Ubuntu
mdadm package

mdadm debconf configuration for boot_degraded=true|false

Bug #259127 reported by Dustin Kirkland  on 2008-08-18

Affects		Status	Importance	Assigned to	Milestone
	mdadm (Ubuntu)	Fix Released	Medium	Dustin Kirkland 

Bug Description

Binary package hint: mdadm

Bug #120375 added support to mdadm and initramfs-tools for configurable booting degraded RAIDs.

mdadm should have debconf configuration for allowing an administrator to configure boot_degraded=true|false in /etc/initramfs-tools/conf.d/mdadm.

:-Dustin

Related branches

lp:~csurbhi/+junk/mdadm.fixes

lp:ubuntu/intrepid/mdadm

lp:~xnox/ubuntu/natty/mdadm/natty-updates

Revision history for this message

Dustin Kirkland  (kirkland) wrote on 2008-08-18:

mdadm.259127.debdiff Edit (27.2 KiB, text/plain)

Patch attached.

:-Dustin

Kees Cook (kees) on 2008-08-18

Changed in mdadm:
assignee:	nobody → kirkland
importance:	Undecided → Medium
status:	New → Fix Committed

Revision history for this message

Launchpad Janitor (janitor) wrote on 2008-08-18:

This bug was fixed in the package mdadm - 2.6.7-3ubuntu4

---------------
mdadm (2.6.7-3ubuntu4) intrepid; urgency=low

  * debian/mdadm.templates, debian/mdadm.config, debian/mdadm.postinst,
    debian/po/templates.pot: added debconf support for BOOT_DEGRADED
    configuration (LP: #259127).
  * debian/po/*po: autogenerated translation placeholders for the debconf
    templates questions.

-- Dustin Kirkland <email address hidden> Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:08:56 +0100

Changed in mdadm:
status:	Fix Committed → Fix Released

Revision history for this message

ceg (ceg) wrote on 2008-08-18:

> the default being BOOT_DEGRADED=false, which is the conservative/traditional behavior.

Only some may consider this "conservative" behaviour a broken behavior, when a system on a "redundant array of independent disks" will degrade just fine when running, but won't even come up when booting.

The reason for all this restrictivity with starting arrays comes from those start up scripts that use(ed) "mdadm --assemble --scan" to start arrays. Those run whatever (partially) connected arrays they can get hold of (in degraded mode).

IMHO the right thing for start up scripts to do is to only start arrays that are needed to set up the root device and fstab, and degrade only them after a timeout.
(/usr/share/initramfs-tools/hooks/cryptroot contains code to determine devices that the root device depends on.)

Hotplugging can start any arrays afterwards, if it is completely attatched.

The homehost "feature" is one suboptimal attempt to restrict array assembly. Same with the restriction with DEVICE or ARRAY definitions in mdadm.conf. Such restrictions add extra configuration burdens and should not be necessary with start up scripts that just correctly honor the root device and fstab information.

In fact the homehost, and ARRAY restrictions prevent the hotplugging from beeing any better than manual configuration. Arrays still have to be configured in mdadm.conf (Bug #252345) .

---

The default can be BOOT_DEGRADED=true, if the boot scripts refrain from using the depreceated "mdadm --assemble --scan" and selectively "mdadm --run /dev/<device>".

more info on:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BootDegradedRaid

Revision history for this message

Ace Suares (acesuares) wrote on 2008-08-18:

It's all fine that this is fixed in Intrepid but I choose Hardy because it's a LTS edition. I plan on using it for the next 3 years. Could this please be fixed in 8.04 too ???

Revision history for this message

tricky1 (tricky1) wrote on 2008-08-23:

Bug still present in Alpha 4

Revision history for this message

Jason Tackaberry (tack) wrote on 2008-12-14:

In response to Ace Suares, I thought I pipe in and say that this is fixed in Hardy in mdadm 2.6.3+200709292116+4450e59-3ubuntu3.1, released 2008-11-07.