Re: Installation tests with GRUB on GPT disks
On 05/16/2018 10:26 PM, Frank Scheiner wrote:
> On 05/16/2018 09:16 PM, John Paul Adrian Glaubitz wrote:
>> Ok, I just successfully tested this change.
>>
>> Two questions left:
I just realized I can't count to four :).
>> 1. Can you test whether we can drop the /boot partition on Sun
>> partition tables?
>
> I actually don't remember if I tested such a configuration. At least d-i/grub-installer should support this now. I'll check that on my T5220 and report back.
Ok, thank you.
> Just a thought:
>
> Could it happen that - depending on the size of the root FS and the amount of packages installed - the GRUB image gets installed so far away from the start of a
> disk - it usually gets installed at the end of an installation - that older machines with older OBP versions could have problems to access it via block lists?
> Are there any such limits?
>
> If yes, a separate smaller partition for "/boot" might be required in such a case.
That's a very good heads-up. I completely forgot about block lists.
I agree, it could potentially cause problems. So, maybe we should keep
the /boot partition. But I think we can drop the "bootable" flag, can't
we?
>>
>> 2. Now that we can use GRUB, what about updating the default
>> partitioning scheme? Maybe one that is inspired by the layout
>> used on ppc64el:
>>
>> > https://salsa.debian.org/installer-team/partman-auto/tree/master/recipes-ppc64el
>
> You want to add "$defaultignore{ }" for the "/boot" partition, so it's only active by default for installations using LVM? Maybe there are also other use cases
> for a separate "/boot" partition than LVM. Such a change would make it harder for people with those other use cases then.
Well, people can still do a complete manual partitioning, so we don't force
anything. I am also fully open to any further suggestions.
I just thought that - at least with GPT partitioning - we don't need a
separate /boot partition. Maybe we should add "$iflabel { sun }" for
the separate /boot partition. Would that work?
>> 3. GRUB installs fine now on Sun partition tables without any further ado?
>
> For my tested configuration - t5220, atomic recipe, single disk - yes.
Thanks for the confirmation.
>> 4. And, just to be safe: Your previous mail contained hashes
>> before the partition layout lines (#). You did not actually
>> have those in your atomic file, correct?
>
> Correct, those # marks were just for "markup" and not included in the actual recipe I modified from the installer environment.
Ok, thanks.
So, to summarize:
1. Can you test whether adding "$iflabel { sun }" creates the
separate /boot partition for you?
2. Do you need "$bootable { }" for /boot to work with GRUB?
Adrian
--
.''`. John Paul Adrian Glaubitz
: :' : Debian Developer - glaubitz@debian.org
`. `' Freie Universitaet Berlin - glaubitz@physik.fu-berlin.de
`- GPG: 62FF 8A75 84E0 2956 9546 0006 7426 3B37 F5B5 F913
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