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An unknown machine does not appear in Medulla or GLPI after Register PXE

Applies to: Medulla / Imaging / PXE
Version: All
Environment: On-Premise
Category: Imaging / PXE

Context

During a PXE deployment with Medulla, an unknown machine may sometimes fail to appear in Medulla or GLPI after the Register step.

Under normal circumstances, the PXE process creates an XML inventory file, which is then automatically processed by the Medulla service responsible for registering machines.

Symptom:
The machine boots correctly via PXE, the " Register " menu runs, but no computer subsequently appears in Medulla or GLPI.

1. Check for the presence of PXE inventory files

When a machine goes through the Register step, an XML inventory file is automatically created in the following directory:

/var/lib/pulse2/imaging/inventories/

From your Medulla server, run the following command:

ls -lah /var/lib/pulse2/imaging/inventories/

Normal case

The directory should be empty, or the files should disappear shortly after they are created.

This means that the PXE registration service is processing the inventories correctly.

Abnormal case

If one or more .xml files remain in this directory, this generally means that the PXE processing service is no longer processing the inventory files.

Important:
The persistent presence of XML files in this directory usually indicates that the pulse2-register-pxe.service has hung.

2. Restart the PXE registration service

Restart the service responsible for processing PXE inventories:

systemctl restart pulse2-register-pxe.service

Once the service has restarted, check whether the XML files are automatically removed from the folder:

ls -lah /var/lib/pulse2/imaging/inventories/

Expected result

  • The XML files should be processed and then automatically deleted
  • The machine should then appear in Medulla
  • Depending on your configuration, the device should also be synchronized in GLPI

3. Check the service status

To verify that the service is running:

systemctl status pulse2-register-pxe.service

The service should appear with the following status:

active (running)

Warning:
If the service is in a "failed" or " inactive " state, or is restarting in a loop, check the logs to identify the error.

4. Check the service logs

The PXE registration service log is available here:

/var/log/mmc/pulse2-register-pxe.log

Display the latest lines of the log:

tail -f /var/log/mmc/pulse2-register-pxe.log

Or view the latest errors:

tail -100 /var/log/mmc/pulse2-register-pxe.log

Items to check in the logs

  • XML parsing error
  • Database connection error
  • Communication issue with GLPI
  • Permission error on inventory files
  • Registration process crash

5. Additional Checks

If the problem persists after restarting the service, check the following:

Item Check
PXE Boot Does the machine reach the Register menu?
DHCP The PXE options are correct
XML Storage The files are created in /var/lib/pulse2/imaging/inventories/
PXE Service pulse2-register-pxe.service is active
Logs No blocking errors in the log
GLPI Synchronization is working if used

Default values

Element Value
PXE inventory directory /var/lib/pulse2/imaging/inventories/
PXE Service pulse2-register-pxe.service
Log file /var/log/mmc/pulse2-register-pxe.log
Restart command systemctl restart pulse2-register-pxe.service
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