support encrypted block devices

[Maraschin]

Boot image: 20180220
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-server/daily-live/

I tried to install the ubuntu-server daily live today and when presented with the partition program I noticed that almost all the interesting features are gone!

There is no way to select encryption and lvm to start with.

It doesn't scan the disks, basically if you have already any partition on any disk it will not show you anything. Just an option to create a new partition.

This is really BAD!

I've a machine with 3 HDs on which I would like to:
- full encrypt all of them!
- be able to use lvm to have swap and any number of partition on any disk
- use ext 2 for /boot (which is not encrypted)

At least I was able to configure the keyboard correct this time.
By the way, the new install interface is terrible! The older one was a lot user friendly and did the work, this doesn't even look good.

[Steve Langasek (vorlon)]

> There is no way to select encryption and lvm to start with.

This is a known limitation of the new server live installer. For 18.04, if you want these features you should continue to use the d-i based install image.

> It doesn't scan the disks, basically if you have already any partition
> on any disk it will not show you anything. Just an option to create
> a new partition.

This is certainly a valid concern; I think we should use this bug report to track that issue.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Gannet (ken20001)]

Just decided to try 18.04 beta when I found the new installer is terrible and even denies me to install the system to a previously created partitions. No FAT32 FS for the UEFI partition, no option to mount any existing one. This is really ridiculous an stupid.

[Tomasz Konefal (twkonefal-j)]

Forgive my ignorance, but what is a "d-i based install image"?

I'm also very troubled that an LTS release has these types of problems with the installer. Is there a workaround to install directly to existing LVM volumes? Specifically, I'm interested in using LVM volumes not contained in a partition, similar to the description of bug 1752217.

[David Coronel (davecore)]

@Tomasz: The d-i based install image is "the traditional installer found on the alternative downloads page" as you can read from the Download Ubuntu Server 18.04 page[1][2][3]:

Alternative Ubuntu Server installer
If you require advanced networking and storage features such as; LVM, RAID, multipath, vlans, bonds, or re-using existing partitions, you will want to continue to use the alternate installer.

[1]https://www.ubuntu.com/download/server
[2]https://www.ubuntu.com/download/alternative-downloads#alternate-ubuntu-server-installer
[3]http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/18.04/release/

From what I understand, those features are coming to the new Subiquity installer eventually.

[Sander Steffann (sander-steffann)]

I understand that Subiquity will provide these features in the future, but I find it very irresponsible to make it the default installer for a server release without being production ready (and these features are a MUST for servers). Let alone pushing this in an LTS release. Very irresponsible...

[Gannet (ken20001)]

I'm totally agree with Sander. A new installer is useless and non needed.

[Daniel Smedegaard Buus (danielbuus)]

I know I probably shouldn't join the negativity train here, but... OMG, why? The usual installer is the best I've ever used in my 18 years of Linuxing.

This new one is just broken beyond belief. Why is it here? A few weeks ago, I had to give up on installing Ubuntu Server 18.04 on a machine without internet because, hey — the new installer won't let you install without internet.

Now, I'm trying to install on another server with internet, but hey, the installer doesn't see the existing partitions.

How on Earth does this level of broken software get into an LTS release, let alone *any* release?

I mean Debian-style conservatism is tiring, and Ubuntu is deliciously free of this, but hey — there's gotta be a limit somewhere :)

I don't understand how it's now June, and the online images still have this broken new installer bundled. Again, why? Why is it here? :D

Sorry.

[Carlos Morais (carlos88morais)]

I agree with everything danielbuus said, except I would change the faces to >-( and :'(

[Michael Hudson-Doyle (mwhudson)]

I'm going to repurpose this bug to be about encryption, the other things are covered by other bugs I believe.

[C. Cooke (ccooke)]

Why is this marked as 'Fix Released'?

I've just tried installing 18.04.2 from the Subiquity installer - there is still no way to add encryption.

[Tom Reynolds (tomreyn)]

ccooke: As another Ubuntu user, I think I can answer this:

Please check the top of this bug report, where you will see two affected projects: "Subiquity" and "Subiquity (Ubuntu)". The former is the 'upstream project', or the 'original software', the latter its integration into Ubuntu. While Subiquity does seem to be an Ubuntu centric software development effort (at this time), its development is still tracked separately.

I assume that "Subiquity (Ubuntu)" will retain its current status of "(bug is) confirmed" until the next Subiquity based server installer Ubuntu releases - which will either be the next 18.04 LTS point release (18.04.3, currently scheduled for August 01, 2019 as per https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BionicBeaver/ReleaseSchedule) or Ubuntu 19.10 (currently scheduled for October 17, 2019).

[Tom Reynolds (tomreyn)]

Since no later than 18.04.3 the installer offers to encrypt an LVM which is configured during manual partitioning. I assume this solves this bug?

[lerxst (lerxst)]

I just find it incredible that even despite this bug being open, there was this official announcement late last year that the d-i installer will be completely phased out in favor of 'subiquity' starting with the focal release.

I have been using d-i based mini.iso for my VPS setups that involve pre-existing luks-encrypted partition hosting lvm volumes. Upon realizing d-i would not be an option anymore, I decided to give subiquity a try using focal daily builds (pre-beta). Not only did it fail miserably, it's probably the worst thing that I've ever seen and I've been involved with linux for more than 20 years now. I just can't imagine someone would include this the installer in a production LTS release, let alone dropping support for the tried-and-tested d-i installer.

Fortunately, it seems common sense prevailed and when the focal beta was released earlier this month, I found the traditional d-i images (along with netboot & mini.iso) in addition to the useless live-server image. It's sad that eventually subiquity would be the only option available, I just hope that it is half as functional as the d-i installer when that happens.

At least I'm good for now as far as the Focal release is concerned.

[Lukáš Chmela (lukaschmela)]

@vorlon, @mwhudson, for 5 years now, this bug is still not fixed. It applies to the Ubuntu 23.04 which has just been released.