configuring raid during installation failes

[Jeroen Maris]

CD: Kubuntu 7.04 alternate beta

Configuring a new array: steps to reproduce:
1) boot from cd and select text-mode installation (not commandline)
2) when asked for type of partitioning, select "manual"
3) configure partitions and make two or more partitions with type "linux software raid"
4) select "configure raid" (you will be asked to confirm changes first)
5) the partitioner quits with an error that no software raid partitions have been found

Assembling an existing array: steps to reproduce:
1) boot from cd and select text-mode installation (not commandline)
2) when asked for type of partitioning, select "manual"
3) configure partitons and confirm that two or more partitions with type "linux software raid" already exist, from a previous installation or something
4) select "configure raid" (you will be asked to confirm changes first)
5) the partitioner quits with the error about "/dev/md/0", it should be "/dev/md0"

Those bugs probably exist in the installer, and I will try to describe these errors in more detail soon.

[pamindic (pam-indicia)]

I have much the same problem. Set up 4 pairs of raid partitions. After 'configure raid' get the error message "could not stat device /dev/md/4 (sic!) - No such file or directory. A re-boot gives message that md partitions are in safe mode. The installer has a bug.

[marcw (marcw)]

Yep, I can confirm this. I just got a brand new nicely equipped machine to use as an all purpose server and since I have the time, I thought I would play around with the new Feisty beta1 on it. Preferred combo of software raid1 and raid5 produced the same results as the previous posters. Afterward I grabbed the server install disk for Dapper and Edgy and didn't have any problems at all with them.

I did stumble upon a workaround for this problem though. After you partition up the hdds as necessary and then choose the Software Raid option at the top of the screen you are prompted to confirm your choice. After confirming you are taken to the "Create MD / Delete MD" screen. At that point before completing that screen, if you back all the way out and abort the installation, reboot, and go back repeating all of the steps to get to the partition section, the installation will proceed smoothly from there. I did this several times while trying to figure things out and this workaround works every time.

Even though the installation completed normally after that, things are still wrong with this RAID. But that's for another bug.

[Colin Watson (cjwatson)]

Thanks for your report. This is also bug 84228.

[pamindic (pam-indicia)]

Marcw's workaround does the job, but isn't helpful if you've already got arrays set up that you want to delete. You are unable to do so unless you go into a terminal (Alt-F2) and set up a set of symbolic links "ln -s /dev/mdx /dev/md/x" where x is the number(s) of the array(s) you've already made. Return to installer (Alt-F1) and continue with deleting the arrays, which will now work.

Next problem is that you can't pair up the newly released partitions into new MD arrays. But following Marcw's workaround and tracing your steps from the reboot back to the Raid Option, you find your raid arrays ready to assign mount points. You can then complete the install.

Disappointingly for me though, after an apparently successful installation - even that 10 minute brltty-x11 file install wait that looks like its died (perhaps the braille terminal could be a post-install option?) eventually revives - booting from hard disk failed with the Busybox error message "/bin/sh: can't access tty; job control turned off".

Since I've already loaded Herd 5 on a raidless system, I can only assume this is another raid-related problem. I think there are a lot of issues with the software raid setup that need to be addressed before final release.

[marcw (marcw)]

I just tried the 03/31 daily build (alternate install - the only one available) and this bug seems to have been fixed. At least the part I tried which was raid creation. I didn't test array deletion.

The other raid issue, the main one, still isn't fixed. I still can't boot reliably into a raid partition.

[marcw (marcw)]

Today's daily build - 04/14 - completely eliminated all of the remaining issues I had with this bug. Any of the previous arrays that shouldn't be appearing on a new install don't and any that should, do. From my perspective, this bug can be closed.