This guide walks through creating a bootable USB from an ISO file using macOS and Linux Terminal.
WARNING:
The dd command will overwrite the entire target disk. Selecting the wrong disk may erase your system.
Requirements:
- USB drive (at least as large as the ISO file - Min 8GB would be good)
- ISO file path
- Administrator (sudo) access
Step 1: Identify the USB Drive
diskutil list
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: GUID_partition_scheme *500.3 GB disk0
1: Apple_APFS_ISC Container disk1 524.3 MB disk0s1
2: Apple_APFS Container disk3 494.4 GB disk0s2
3: Apple_APFS_Recovery Container disk2 5.4 GB disk0s3
/dev/disk3 (synthesized):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: APFS Container Scheme - +494.4 GB disk3
Physical Store disk0s2
1: APFS Volume Macintosh HD - Data 195.6 GB disk3s1
2: APFS Volume Macintosh HD 10.3 GB disk3s3
3: APFS Snapshot com.apple.os.update-... 10.3 GB disk3s3s1
4: APFS Volume Preboot 7.9 GB disk3s4
5: APFS Volume Recovery 2.2 GB disk3s5
6: APFS Volume VM 20.5 KB disk3s6
/dev/disk4 (external, physical):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: ISOIMAGE *8.1 GB disk4
Locate your USB device (e.g., /dev/disk4). Ensure it is external and matches the expected size.
In the steps below, we took an example of /dev/disk4
Step 2 (Optional): Erase and Format USB
diskutil eraseDisk FAT32 USB MBRFormat /dev/disk4
Step 3: Unmount the USB
diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk4
Step 4: Write ISO to USB
sudo dd if=/path/to/your-image.iso of=/dev/rdisk4 bs=4M << Once done wait for it to finish. To check the status you can run Control + T)
Or
sudo dd if=/path/to/your-image.iso of=/dev/rdisk4 bs=4M status=progress
(Optional: add status=progress for visibility)
Step 5: Flush Write Cache
sync
Step 6 (Optional): Verify
diskutil list
Step 7: Eject USB
diskutil eject /dev/disk4
Quick Summary:
diskutil list
diskutil eraseDisk FAT32 USB MBRFormat /dev/disk4
diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk4
sudo dd if=your-image.iso of=/dev/rdisk4 bs=4M status=progress
sync
diskutil eject /dev/disk4
Alternative Option using for App on MacOS similar to Rufus on Windows: BalenaEtcher(https://etcher.balena.io/)
YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM2C3FXD-qw
Further, you can follow the instructions here with how to boot Versa Appliance using a Bootable USB: https://docs.versa-networks.com/Getting_Started/Deployment_and_Initial_Configuration/Branch_Deployment/Installation/Install_on_Bare_Metal