https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=574121
In the installer, some users prefer custom partitioning. I use it to maintain several boxes that contain a "bare-metal" non-virtual instance of each version that my customers use. Some machines have several harddrives, each with a dozen or so root partitions. I use volume labels [blkid; tune2fs -l; etc.] to help keep track of which system is which. My typical labels encode the brand (Fedora, CentOS, Ubuntu, Windows, ...], the release number and level (alpha, beta, final), and the wordsize (32 or 64.)
Using labels is particularly important because the order of harddrive discovery is random (/dev/sda need not designate the same drive from boot to boot) and UUIDs are too cumbersome except for verification. Virtualization is not an option because it is not inter-operable with all systems, it distorts performance measurements, and because in the past it was too buggy. LVM is not an option because it is not inter-operable with all systems, and because its calculus is not complete (there is no primitive command to remove a partition from the bag of blocks.)
Recent anaconda Create Custom Layout dialogs have been hard to use because the filesystem label is omitted, for both choosing and editing a partition. Also, the Edit dialog not only omits the existing label, but also offers no chance to specify a new label after formatting.
The way I set up a new system is to use fdisk/parted/gparted to create a new partition from free space, and mkfs a vfat/ext2/ext3/ext4 filesystem with label. Then in anaconda I find the same partition by label [currently I do this using bash text commands on VT2] and re-format it always, in order to capture the installer's default parameters for the filesystem.
So, I'd like to see a Custom partition chooser/editor that displays the label for each partition, and allows to specify a new label whenever formatting. There is plenty of space: 1/2 to 2/3 of the screen. I favor displaying the label and the UUID always, although I can understand others wanting /dev/disk/{by-id,by-path,by-partlabel}.
On 10/26/2011 06:01 PM, John Reiser wrote:
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=574121 ... So, I'd like to see a Custom partition chooser/editor that displays the label for each partition, and allows to specify a new label whenever formatting. There is plenty of space: 1/2 to 2/3 of the screen. I favor displaying the label and the UUID always, although I can understand others wanting /dev/disk/{by-id,by-path,by-partlabel}.
Yes, please. An option to specify a label would be a good thing to have.
On Wed, 2011-10-26 at 15:01 -0700, John Reiser wrote:
The way I set up a new system is to use fdisk/parted/gparted to create a new partition from free space, and mkfs a vfat/ext2/ext3/ext4 filesystem with label. Then in anaconda I find the same partition by label [currently I do this using bash text commands on VT2] and re-format it always, in order to capture the installer's default parameters for the filesystem.
It sounds like the basic reason you have this problem of knowing which filesystems are which stems from that fact that you create the partitions outside of anaconda. Do you have some requirements for partitioning that anaconda cannot satisfy?
So, I'd like to see a Custom partition chooser/editor that displays the label for each partition, and allows to specify a new label whenever formatting. There is plenty of space: 1/2 to 2/3 of the screen. I favor displaying the label and the UUID always, although I can understand others wanting /dev/disk/{by-id,by-path,by-partlabel}.
This is certainly something we will consider. We do want to discourage the use of labels as the primary (/etc/fstab, /etc/crypttab, &c) means of identifying filesystems since they are not guaranteed to be unique, but that does not necessarily preclude an interface for specifying and/or viewing labels as a convenience.
FWIW kickstart already allows both arbitrary identifiers for existing devices/filesystems (include LABEL=) and an option to specify a label when creating a filesystem (--label=).
Dave
On 10/26/2011 05:25 PM, David Lehman wrote:
It sounds like the basic reason you have this problem of knowing which filesystems are which stems from that fact that you create the partitions outside of anaconda. Do you have some requirements for partitioning that anaconda cannot satisfy?
Absolute control over where it goes (down to the sector). An option to label the filesystem.
I'll take suggestions, but I require the capability to override everything. Also, from time to time a new system will overwrite an old one. The last customer for the old partition finally upgraded, and new users of systems of that vintage are deemed unlikely. Locating the old filesystem+partition by label is the easiest method. I also take screenshots of gparted.
This is certainly something we will consider. We do want to discourage the use of labels as the primary (/etc/fstab, /etc/crypttab, &c) means of identifying filesystems since they are not guaranteed to be unique,
Filesystem UUIDs are not guaranteed to be unique, either, and duplicates _do_ happen. The obvious method of cloning a filesystem (/bin/dd) duplicates the "UUID", too. I've done it once by accident, and a few times on purpose :-)
but that does not necessarily preclude an interface for specifying and/or viewing labels as a convenience.
FWIW kickstart already allows both arbitrary identifiers for existing devices/filesystems (include LABEL=) and an option to specify a label when creating a filesystem (--label=).
In general I don't understand why the graphical parts of the installer aren't just an app whose output is a kickstart file, and the actual install is just an execve() with the kickstart file as its only input.
On Wed, 2011-10-26 at 18:44 -0700, John Reiser wrote:
On 10/26/2011 05:25 PM, David Lehman wrote:
It sounds like the basic reason you have this problem of knowing which filesystems are which stems from that fact that you create the partitions outside of anaconda. Do you have some requirements for partitioning that anaconda cannot satisfy?
Absolute control over where it goes (down to the sector).
If you just feel the need to have total control, have at it. I do just about everything I can on the command line so I can control things, too.
An option to label the filesystem.
I'll take suggestions, but I require the capability to override everything. Also, from time to time a new system will overwrite an old one. The last customer for the old partition finally upgraded, and new users of systems of that vintage are deemed unlikely. Locating the old filesystem+partition by label is the easiest method. I also take screenshots of gparted.
This is certainly something we will consider. We do want to discourage the use of labels as the primary (/etc/fstab, /etc/crypttab, &c) means of identifying filesystems since they are not guaranteed to be unique,
Filesystem UUIDs are not guaranteed to be unique, either, and duplicates _do_ happen. The obvious method of cloning a filesystem (/bin/dd) duplicates the "UUID", too. I've done it once by accident, and a few times on purpose :-)
Sure, but the only way to do that is to do a dd or similar. With labels, there are plenty of ways to end up with duplicates, many of which are nowhere near as unreasonable as copying a filesystem without updating the UUID of one of the copies.
but that does not necessarily preclude an interface for specifying and/or viewing labels as a convenience.
FWIW kickstart already allows both arbitrary identifiers for existing devices/filesystems (include LABEL=) and an option to specify a label when creating a filesystem (--label=).
In general I don't understand why the graphical parts of the installer aren't just an app whose output is a kickstart file, and the actual install is just an execve() with the kickstart file as its only input.
You are not the only one.
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