Superblock time check causes problems for fsck in initramfs

[Michael Biebl]

Hi Ben!

On Mon, 27 Oct 2014 22:51:53 +0000 Ben Hutchings <ben at decadent.org.uk>
wrote:
> Package: e2fsprogs
> Version: 1.42.12-1
> Severity: important
> Tags: upstream
> 
> We discussed this previously in person, but unfortunately the proposed
> solution doesn't work.
> 
> The plan for jessie (yes I know it's late) is to mount and fsck the
> root and (if separate) /usr filesystems from initramfs code, before
> handing over to the real init system.
> 
> e2fsck complains if the superblock write time is in the future, and
> because the RTC is set to local time on some systems, we are doing the
> necessary correction of system time in the initramfs.  This is
> undesirable because changing the time zone may now require an
> initramfs rebuild.
> 
> You said that this check could be disabled in a configuration file,
> e2fsck.conf, and we can create that in the initramfs.  This works in
> so far as it suppresses warnings while the initramfs code is running.
> Unfortunately, every init system currently still checks the root
> file-system again.  If the RTC is set to local time and that is east
> of UTC, the first fsck sets the write time in the future, and the
> second fsck warns.
> 
> Please disable this warning by default.

First of all, thanks for pushing forward on this issue in initramfs-tools.

I was wondering, if an alternative to disabling the superblock time
check in e2fsprogs, it wouldn't be better to just skip the fsck of /
(and /usr, if separate).
For that, initramfs-tools could create a flag file for / and /usr in
/run and we'd update systemd-fsck-root.service and systemd-fsck at .service
and add a Condition= which checks for that flag file.
(suggestion, let's call them /run/fsck/root and /run/fsck/usr)


The sysv init scripts could do something similar (therefore CCed).

What do you think?


Michael


-- 
Why is it that all of the instruments seeking intelligent life in the
universe are pointed away from Earth?

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