PlanetLab nodes should always boot from the PlanetLab BootCD. Configure each of your nodes (usually through the BIOS) to boot from a USB Key or CD drive first. Remove all other devices from the boot sequence, including the hard disk and floppy drive.

Make sure that the date and time in the BIOS are accurate and set relative to UTC. If the date and time are off, SSL certificate verification may fail (see First Boot).

If possible, disable the RAID controllers on your nodes, provided the disks are still available for use, as certain controllers are unstable and/or unsupported by Linux. If not, configure the RAID for maximum disk space. Machines with multiple disks but no RAID controllers need no further setup; the PlanetLab installer will coalesce all disks it can find into a single logical volume. Remember that all disks will be erased as part of the installation process.

Make certain that you have configured your power control unit (PCU) and connected it to your nodes. Test that you are able to access the PCU remotely and that you are able to power cycle your nodes with it. If possible, configure your nodes (usually through the BIOS) to turn on automatically after a power loss.

After the PCU is configured, add the PCU (its hostname, ip address, model, password, etc) to your site's record on the PlanetLab website. When you view the PCU entry, the password will be displayed. However, only PlanetLab administrators will be able to view and use it in the event the node becomes unreachable.