Bug#516347: debian-installer: guided-with-lvm no longer allows multiple primary partition

[Simon Walter <simswalter@gmail.com>]

Hello.

I'm facing the same problem while preseededing partionning recipes in
the lenny amd64 installer on a 10Gb xen virtual hard drive, but it is not lvm
specific, as it appears also in partman-auto with regular recipes.

I don't know more than you if it comes from an incorrect recipe, or some
regression from etch.

Either of the two following recipes exits with a "Can't have a partition
outside the disk!"/"This probably happened because there are too many
(primary) partitions in the partition table." error message.



Recipe 1 fails : /boot + lvm root partition :
d-i     partman-auto/method     string lvm
d-i  partman-auto/expert_recipe  string custom  :: \
        96 128 128 ext3 $primary{ } $bootable { } \
    method{ format } format{ } use_filesystem{ } \
    filesystem{ ext3 } options/nodev{ nodev } mountpoint{ /boot } \
        . \
        100 1000 -1 ext3 $lvmok{ } method{ format } format{ } \
    use_filesystem{ } filesystem{ ext3 } mountpoint{ / } .
/var/log/partman :
parted_server: Opening infifo
/bin/autopartition-lvm: IN: NEW_PARTITION =dev=hda primary ext3
131604480-10939622399 beginning 10819000001
parted_server: Read command: NEW_PARTITION
parted_server: command_new_partition()
parted_server: Note =dev=hda as changed
parted_server: Opening outfifo
parted_server: requested partition with type primary
parted_server: requested partition with file system ext3
parted_server: add_primary_partition(disk(21381120),257040-21387899)
parted_server: OUT: Error


parted_server: OUT: Can't have a partition outside the disk!



Recipe 2 fails : /boot + regular primary root partition :
d-i     partman-auto/method     string regular
d-i  partman-auto/expert_recipe  string custom  :: \
        96 128 128 ext3 $primary{ } $bootable { } \
    method{ format } format{ } use_filesystem{ } \
    filesystem{ ext3 } options/nodev{ nodev } mountpoint{ /boot } \
        . \
        100 1000 -1 ext3 $primary{ } method{ format } format{ } \
    use_filesystem{ } filesystem{ ext3 } mountpoint{ / } .
/var/log/partman :
parted_server: Opening infifo
/bin/perform_recipe: IN: NEW_PARTITION =dev=hda primary ext3
131604480-10939622399 beginning 10819000001
parted_server: Read command: NEW_PARTITION
parted_server: command_new_partition()
parted_server: Note =dev=hda as changed
parted_server: Opening outfifo
parted_server: requested partition with type primary
parted_server: requested partition with file system ext3
parted_server: add_primary_partition(disk(21381120),257040-21387899)
parted_server: OUT: Error


parted_server: OUT: Can't have a partition outside the disk!

In either case, parted_server is asked to create a primary partition
which goes beyond the disk end :
10819000001 (size) + 131604480 (beginning) = 10950604481
Traces in partman-auto and partman-auto-lvm shell scripts  shows that
the disk size is correctly :
+ disksize=10947133440
I still got to track back how this improper size value is computed.

Changing recipe 2 to have a logical root partition leads to a
successfull partitionning :
d-i     partman-auto/method     string regular
d-i  partman-auto/expert_recipe  string custom  :: \
        96 128 128 ext3 $primary{ } $bootable { } \
    method{ format } format{ } use_filesystem{ } \
    filesystem{ ext3 } options/nodev{ nodev } mountpoint{ /boot } \
        . \
        100 1000 -1 ext3 method{ format } format{ } \
    use_filesystem{ } filesystem{ ext3 } mountpoint{ / } .

parted_server: Opening infifo
/bin/perform_recipe: IN: NEW_PARTITION =dev=hda logical ext3
131604480-10939622399 full 10819000001
parted_server: Read command: NEW_PARTITION
parted_server: command_new_partition()
parted_server: Note =dev=hda as changed
parted_server: Opening outfifo
parted_server: requested partition with type logical
parted_server: requested partition with file system ext3
parted_server: OUT: OK

As the position is "full" instead of "beginning", the given size is
ignored, and the partitionning succeed :
# fdisk -l /dev/hda

Disk /dev/hda: 10.9 GB, 10947133440 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 1330 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000c38bd

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/hda1               1          16      128488+  83  Linux
/dev/hda2              17        1330    10554705    5  Extended
/dev/hda5              17        1330    10554673+  83  Linux


Regards.

-- 
Simon Walter