ubiquity incorrectly reports computer name "already exists on the network" until text in other fields is changed

[Eliah Kagan]

When installing with ubiquity 2.7.14 on the Oneiric i386 20110817 daily-live, for any computer name I manually specify, the installer shows the green check mark for a short time (less than a second), but then always says "That name already exists on the network." This happens even for names that certainly do not exist on the network. This has been happening for quite some time--I think for all Oneiric alphas and daily-lives, and as detailed below, this bug probably exists in Natty as well. For the purposes of reporting this bug, I have used the output of uuidgen as my computer name (4a15ead9-c343-4fa6-bfa8-ad18ae3c6a89). However, this does not only occur with long computer names and computer names that contain dashes--it also occurs with more common computer names, like Nyaa (which does not currently exist on my network) and Tweed (which has never existed on my network). I have tried numerous other names as well, and they all produce the message.

This may be the same as the condition reported in bug 760884. I am reporting a new bug because, in effect, that bug documents the old (fixed) problem that a duplicate computer name during installation was an error (preventing installation) rather than a warning. Bug 760884 was marked Fix Released when that problem was fixed, and the bug I am reporting here never prevents installation from proceeding.

However, there are also three possible differences between the situation described here and the situation described originally in bug 760884:

(1) Pjotr12345 reported that a "random name with a dot in it" was accepted. I have found that names containing a single . character produce the warning message, same as names without a dot.

(2) Rather than manually specifying a name appearing to cause the warning, it appears instead that the warning is shown except when the text in any of the other fields is changed. Changing the username--even if I immediately change it back to what it was--causes the warning message about the computer name to go away, as does changing the user's full name or password. Changing the computer name--even if it is immediately changed back to what it was--causes the message to come back (and then it can be dismissed again by changing the username). Automatically generated computer names are generated from the first user's username (like ek-virtual-machine), so automatically generated names may not be a special case. I suspect that this is the original behavior from bug 738732 and bug 760884, but perhaps this is new with Oneiric.

(3) The green check mark appears initially when a new computer name is entered, but then gives way to the warning message in a fraction of a second. It is unclear to me from previous reports if this is new behavior.

For convenience, the attached screenshot illustrates the warning message.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.10
Package: ubiquity 2.7.14
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.0.0-8.11-generic 3.0.1
Uname: Linux 3.0.0-8-generic i686
Architecture: i386
CasperVersion: 1.278
Date: Wed Aug 17 12:31:16 2011
ExecutablePath: /usr/lib/ubiquity/bin/ubiquity
InterpreterPath: /usr/bin/python2.7
LiveMediaBuild: Ubuntu 11.10 "Oneiric Ocelot" - Alpha i386 (20110817)
ProcEnviron:
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: ubiquity
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Jean-Baptiste Lallement (jibel)]

Thanks for your report.

I can only reproduce this if the hostname starts with a digit (which is allowed according to IETF RFC 1123)
Could you use latest version of ubiquity (2.7.15) and tell if this message is displayed with other patterns ?

Thanks in advance.

[Otus (jan-varho)]

I can reproduce (a part of) this bug as follows:

1) Have another computer on the network with e.g. the name 'abcd'.
2) Type 'abcd' as the name in the installer, it correctly warns.
3) Add some letters to get the valid name 'abcdefgh', it still warns.
4) Edit your name, now the warning disappears.

This is with the beta iso testing image 20110830.

[Jean-Baptiste Lallement (jibel)]

Otus, this is a different issue. In the case you describe, the problem is that the validation of the field 'Computer Name' is not done when the entry loses focus or content changes.

Could you please file a new report? Thanks.

[Otus (jan-varho)]

My issue is exactly what the title of this bug says, but sure I can file a new one.

[Jean-Baptiste Lallement (jibel)]

Otus, Oh you're right sorry. I'll file a new one :)

[Stéphane Graber (stgraber)]

Uploaded a fix for this bug and the one Jean-Baptiste mentioned in the trunk branch. Will be fixed with the next upload.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

This bug was fixed in the package ubiquity - 2.7.28

---------------
ubiquity (2.7.28) oneiric; urgency=low

  [ Stéphane Graber ]
  * Update stepUserInfo.ui to trigger info_loop() when the hostname is changed.
    (LP: #828181)

  [ Mario Limonciello ]
  * Reorder the imports in oem-config-remove-gtk to fix an import error due
    the fallbacks in aptdaemon. (LP: #837288)
  * Show the wireless page after either prepare or language to make sure
    it shows in both ubiquity and oem-config modes.
  * Call out to find_next_step even on non debconf driven pages. (LP: #843237)
  * Don't assume /target is where the new face is being put.
  * When the installer crashes, file a bug using apport-bug rather than
    directing users to a terminal window. (LP: #843933)
  * Fix the colors in the oem-config language selector. (LP: #838672)
  * Automatic update of included source packages: netcfg 1.68ubuntu2,
    user-setup 1.28ubuntu20.
 -- Mario Limonciello <email address hidden> Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:55:46 -0500