Bug#635224: grub-pc: `grub-probe --target=fs` detects UFS filesystem as ZFS

[Jérémy Bobbio]

clone 635224 -1 -2
reassign -1 ufsutils
retitle -1 ufsutils: mkfs.ufs should zero-out first and last 32 MiB
severity -1 wishlist
reassign -2 zfsutils
retitle -2 zfsutils: mkfs.zfs should zero-out first and last 32 MiB
severity -2 wishlist
thanks

On Sun, Jul 24, 2011 at 05:18:45PM +0200, Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko wrote:
> On 24.07.2011 17:01, Jérémy Bobbio wrote:
> > On Sun, Jul 24, 2011 at 12:53:46PM +0200, Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko wrote:
> >>>> It's not possible to distinguish whether ZFS or UFS a leftover. They may
> >>>> both contain enough metadata to even access some files.
> >>> If there is no other ways, then `update-grub` needs to check out what is
> >>> the filesystem used for `/boot` and use that.
> >> Which is subject to exactly the same problem.
> > Would you have anything else to suggest that could be done to enable
> > system upgrades to go through the end when encountering such situation?
> >
> The problem is deeper than just GRUB. Once such situation arises you
> need human intervention to find out which filesystem is a real one and
> destroy the other one. Not performing such act and just mounting and
> writing to filesystem will after some time destroy the other one. The
> culprit in any case is the choice to make. It's better to prevent such
> situation from arising in the first place by modifying the mkfs tools to
> zero-out first and last 32 mebibytes.

I just cloned this bug to both ufsutils and zfsutils. But unfortunately,
I have to insist:

> > Debian is known to offer an easy upgrade procedure. Even if Debian
> > GNU/kFreeBSD for Squeeze was only released as a "technology preview",
> > those system should not be a PITA to upgrade to Wheezy when it'll be
> > out.

What I have actually done was:

 1. Install Debian GNU/kFreeBSD using a daily build of d-i, and
    installing the system on ZFS.
 2. Re-install on the same hard disk the Squeeze version using
    UFS.
 3. Upgrade that last system to Debian unstable.

I can't imagine why doing so should result in upgrade failing. If the
system I am currently upgrading is running on top of UFS, I can't
see a valid rationale of why, in case of doubt, we could not tell
`update-grub` that it should use UFS to boot.

Cheers,
-- 
Jérémy Bobbio                        .''`. 
lunar at debian.org                    : :Ⓐ  :  # apt-get install anarchism
                                    `. `'` 
                                      `-   
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