emulated devices, including Mass Storage Drive.

Create a Windows based Flash disk image

An alternative version of this can be found below that does not require a physical usb flash

This procedure will create a disk image of a USB stick. This is mostly required for Windows based images since they are larger than the CDROM based limit of 2.2GB. You can create a bootable USB stick with the normal Microsoft tools, e.g. Media Creation Tool. Creating a bootable USB stick can also be made from an ISO file with other tools like Rufus.

Without resizing, the full size of the USB stick will be used, so keep the stick as small as possible (e.g. 4GB or 8GB) but still large enough for all Windows files. The Media Creation tool will tell you what the minimum size is.

Before creating the image file, you can use a tool like "EaseUS Partition Master Free" or "GParted" to resize the main FAT32 partition on the USB stick. This will save space on PiKVM.

You can also perform these steps on a separate unix machine and transfer the image over to pikvm with e.g. SCP. Or, on Windows you could use a program like PassMark ImageUSB (only for full USB size images) or 'dd' for Windows to create the image. Then use WinSCP to transfer the image over to PiKVM.

Once you have the desired USB stick perform the following on the RPi to create the image directly to the PiKVM image storage folder.

Insert Windows based USB stick into Pi4, generated with Microsoft USB creation tool. SSH to PiKVM as root.

# dmesg
[ 3025.025401] usb-storage 2-1:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
[ 3025.038911] scsi host0: usb-storage 2-1:1.0
[ 3026.132248] scsi 0:0:0:0: Direct-Access     Kingston DataTraveler 3.0 PMAP PQ: 0 ANSI: 6
[ 3026.771425] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] 15360000 512-byte logical blocks: (7.86 GB/7.32 GiB)
[ 3026.790276] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
[ 3026.802530] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 23 00 00 00
[ 3026.804450] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] No Caching mode page found
[ 3026.814082] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Assuming drive cache: write through
[ 3026.908712]  sda: sda1
[ 3026.922794] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Attached SCSI removable disk
[root@pikvm ~]#

USB devices shows as sda. We will use sda1 as the Windows partition.

mount msd folder as read/write
```
# kvmd-helper-otgmsd-remount rw
```

Create image of USB data PARTITION to an image file, this will take some time, in this case about 12 minutes (RPi4).

# dd if=/dev/sda1 of=/var/lib/kvmd/msd/windows10-2004.bin bs=8M status=progress
4458545152 bytes (4.5 GB, 4.2 GiB) copied, 736 s, 6.1 MB/s
531+1 records in
531+1 records out
4458545152 bytes (4.5 GB, 4.2 GiB) copied, 736.213 s, 6.1 MB/s

Correct ownership of new image and make sure the website reports the file as complete.
```
# chown kvmd:kvmd /var/lib/kvmd/msd/windows10-2004.bin
```
Remount msd folder as read only
```
# kvmd-helper-otgmsd-remount ro
```
On PiKVM webpage, under Storage select the new image and connect it in Drive Mode: Flash to the server.

Boot the server and select boot device like you normally would. E.g. in a AMI BIOS the boot device is called "Linux File-CD Gadget 0504".

Create a drive image on macOS

Open Disk Utility.
File > New Image > Blank Image.
Save As: pikvm-image.dmg. Name: pikvm-image. Size: 100 MB (or whatever size you want). Format: MS-DOS (FAT). Partitions: Single partition - GUID Partition Map. Image Format: read/write disk image.
Click Save.
The drive will automatically be mounted.
Copy files (such as BIOS updates) onto the new image (via terminal or drag and drop in Finder).
Eject image.
Rename file to .img
Upload image to PiKVM interface under "Drive".
Select Drive Mode: Flash and then Connect drive to Server.

You should be able to then mount it locally on the server, or reboot the device to do things like BIOS updates.

An alternative to making a Windows boot image that does not require a physical usb flash drive

Physical USB is not needed but external system is mandatory.
Create Ventoy image (on Ubuntu x86 machine) (Unaware of a windows version).
There is an assumption that you know basic linux to understand that not all dev devices are named exactly like the below

# dd if=/dev/zero of=ventoy.img bs=1M count=4700 status=progress

This makes a ventoy.img file, I would name this what it is EG: ventoy_win10.img
At the same time, download Media Creation Tool and select iso
On the Ubuntu machine
At the time of this, it was 1.0.51, change to latest version

# wget https://github.com/ventoy/Ventoy/releases/download/v1.0.51/ventoy-1.0.51-linux.tar.gz
# tar zxvf ventoy-1.0.51-linux.tar.gz
# sudo losetup -f ventoy.img
# sudo losetup -l | grep ventoy (To locate which loop device was used)
# sudo sh ~/ventoy-1.0.51/Ventoy2Disk.sh -i /dev/loopXX (This will make a loopXXp1 and a loopXXp2 and will format both partitions
# cd /media/XXX (Usually your login)
# mkdir ventoy
# sudo mount /dev/loopXXp1 /media/XXX/ventoy

Either cp/scp over the .iso you downloaded from the Media tool or use a NFS mount

sudo cp windows.iso /media/XXX/ventoy
sudo umount /dev/loopXX 
# This is going to be different for everyone, please choose the same one you mounted earlier
sudo losetup -d /dev/loopXX 
# This may or may not work for everyone, if it doesnt work, skip and move forward#

ssh into the Ubuntu system (Or whatever OS you are using)

On PiKVM

# cd /var/lib/kvmd/msd
# mount -o remount,rw .

On Ubuntu

# scp ventoy.img root@pikvm:/var/lib/kvmd/msd

Mount ventoy.img as normal flash and select the PiKVM boot device, it should popup with the VenToy logo with the window.iso as a selection

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