sk65205 - How to install Gaia OS from a USB device on Check Point appliance and Open Servers using ISOmorphic Tool

How to install Gaia OS from a USB device on Check Point appliance and Open Servers using ISOmorphic Tool

Solution

Important Notes:

On 04 May 2025, the ISOmorphic package was updated to Build 218 (requires Windows 10 or higher).

Introduction

ISOmorphic is the Check Point utility used for creating a bootable USB device, capable of installing Gaia / SecurePlatform OS on Check Point appliances and Open Servers.

The ISOmorphic tool supports two modes of deployments - Regular (interactive) and Unattended. Unattended deployment is a way to install the Gaia / SecurePlatform OS on the appliance without user interaction.

Notes:

Check Point does not enforce the use of the ISOmorphic tool, which is provided as a utility to make the installation easier. Note, however, that Check Point has developed and verified the ISOmorphic tool to work with all Check Point appliances (excluding IP Series Appliances).
A bootable USB device might fail to identify the Gaia image if the USB device was formatted with a file system different from FAT32. In such cases, customers can use any tool to reformat the USB device before starting the ISOmorphic creation process.
Make sure the USB device does not contain bad sectors before starting the ISOmorphic creation process.
The Check Point ISO might not contain the required driver for the USB storage device. As a result, the installation might fail.

What's New?

Build 218 adds support for Quantum Force appliances 3900 ( sk183199)
Build 207 adds support for Quantum Force appliances 9000 ( sk181698), 19000 ( sk180520), and 29000 ( sk180520).
Build 201 adds support for the Gaia OS maintenance password (starting from R81.20) and Quantum LightSpeed MLS appliances ( sk176466).
Build 198 adds support for Quantum LightSpeed QLS appliances ( sk176466).
Build 194 adds support for adding Hotfixes with *.tar extensions for versions R81 and higher.
Build 187 adds support for Smart-1 6000-L, Smart-1 6000-XL, Smart-1 600-S, and Smart-1 600-M appliances ( sk171903).

Note - To see the build of your ISOmorphic tool, click the " About" button in the bottom left corner.

Unsupported Features


ISOmorphic tool does not support USB 3.0 devices (use only a USB 2.0 device).
ISOmorphic tool does not support VMware Virtual Machines.
Scalable Platforms (ElasticXL, Maestro, Scalable Chassis) do not support these optional settings configured in the ISOmorphic tool: - Product - Hostname - IP Address - Subnet Mask - Default Gateway - OS Password - Hotfix packages
ISOmorphic tool does not support the installation of the R81.20 Jumbo Hotfix Accumulator.
ISOmorphic tool does not support the installation of the R81 or higher versions on these appliances: - Smart-1 205, Smart-1 210 - 2200 - 4200, 4400, 4600, 4800 - 12200, 12400, 12600 - 13500, 13800 - 21400, 21600, 21700, 21800
ISOmorphic tool does not support Quantum Spark and Quantum Rugged appliances (that run Gaia Embedded OS).

Known Limitations


ISOmorphic tool supports only Clean Install (Fresh Install). Upgrade is not supported.
Only public HotFixes and Jumbo Hotfix Accumulators were tested. Test the installation of private HotFixes manually before selecting them in the ISOmorphic tool.
Basic networking settings can be preconfigured only for Gaia R77.20 and higher, and only for Check Point appliances.
Basic/Advanced configuration type and HotFix installation (Enhanced ISOmorphic) are available only on 3000 / 5000 / 15000 / 23000 appliances with their dedicated R77.30 Gaia Clean Install package.
On Smart-1 525, Smart-1 5050, and Smart-1 5150 appliances, the post-installation reboot is stuck while the ISOmorphic USB device is still plugged in, and Gaia OS cannot be loaded. Workaround: Remove the USB device and reboot the appliance.

Installing Gaia OS on the Check Point Appliance / Open Server using the USB device

Prepare the USB device as described in the "Preparing a USB device for Deployment" section.
Shut down the Appliance / Open Server.
Connect to the Appliance / Open Server over console.
Plug in the USB device to the Appliance / Open Server.
Turn on the Appliance / Open Server.
After booting successfully from the USB drive, the SYSLINUX window appears.
Enter the number of the applicable boot option and press the Enter key:

Notes:

If you do not enter any number in the SYSLINUX window, then after 90 seconds the installation will continue with the default option based on the installation type that you selected when preparing the USB device.

Warning - Do not forget to unplug the USB device from your Appliance / Open Server. Otherwise, the local drive will be formatted without any user confirmation when the Appliance / Open Server is rebooted.

General Limitations

ISOmorphic can be used for fresh install only.
Basic networking can be preconfigured only for Gaia R77.20 and higher, and only for Check Point appliances.

Possible Errors

The following message might appear on the screen during the ISO installation:

find: /tmp/hdimage/<Name_Of_ISO_Image>.iso: Value too large for defined data type

Root cause: The ramdisk on the USB device mounts the ISO image, and then mounts 'stage2.img' from the ISO image, afterwards it unmounts the ISO image. When 'stage2.img' is running, the 'find' command complains when it sees an ISO file larger than 2 GB.

Next steps: This message can be safely ignored. The installation completes successfully, and installed software works correctly.