Gentoo Archives: gentoo-dev

From: Rich Freeman <rich0@g.o>
To: gentoo-dev@l.g.o
Subject: Re: [gentoo-dev] /usr vs. initramfs redux
Date: Fri, 05 Aug 2011 12:43:09
Message-Id: CAGfcS_nMCZC7Rw5e+rmgh3bhv-hk1rqiOxhChTM-ef5sn4xtow@mail.gmail.com
In Reply to: Re: [gentoo-dev] /usr vs. initramfs redux by Marc Schiffbauer
1 On Fri, Aug 5, 2011 at 6:16 AM, Marc Schiffbauer <mschiff@g.o> wrote:
2 > * Robin H. Johnson schrieb am 05.08.11 um 02:46 Uhr:
3 > [...]
4 >> That leaves the only reasonable solution as #2. In terms of minimal
5 >> impact, I propose that we offer users with a static system an absolutely
6 >> minimal initramfs, that _just_ mounts the required directories.  No
7 >> modules, no LVM, no MD, no crypto etc - if you want that functionality,
8 >> go and use genkernel or dracut. If your fstab contains a line like:
9 >> /dev/sdXN /usr ...
10 >> Then this initramfs is for you.
11 >>
12 >> The minimal initramfs would do the following.
13 >>
14 >> 1. Mount devtmpfs/sysfs/procfs as needed to access devices.
15 >> 2. Mount real_root to /newroot
16 >> 3. Read /newroot/etc/initramfs.mount and /newroot/etc/fstab
17 >> 4.1. If /newroot/etc/initramfs.mount does not exist
18 >>      Assume it contains only: /usr /var
19 >> 5. Mount the combined items from said files
20 >> 6. pivot_root.
21 >>
22 >
23 > That sounds like a good compromise to me!
24
25 Why would we build yet another initramfs vs just making dracut work
26 reliably? You can already build dracut without support for
27 lvm+raid+luks/etc.
28
29 If we're going to require an initramfs then we should make sure that
30 ALL gentoo-provided solutions work before we expand the need for a
31 mounted /usr. The genkernel team already mentioned that they plan to
32 switch to dracut, so we really just need to get dracut working
33 properly.
34
35 That said, nobody is preventing anybody from re-inventing the wheel if
36 they wish to do so. I just wouldn't just offer it up as an example of
37 a perfectly acceptable migration strategy, when we've had a lvm+raid
38 howto for years that wouldn't be compatible with it.
39
40 Rich

Replies

Subject Author
Re: [gentoo-dev] /usr vs. initramfs redux Marc Schiffbauer <mschiff@g.o>
Re: [gentoo-dev] /usr vs. initramfs redux Matthew Summers <quantumsummers@g.o>