Bug#1030846: Bug#1030939: e2fsprogs: generates filesystems that grub-install doesn't recognize

[Daniel Leidert]

Am Dienstag, dem 14.02.2023 um 12:34 -0500 schrieb Theodore Ts'o:
> 
[..]
> In any case, a version of grub that will support the csum_seed feature
> will be landing in Bookworm in just a few days.  So at that point,
> you'll be able to create VM images for Bookworm and Sid that will work
> with the e2fsprogs in sid.  The current plan of record is that it will
> only be at that point that e2fsprogs will be allowed to migrate into
> Bookworm.

As soon as this version hits testing, you have successfully disabled
the last working environment to use vmdb2 to create images of Ubuntu
and Debian. As soon as this version hits Testing, one then can no
longer build images for either any Ubuntu release nor Debian Bullseye
or older. I can then only build images for Bookworm and Sid. Please
think about that.

You *seriously* break the debootstrap method of installing Debian or
Ubuntu. vmdb2 ist just another tool that is broken by now, a tool that
I use very often. I explained the impacts of what you are doing often
enough now. By now the impact should be clear. And you are still not
dealing with the aftermath of your intended action?! You haven't done a
proper transition. You haven't given any affected toolchain the
necessary time to adopt. You haven't documented how to disable that
breaking change when creating filesystems for distributions where grub
does not support this (there is not even a NEWS entry). You haven't
even announced that breaking change. And yet you are going to break one
of our two standard methods of installing Debian or Ubuntu. How is any
of what you have been saying so far addressing any of these issues? 

> [..]
> By the way, in the case of the csum_seed feature, it's pretty
> straightforward to just run "tune2fs -O ^metadata_csum_seed
> /tmp/boot.img".  If the UUID has been changed since the file system
> was created, you'll have to do this while the file system is
> unmounted
> and it will take a few seconds, but that's almost certainly not the
> case with vmdb2.

Well, how do you intend to distribute that information, so people who
have to use the deboostrap method to install a Debian or Ubuntu release
with a grub not supporting csum_seed (basically all existing releases,
except for the upcoming Bookworm) know that?

I do not understand why you are pushing 1.47.0 over 1.46.6, which you
had uploaded just five days before the former. You haven't even
presented a reason yet.

Regards, Daniel