Bug#604702: Debian mdadm not using upstream DEVICE line in mdadm.conf

[Mike Viau]

Subject: Debian mdadm not using upstream DEVICE line in mdadm.conf
Package: mdadm
Version: 3.1.4-1+8efb9d1
Severity: normal
Tags: upstream

*** Please type your report below this line ***

As pointed out to me by Neil Brown the default DEVICE line generated by the
Debian mdadm package in the mdadm.conf file is simply:

DEVICE partitions

When the DEVICE line is commented out, the mdadm default (in both upstream and
Debian's mdadm) is the same behaviour as:

DEVICE partitions containers

The advantage of this behaviour is that if the hard disk in the array have the
partition type 8e for use as a physical LVM partition, then the array is both
brought up and built, where as with a DEVICE line only containing partitions
would require the incremental command to bring up the LVM, for example:

mdadm -I /dev/md/imsm0

This discovery was made through the mailing lists of debian-user and 
linux-raid at vger.kernel.org as part of the thread at:

http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2010/11/msg01547.html

I propose that the initial mdadm.conf generated setup file (by mkconf)be
changed to either use the DEVICE line:
 
DEVICE partitions containers

or 

#DEVICE partitions containers

As this seems to be the default when the line is completed commented out
anyways.


-- Package-specific info:
--- mdadm.conf
DEVICE partitions
CREATE owner=root group=disk mode=0660 auto=yes
HOMEHOST <system>
MAILADDR root

--- /etc/default/mdadm
INITRDSTART='all'
AUTOSTART=true
AUTOCHECK=true
START_DAEMON=true
DAEMON_OPTIONS="--syslog"
VERBOSE=false

-- System Information:
Debian Release: squeeze/sid
  APT prefers testing
  APT policy: (500, 'testing')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)

Kernel: Linux 2.6.32-5-xen-amd64 (SMP w/2 CPU cores)
Locale: LANG=en_CA.utf8, LC_CTYPE=en_CA.utf8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash

Versions of packages mdadm depends on:
ii  debconf                       1.5.36     Debian configuration management sy
ii  libc6                         2.11.2-7   Embedded GNU C Library: Shared lib
ii  lsb-base                      3.2-23.1   Linux Standard Base 3.2 init scrip
ii  udev                          164-2      /dev/ and hotplug management daemo

Versions of packages mdadm recommends:
ii  exim4-daemon-light [mail-tran 4.72-2     lightweight Exim MTA (v4) daemon
ii  module-init-tools             3.12-1     tools for managing Linux kernel mo

mdadm suggests no packages.

-- debconf information:
  mdadm/initrdstart_msg_errexist:
  mdadm/initrdstart_msg_intro:
  mdadm/autostart: true
  mdadm/autocheck: true
  mdadm/initrdstart_msg_errblock:
  mdadm/mail_to: root
  mdadm/initrdstart_msg_errmd:
* mdadm/initrdstart: all
  mdadm/initrdstart_msg_errconf:
  mdadm/initrdstart_notinconf: false
  mdadm/start_daemon: true


------------------------------------------------------------------

Working configuration with DEVICE commented out:

cat /etc/mdadm/mdadm.conf 
# mdadm.conf
#
# Please refer to mdadm.conf(5) for information about this file.
#

# by default, scan all partitions (/proc/partitions) for MD superblocks.
# alternatively, specify devices to scan, using wildcards if desired.
#DEVICE partitions

# auto-create devices with Debian standard permissions
CREATE owner=root group=disk mode=0660 auto=yes

# automatically tag new arrays as belonging to the local system
HOMEHOST <system>

# instruct the monitoring daemon where to send mail alerts
MAILADDR root

# definitions of existing MD arrays
ARRAY metadata=imsm UUID=084b969a:0808f5b8:6c784fb7:62659383
ARRAY /dev/md/OneTB-RAID1-PV container=084b969a:0808f5b8:6c784fb7:62659383 member=0 UUID=ae4a1598:72267ed7:3b34867b:9c56497a

# This file was auto-generated on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 16:29:48 -0400
# by mkconf 3.1.4-1+8efb9d1

 		 	   		  
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