Images built with "link_in_boot = yes" in /etc/kernel-img.conf end up with a broken /boot/initrd.img

[Dan Watkins]

Some architectures get "link_in_boot = yes" added to /etc/kernel-img.conf by lb_chroot_linux-image; it appears that cloud images built for these architectures (I have checked s390x and arm64) end up with an LZMA-compressed empty regular file at /boot/initrd.img (instead of the expected symlink to /boot/initrd.img-...).

In terms of time-of-introduction, I have confirmed that an s390x image built against proposed on the 12th of January was good, whereas an s390x image built against the main archive on the 25th was not.

(I suspect that this is actually an issue in something in the archive, but as I don't really know _what_, I have filed this against live-build for now.)

Related bugs:
 * bug 1539157: Images built with "link_in_boot = yes" in /etc/kernel-img.conf end up with a broken /boot/initrd.img
 * bug 1536810 kernel install failed /bin/cp: cannot stat ‘/boot/initrd.img-4.3.0-7-generic’: No such file or directory

For SRU purposes, we can confirm a fix by making sure that cloud images of a couple of architectures built with this fix still boot, and that initrd.img is a symlink rather than a (small) regular file.

[Andy Whitcroft (apw)]

Hello Dan, or anyone else affected,

Accepted live-build into xenial-proposed. The package will build now and be available at https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/live-build/3.0~a57-1ubuntu25.1 in a few hours, and then in the -proposed repository.

Please help us by testing this new package. See https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Testing/EnableProposed for documentation how to enable and use -proposed. Your feedback will aid us getting this update out to other Ubuntu users.

If this package fixes the bug for you, please add a comment to this bug, mentioning the version of the package you tested, and change the tag from verification-needed to verification-done. If it does not fix the bug for you, please add a comment stating that, and change the tag to verification-failed. In either case, details of your testing will help us make a better decision.

Further information regarding the verification process can be found at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/QATeam/PerformingSRUVerification . Thank you in advance!

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

This bug was fixed in the package live-build - 3.0~a57-1ubuntu26

---------------
live-build (3.0~a57-1ubuntu26) yakkety; urgency=medium

  * Avoid recompressing initrd.img symlinks (LP: #1539157).

 -- Colin Watson <email address hidden> Tue, 28 Jun 2016 15:45:10 +0100

[Colin Watson (cjwatson)]

https://jenkins.canonical.com/xenial-cloud-images/job/16.04-Perform-Pre-Publish-Testing/ looks reasonable now, and I've confirmed that initrd.img is a symlink.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

This bug was fixed in the package live-build - 3.0~a57-1ubuntu25.1

---------------
live-build (3.0~a57-1ubuntu25.1) xenial; urgency=medium

  * Avoid recompressing initrd.img symlinks (LP: #1539157).

 -- Colin Watson <email address hidden> Tue, 28 Jun 2016 15:45:10 +0100

[Chris J Arges (arges)]

The verification of the Stable Release Update for live-build has completed successfully and the package has now been released to -updates. Subsequently, the Ubuntu Stable Release Updates Team is being unsubscribed and will not receive messages about this bug report. In the event that you encounter a regression using the package from -updates please report a new bug using ubuntu-bug and tag the bug report regression-update so we can easily find any regressions.