Low-level DASD format fails on artful d-i

[Frank Heimes]

When reaching the DASD configuration, DASDs can be selected and configured.
If in the following step "Format the device" (low-level DASD format) gets selected (Yes) it fails with this message:

     ┌──────┤ [!!] Configure direct access storage devices (DASD) ├──────┐
     │ │
     │ Installation step failed │
     │ An installation step failed. You can try to run the failing item │
     │ again from the menu, or skip it and choose something else. The │
     │ failing step is: Configure direct access storage devices (DASD) │
     │ │
     │ <Continue> │
     │ │
     └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

In parallel these msg appear in the syslog:

Sep 20 09:27:47 kernel: [ 542.045725] dasd-eckd.401b68: 0.0.1629: A channel path to the device has become operational
Sep 20 09:27:47 kernel: [ 542.048242] dasd-eckd.2aa01a: 0.0.1629: New DASD 3390/0C (CU 3990/01) with 30051 cylinders, 15 heads, 224 sectors
Sep 20 09:27:47 kernel: [ 542.049552] dasd-eckd.412b53: 0.0.1629: DASD with 4 KB/block, 21636720 KB total size, 48 KB/track, compatible disk layout
Sep 20 09:27:47 kernel: [ 542.061015] dasda:VOL1/ LX1629: dasda1 dasda2
Sep 20 09:27:48 s390-dasd[4756]: Configuring devices in the active configuration only
Sep 20 09:27:48 s390-dasd[4756]: ECKD DASD 0.0.1629 configured

Sep 20 09:28:05 s390-dasd[4756]: Try 'dasdfmt --help' for more information.
Sep 20 09:28:05 main-menu[413]: WARNING **: Configuring 's390-dasd' failed with error code 1
Sep 20 09:28:05 main-menu[413]: WARNING **: Menu item 's390-dasd' failed.

The DASD was already in use and partitioned in a prior installation:
# ls -la /dev/dasd*
crw------- 1 root root 10, 55 Sep 20 09:34 /dev/dasd_eer
brw------- 1 root root 94, 0 Sep 20 09:34 /dev/dasda
brw------- 1 root root 94, 1 Sep 20 09:34 /dev/dasda1
brw------- 1 root root 94, 2 Sep 20 09:34 /dev/dasda2

dasdfmt version is:
# dasdfmt --version
dasdfmt version 1.39.0-build-20170823
Copyright IBM Corp. 1999, 2016

It looks like d-i uses the "-f" option:
$ pull-lp-source s390-dasd
(16:51:08) xnox: snprintf (buf, sizeof (buf), "dasdfmt -l LX%04x -b 4096 -m 1 -f %s -y", channel_device (channel_current->name), dev);

dasdfmt 1.34 mentions that this is deprecated:
-f node or --device=node
              NOTE: This option is deprecated. Use the required parameter device instead.
              Specify the device using the device node. node is the complete path to the device.

I assume in between a dasdfmt / s390-tool version between 1.34 and 1.39 it finally got dropped.

Hence "-f" needs to be replaced by "--device" - see man page.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

This bug was fixed in the package s390-dasd - 0.0.45ubuntu2

---------------
s390-dasd (0.0.45ubuntu2) artful; urgency=medium

  * Drop obsolete '-f device' option, and simply use position device
    argument. LP: #1718463

 -- Dimitri John Ledkov <email address hidden> Wed, 27 Sep 2017 10:07:19 -0400