Clear Linux OS AMI incompatible with AWS EC2 7th gen (i7) metal instances

[jonthomascampbell]

Description

Clear Linux OS AMI is failing to fully initialize on AWS EC2 7th generation (i7) metal instances, while working correctly on older generation metal instances and virtualized instances.

Environment

• AWS Region: ap-northeast-1 (Tokyo)
• Clear Linux OS AMI: ami-0b20fd4befce417e1
• Clear Linux OS version: (version 41120)
• Problematic instance types: r7i.metal-24xl, c7i.metal-24xl
• Working instance types: c5.metal, r7iz.xlarge, c7a.xlarge, r7i.large

Steps to Reproduce

1. In the ap-northeast-1 region, launch the Clear Linux OS AMI (ami-0b20fd4befce417e1) on an i7 metal instance (e.g., r7i.metal-24xl or c7i.metal-24xl)
2. Wait for the instance to initialize (this may take several minutes for bare metal instances)
3. Check instance status in AWS console

Current Behavior

• Instance shows only 2 out of 3 status checks passing (Instance Reachability
• No system logs are available
• Issue persists after reboot

Expected Behavior

All 3 status checks should pass, and the instance should be fully operational with system logs available.

Additional Information

• The same AMI (ami-0b20fd4befce417e1) works correctly on older generation metal instances (e.g., c5.metal)
• The issue is specific to i7 (7th gen) metal instances
• Virtualized instances of the same generation (e.g., r7i.large) work correctly
• Console output shows "Wait 5 second(s)..." which is typical for bare metal instances, but the boot process doesn't seem to complete

Attempted Troubleshooting

• Rebooted the instance, but the issue persisted
• Successfully launched and ran the same AMI on other instance types (r7iz.xlarge, c7a.xlarge, r7i.large, c5.metal)

Impact

Unable to use Clear Linux OS on the latest generation of AWS EC2 metal instances, limiting our ability to leverage the most current bare metal hardware.

Possible Causes

• Incompatibility with new hardware features in i7 metal instances
• Missing drivers or configurations for 7th gen hardware
• Changes in boot process or firmware for i7 metal instances not accounted for in the current AMI

Additional Notes

We would appreciate any insights into this issue and potential workarounds.

Please let us know if you need any further information about the specific AMI (ami-0b20fd4befce417e1) or any other details related to our setup in the ap-northeast-1 region.

[jonthomascampbell]

Official AWS Marketplace - Clear Linux OS AMI page:
AWS https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace/pp/prodview-etajttzzjzs24