Installing (and Booting) Linux on/FROM Intel vROC NVMe

Just remember to disable Secure Boot (at least, Supermicro’s guide to vROC says that vROC is not compatible with Secure Boot), and ensure that you boot your O/S installer in (U)EFI mode, and make sure you boot in (U)EFI mode afterwards.

Otherwise, expect problems like the CentOS 7 installer complaining that something went wrong as the installer GUI starts (this seems to mostly stem from not seeing the vROC RAID device, but still seeing the member NVMe devices but being confused by the mdraid-esque nature of vROC RAID sets.)

Once you boot the CentOS installer in EFI mode, you’ll be able to see and install to your “BIOS RAID” device. The same will apply to standalone NVMe drives – which on most boards will only work if everything is done in EFI mode.