Bug#838887: please dont bomb out on nofail option

[Michael Biebl]

On Mon, 26 Sep 2016 07:02:01 +0200 Marc Haber
 wrote:
> when I looked for the last time (a few months ago), fstab entries
> parsed by initramfs-tools or in initramfs MUST NOT contain the
> "nofail" option. This is kind of surprising since some other fstab
> entries MUST contain the "nofail" option to avoid systemd from bombing
> out on boot.

Fwiw, the relevant fstab entries for the initramfs are / and /usr. And
those should not contain "nofail".



-- 
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Bug#838887: please dont bomb out on nofail option

[Michael Biebl]

On Mon, 26 Sep 2016 07:02:01 +0200 Marc Haber
 wrote:
> Package: initramfs-tools
> Severity: wishlist
> 
> Hi,
> 
> when I looked for the last time (a few months ago), fstab entries
> parsed by initramfs-tools or in initramfs MUST NOT contain the
> "nofail" option. This is kind of surprising since some other fstab
> entries MUST contain the "nofail" option to avoid systemd from bombing
> out on boot.
> 
> This inconsistence makey it necessary to think in which lines to put
> the nofail option and in which lines not.
> 
> Please consider tweaking initramfs-tools so that "nofail" can be in
> all lines, with it being ignored in initramfs.

This looks like a duplicate of #845302.

In this bug report a user had the "auto" option for /usr in /etc/fstab.
The busybox and klibc-utils mount implementations did not cope with this
and failed to mount /usr as a result

In https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=845302#161 I have a
proposed patch which uses the mount implmentation from util-linux, which
is also used on the real system.

This should avoid issues like Mark or the bug reporter from  #845302 are
encountering.




-- 
Why is it that all of the instruments seeking intelligent life in the
universe are pointed away from Earth?



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Bug#838887: please dont bomb out on nofail option

[Ben Hutchings]

Control: retitle -1 Support 'nofail' option when mounting /usr
Control: tag -1 moreinfo

On Tue, 2016-09-27 at 20:31 +0200, Marc Haber wrote:
> On Mon, Sep 26, 2016 at 02:58:58PM +0100, Ben Hutchings wrote:
> > 
> > On Mon, 2016-09-26 at 07:02 +0200, Marc Haber wrote:
> > > 
> > > Package: initramfs-tools
> > > Severity: wishlist
> > > 
> > > Hi,
> > > 
> > > when I looked for the last time (a few months ago), fstab entries
> > > parsed by initramfs-tools or in initramfs MUST NOT contain the
> > > "nofail" option.
> > 
> > All entries are parsed.  But I suppose you mean the entries which are
> > actually processed, which are: /usr
> 
> And root, right?

Yes, though options for root are ignored and 'nofail' wouldn't make any
sense.

> >    And 'nofail' would make no sense for /usr, so I don't understand
> >  why you would want to use it there.
> 
> I want to use it anywhere so that the system boots as far as it will
> go, in the hope that it will come up so far that actual help is
> possible. Unconditionally dropping to a rescue shell on the local
> console is the least probable variant of "helpful".
> 
> > 
> > [...]
> > > 
> > > Please consider tweaking initramfs-tools so that "nofail" can be in
> > > all lines, with it being ignored in initramfs.
> > 
> > There's nothing we do that would reject 'nofail', and both busybox and
> > klibc implementations of mount seem to ignore it.  (However I don't
> > currently have a test VM with separate /usr so I didn't test this
> > completely.)
> 
> You're right. "nofail" is ignored, at least in sid.
> 
> I'm leaving this bug report open since I'd really love initramfs-tools
> to continue to try booting even if mounting /usr fails. Currently,
> this is what happens even if nofail is set on /usr:
[...]

I assume you mean that happens if the device is missing and 'nofail' is
used (same as if 'nofail' wasn't used).

I may implement this but it's going to be low priority as /usr will be
an absolute requirement for most systems in future.  I'm open to
considering patches.

Ben.

-- 
Ben Hutchings
If the facts do not conform to your theory, they must be disposed of.


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Bug#838887: please dont bomb out on nofail option

[Marc Haber]

On Mon, Sep 26, 2016 at 02:58:58PM +0100, Ben Hutchings wrote:
> On Mon, 2016-09-26 at 07:02 +0200, Marc Haber wrote:
> > Package: initramfs-tools
> > Severity: wishlist
> > 
> > Hi,
> > 
> > when I looked for the last time (a few months ago), fstab entries
> > parsed by initramfs-tools or in initramfs MUST NOT contain the
> > "nofail" option.
> 
> All entries are parsed.  But I suppose you mean the entries which are
> actually processed, which are: /usr

And root, right?

>    And 'nofail' would make no sense for /usr, so I don't understand
>  why you would want to use it there.

I want to use it anywhere so that the system boots as far as it will
go, in the hope that it will come up so far that actual help is
possible. Unconditionally dropping to a rescue shell on the local
console is the least probable variant of "helpful".

> [...]
> > Please consider tweaking initramfs-tools so that "nofail" can be in
> > all lines, with it being ignored in initramfs.
> 
> There's nothing we do that would reject 'nofail', and both busybox and
> klibc implementations of mount seem to ignore it.  (However I don't
> currently have a test VM with separate /usr so I didn't test this
> completely.)

You're right. "nofail" is ignored, at least in sid.

I'm leaving this bug report open since I'd really love initramfs-tools
to continue to try booting even if mounting /usr fails. Currently,
this is what happens even if nofail is set on /usr:

|Begin: Running /scripts/local-block ... done.
|done.
|Gave up waiting for /usr device.  Common problems:
| - Boot args (cat /proc/cmdline)
|   - Check rootdelay= (did the system wait long enough?)
| - Missing modules (cat /proc/modules; ls /dev)
|ALERT!  /dev/vdb does not exist.  Dropping to a shell!
|BusyBox v1.22.1 (Debian 1:1.22.0-19) built-in shell (ash)
|Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands.
|(initramfs) 

I guess this would also defeat mechanisms placed in the initramfs such
as an emergency ssh daemon (something which I planned to implement for
a decade now and never have gotten around to actually doing it).

Greetings
Marc

-- 
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Marc Haber | "I don't trust Computers. They | Mailadresse im Header
Leimen, Germany|  lose things."Winona Ryder | Fon: *49 6224 1600402
Nordisch by Nature |  How to make an American Quilt | Fax: *49 6224 1600421

Bug#838887: please dont bomb out on nofail option

[Ben Hutchings]

Control: tag -1 moreinfo

On Mon, 2016-09-26 at 07:02 +0200, Marc Haber wrote:
> Package: initramfs-tools
> Severity: wishlist
> 
> Hi,
> 
> when I looked for the last time (a few months ago), fstab entries
> parsed by initramfs-tools or in initramfs MUST NOT contain the
> "nofail" option.

All entries are parsed.  But I suppose you mean the entries which are
actually processed, which are: /usr   And 'nofail' would make no sense
for /usr, so I don't understand why you would want to use it there.

[...]
> Please consider tweaking initramfs-tools so that "nofail" can be in
> all lines, with it being ignored in initramfs.

There's nothing we do that would reject 'nofail', and both busybox and
klibc implementations of mount seem to ignore it.  (However I don't
currently have a test VM with separate /usr so I didn't test this
completely.)

Please re-test and explain exactly what the configuration is that
fails.

Ben.

-- 
Ben Hutchings
In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of
incompetence.


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Bug#838887: please dont bomb out on nofail option

[Marc Haber]

Package: initramfs-tools
Severity: wishlist

Hi,

when I looked for the last time (a few months ago), fstab entries
parsed by initramfs-tools or in initramfs MUST NOT contain the
"nofail" option. This is kind of surprising since some other fstab
entries MUST contain the "nofail" option to avoid systemd from bombing
out on boot.

This inconsistence makey it necessary to think in which lines to put
the nofail option and in which lines not.

Please consider tweaking initramfs-tools so that "nofail" can be in
all lines, with it being ignored in initramfs.

Greetings
Marc