Installer tries to pull the wrong files down when netbooting

Bug #94398 reported by Chris Howells
14
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
net-retriever (Ubuntu)
Fix Released
High
Colin Watson
Hardy
Fix Released
High
Colin Watson

Bug Description

The netboot installer's network package retriever fetches Packages files from the main archive it's given and from security.ubuntu.com (or the value of apt-setup/security_host if set). However, it only actually fetches packages from the main archive. This means that if the main archive does not contain security updates - either because they have not been copied from -security to -updates yet, or because it's a limited local mirror that doesn't contain -security rather than *.archive.ubuntu.com - then netboot installations will fail as soon as they need to retrieve any security updates.

The fix is simple and safe: fall back to trying to retrieve packages from the security archive if fetching them from the main archive fails. This has been fixed in net-retriever 1.21ubuntu2 in intrepid.

The attached patch fixes this bug. Changelog entry:

  * Fetch packages from security host if trying to fetch them from the main
    host fails (LP: #94398).

TEST CASE: Fetch the netboot mini.iso from the archive (http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/hardy-proposed/main/installer-i386/current/images/netboot/mini.iso; replace hardy-proposed with hardy to test the failing version), type 'cli apt-setup/proposed=true anna/choose_modules=network-console' at the boot: prompt, and confirm that it gets as far as asking you for an SSH password. (This test case also covers bug 234486.) I suggest also confirming that a normal netboot installation (so just type 'cli' at the boot: prompt) works.

Regression potential: netboot installations might end up broken in different ways, though I think the risk is low. CD installations will be unaffected.

Colin Watson (cjwatson)
Changed in debian-installer:
importance: Undecided → High
status: New → Triaged
Revision history for this message
Colin Watson (cjwatson) wrote :

This can cause problems when testing stable release updates, so I want to get it fixed for 8.04.1.

Changed in net-retriever:
importance: Undecided → High
milestone: none → ubuntu-8.04.1
status: New → Triaged
Revision history for this message
Launchpad Janitor (janitor) wrote :

This bug was fixed in the package net-retriever - 1.21ubuntu2

---------------
net-retriever (1.21ubuntu2) intrepid; urgency=low

  * Deduplicate Packages files before passing them to anna (LP: #234486).
    Circumstances conspire to make this excessively difficult, including
    requiring net-retriever to become Architecture: any; this should really
    be done in libdebian-installer, but for the meantime that's even harder.
  * Fetch packages from security host if trying to fetch them from the main
    host fails (LP: #94398).

 -- Colin Watson <email address hidden> Fri, 30 May 2008 12:44:30 +0100

Changed in net-retriever:
status: Triaged → Fix Released
Revision history for this message
Colin Watson (cjwatson) wrote :
description: updated
Revision history for this message
Martin Pitt (pitti) wrote :

Accepted into -proposed, please test and give feedback here

Changed in net-retriever:
milestone: ubuntu-8.04.1 → none
status: Triaged → Fix Committed
Steve Langasek (vorlon)
Changed in net-retriever:
milestone: none → ubuntu-8.04.1
Colin Watson (cjwatson)
Changed in net-retriever:
assignee: nobody → kamion
assignee: nobody → kamion
Revision history for this message
Steve Langasek (vorlon) wrote : updated CD images available, please test

hardy test CD images are now available which include the updated installer
components that address this bug:

  http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/hardy/daily/20080612.4/

Please test these images and report your results so we can verify whether
this bug is fixed.

--
Steve Langasek Give me a lever long enough and a Free OS
Debian Developer to set it on, and I can move the world.
Ubuntu Developer http://www.debian.org/
<email address hidden> <email address hidden>

Revision history for this message
Martin Pitt (pitti) wrote :

Chris, any chance you could test this? This may now be verified using the images here: http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/hardy-proposed/main/installer-i386/current/

You need to put "apt-setup/proposed=true" on the kernel command line, until such time as the -19 kernel lands in -updates.

Colin Watson (cjwatson)
description: updated
Revision history for this message
Steve Beattie (sbeattie) wrote :

I reproduced that the original hardy netboot image failed on install, though I'm not sure the issue is due to this bug or bug 234486. I then verified that the hardy-proposed netboot image makes it to the point where it asks for an ssh password, when passed 'cli apt-setup/proposed=true anna/choose_modules=network-console' on the boot: line.

I have not yet completed a regular netboot install, but will do so.

Revision history for this message
Martin Pitt (pitti) wrote :

Copied to hardy-updates.

Changed in net-retriever:
status: Fix Committed → Fix Released
Revision history for this message
Steve Beattie (sbeattie) wrote :

Thanks Martin. To add one last bit of confirmation, a regular netboot (i.e. boot with plain "cli") also was successful.

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