• Bug#1104552: installation-reports: different btrfs subvolume layout bet

    From Esteve Fernandez@21:1/5 to All on Thu May 1 23:40:01 2025
    XPost: linux.debian.maint.boot

    Package: installation-reports
    Severity: normal
    X-Debbugs-Cc: bugs.debian.org@mafano.com

    (Please provide enough information to help the Debian
    maintainers evaluate the report efficiently - e.g., by filling
    in the sections below.)

    Boot method: DVD and live
    Image version: DVD and live
    Date: <Date and time of the install>

    Machine: Thinkpad X1 Carbon Gen 13
    Partitions: <df -Tl will do; the raw partition table is preferred>


    Base System Installation Checklist:
    [O] = OK, [E] = Error (please elaborate below), [ ] = didn't try it

    Initial boot: [O]
    Detect network card: [O]
    Configure network: [O]
    Detect media: [O]
    Load installer modules: [O]
    Clock/timezone setup: [O]
    User/password setup: [O]
    Detect hard drives: [O]
    Partition hard drives: [O]
    Install base system: [O]
    Install tasks: [O]
    Install boot loader: [O]
    Overall install: [O]

    Comments/Problems:

    <Description of the install, in prose, and any thoughts, comments
    and ideas you had during the initial install.>

    When installing Trixie via Calamares and if using btrfs as the filesystem for the system, there's only one subvolume (@rootfs) where all the files are installed. However, if using the live DVD, two subvolumes are created instead (@ and @home). Not a major problem, but it's inconsistent. Some software, for example Timeshift, expects the latter layout (two subvolumes @ and @home), instead of just one subvolume, to function properly.

    Please make sure that any installation logs that you think would
    be useful are attached to this report. (You can find them in the
    installer system in /var/log/ and later on the installed system
    under /var/log/installer.) Please compress large files using gzip.

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  • From Pascal Hambourg@21:1/5 to Esteve Fernandez on Fri May 2 18:30:02 2025
    XPost: linux.debian.maint.boot

    On 01/05/2025 at 23:36, Esteve Fernandez wrote:

    When installing Trixie via Calamares and if using btrfs as the filesystem for the system, there's only one subvolume (@rootfs) where all the files are installed. However, if using the live DVD, two subvolumes are created instead (@ and @home).

    Same question as in my reply to your other post:
    What do you mean exactly by "live DVD" and "Calamares". Calamares is the graphical installer in the live session, so this is confusing.

    Can you indicate the full ISO image name you used and how you started
    the installer in both cases ?

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  • From Esteve Fernandez@21:1/5 to Pascal Hambourg on Sat May 3 21:10:04 2025
    XPost: linux.debian.maint.boot

    On Friday, 2 May 2025 at 18:16, Pascal Hambourg <pascal@plouf.fr.eu.org> wrote:

    Can you indicate the full ISO image name you used and how you started
    the installer in both cases ?

    Like in the other ticket, I used two ISOs, both from April 18th

    - debian-live-testing-amd64-gnome.iso
    - debian-testing-amd64-DVD-1.iso

    debian-live-testing-amd64-gnome.iso with live GNOME session and clicking on the "Install Debian":
    - Creates two btrfs subvolumes (@ and @home)

    debian-live-testing-amd64-gnome.iso with either Graphical installer or Text installer via the boot menu:
    - Creates one btrfs subvolume (@rootfs)

    debian-testing-amd64-DVD-1.iso with either Graphical installer or Text installer:
    - Creates one btrfs subvolume (@rootfs)

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  • From Pascal Hambourg@21:1/5 to Esteve Fernandez on Sun May 4 00:40:01 2025
    XPost: linux.debian.maint.boot

    On 03/05/2025 at 20:52, Esteve Fernandez wrote:

    debian-live-testing-amd64-gnome.iso with live GNOME session and clicking on the "Install Debian":
    - Creates two btrfs subvolumes (@ and @home)

    debian-live-testing-amd64-gnome.iso with either Graphical installer or Text installer via the boot menu:
    - Creates one btrfs subvolume (@rootfs)

    debian-testing-amd64-DVD-1.iso with either Graphical installer or Text installer:
    - Creates one btrfs subvolume (@rootfs)

    Makes sense. The partitioning is the same in the installer launched from
    either DVD or live boot menu, but may be different in Calamares launched
    frome the live session.

    For sure it would be nice if both installers were aligned. What do d-i
    and live teams think ?

    Additionnally, shouldn't d-i rescue mode also support Calamares layout ?

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  • From Nicholas D Steeves@21:1/5 to Pascal Hambourg on Sun May 4 23:10:02 2025
    XPost: linux.debian.maint.boot

    Hi,

    Pascal Hambourg <pascal@plouf.fr.eu.org> writes:

    On 03/05/2025 at 20:52, Esteve Fernandez wrote:

    debian-live-testing-amd64-gnome.iso with live GNOME session and clicking on the "Install Debian":
    - Creates two btrfs subvolumes (@ and @home)

    debian-live-testing-amd64-gnome.iso with either Graphical installer or Text installer via the boot menu:
    - Creates one btrfs subvolume (@rootfs)

    debian-testing-amd64-DVD-1.iso with either Graphical installer or Text installer:
    - Creates one btrfs subvolume (@rootfs)

    Makes sense. The partitioning is the same in the installer launched from either DVD or live boot menu, but may be different in Calamares launched frome the live session.

    For sure it would be nice if both installers were aligned. What do d-i
    and live teams think ?

    Calamares should not be doing its own thing. It's also worth verifying
    that Calamares is not enabling options that will trigger btrfs corner cases--unstable features are fine for Fedora or Arch, but aren't
    appropriate defaults for Debian stable (opt-in is of course always fine,
    since that's liberty). Would you please point me to the source we use
    to configure/preseed Calamares for the live-cds?

    Additionnally, shouldn't d-i rescue mode also support Calamares layout ?

    Are you sure there is a Calamares layout and that this isn't just
    defacto Ubuntu layout? There weren't any discussions about this.

    Have you been able to track down those discussions where we decided on
    @rootfs? One of the arguments against installing to '@' was that we're
    letting Ubuntu claim that namespace, we're letting Fedora claim 'root'
    (and rootfs), and we're staying out of their way. I was surprised to
    learn that people use btrfs in this way, but it's not that much of a
    stretch from using one VG to hold multiple distribution's LVs.

    Another topic in that (and subsequent) discussions is basically this:

    1. Ubuntu never implemented subvolume creation, because they chose
    ZFS. At some point their installer began to statically create @ and
    @home.
    2. Fedora and SUSE implemented full support for any custom subvolume
    topology.
    3. Due to Ubuntu's popularity, some developers exclusively support
    Ubuntu's static nonconfigurable default as a kind of emergent
    bug-for-bug API.
    4. This results in DFSG-free software having an Ubuntu-specific
    implementation; DFSG-free software should also work on Debian, Fedora,
    SUSE and everywhere else. It also result in utterly wasting the time
    and effort the Fedora and SUSE developers took to implement an actual
    solution rather than a stop-gap measure.
    5. Our users want our installer to have the same basic features as
    Fedora and SUSE.
    6. Implementing this is a waste of time if our users will only use it
    to make their Debian systems behave like Ubuntu so that
    Ubuntu-specific software will work on their Debian systems.
    7. We need to support the effort for portable software.

    Regards,
    Nicholas

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  • From Nicholas D Steeves@21:1/5 to All on Sun May 18 16:20:01 2025
    XPost: linux.debian.maint.boot

    Control: reassign -1 calamares
    Control: tag -1 patch

    https://salsa.debian.org/qt-kde-team/extras/calamares/-/merge_requests/7

    D-I will need to start creating @home for consistency

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