The standard bsdinstall instructions apply to ThunderX. Support was introduced as of FreeBSD 11.0-ALPHA5. Note that only available installation media is memstick (no cd, dvd, etc.).

It is recommended that a USB 3.0 flash stick be used.

Some or all UEFI firmware versions have a bug where the USB flash stick may not boot after cold start. If this occurs perform a warm reset and the system should then boot properly. Wiki page to be updated with specific version information once there is a confirmed fix.

1. Install a supported network interface card (see below)
2. Build the world and kernel, and install to an NFS-exported location
3. Configure a TFTP server to provide loader.efi
4. Boot the ThunderX and break to the boot selection menu
5. Add a new entry to boot from TFTP on the PCIe NIC.
   • Configure the “Use DHCP”, “TFTP Server IP address” and “loader.efi location” settings as appropriate for your environment.
   • Answer YES for “is the application an OS loader.” Leave “loader.efi arguments” empty.

• Intel 82572EI
• Intel 82574L

A USB network adapter must be installed in the bottom USB slot. The top slot is connected to the BMC.

• ASIX AX88772B
  • Olimex https://www.amazon.com/Olimex-USB-ETHERNET-AX88772B-ethernet-adaptor-AX88772B/dp/B00LYUSRRI
  • Monoprice http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=9466 (waiting on confirmation)