iPXE bypass Subiquity(Ubuntu Server Installer)

Ubuntu Version:
Ubuntu Server 24.04.2 LTS
https://ubuntu.com/download/server

Desktop Environment (if applicable):
None.

Problem Description:
I’m using iPXE to boot an Ubuntu Server image, but I can’t figure out how to bypass the Subiquity installer that pops up on first launch. I simply want to boot directly into an Ubuntu terminal shell with root access. I don’t want the system to be persistent; meaning, I want the system to download a fresh image every time the computer shuts down and boots again. Essentially, everything should be loaded temporarily and reset on reboot.

I know that the Subiquity installer launches on /dev/tty1, and I can switch to /dev/tty2 to get my desired effect. However, I want the system to launch directly into /dev/tty2 without having to manually switch. Below, I’ve tried using the console kernel parameter, but without success. :pensive:

I also want to preface that I’m not an expert in Linux, so some of the details I’m sharing might be incorrect. I’m still learning how this all works.

What I’ve Tried:

In my menu.ipxe config, I have:

:ubuntu-24.04-server
kernel http://${server_ip}/ubuntu/casper/vmlinuz
initrd http://${server_ip}/ubuntu/casper/initrd
imgargs vmlinuz initrd=initrd ip=dhcp cloud-init=disabled url=http://${server_ip}/ubuntu.iso
boot

On the imgargs line, I’ve tried various combinations of parameters like:

boot=casper
boot=live
toram
noprompt
console=tty2
init=/bin/bash
systemd.unit=multi-user.target

With the init=/bin/bash parameter, it boots into a terminal shell, which is close to what I want. However, none of the Ubuntu services are loaded since systemd isn’t active. When I run exec /sbin/init, it reinitializes everything and brings me back to the Subiquity installer.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.


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