[OpenIndiana-discuss] OI Hipster 2017.04 snapshot

[Nikola M]

On 05/ 3/17 11:54 AM, Alexander Pyhalov wrote:
> Hi.
>
> OI Hipster 2017.04 snapshot is ready.

Cheers to everone, but unfortunately, I can't boot from aether GUI nor
text USB image,
on ACPI v1 PC (Gigabyte GA-EP31-DS3L v1) and other fine 64-bit machines
are probably affected.
(https://www.illumos.org/issues/8119 , https://www.illumos.org/issues/8169)

So, if you are keen to fresh install Openindiana/illumos distribution
installation, and you can't boot from ISO/usb, you can check if it is
maybe an ACPi v1 system. (already fixed in illumos btw.)

Possible workarounds:

- Copy working /boot/zfsloader from a working system into your ISO/USB
image (easier to do with mounted USB) before installing.  
(For mine zfsloader , on currently installed
osnet-incorporation at 0.5.11-2017.0.0.16383 ,
I get  for 'sha256sum /boot/zfsloader':
83ab6f84d64c21a22e706f290b0384a66910d2ba185ff790f176cc919248965a
 , shared on:
https://mega.nz/#!2NBhyYwJ!E_2YeZQetwE6_247T6_K3DIhVXmFjJvEOnp8MS6WDYc )
- Use previous OI 201610 GUI snapshot images (I couldn't install from
201610 text USB image, because it can't deselect other disk when trying
to install on multiple disk machine) ,  but also check:
https://wiki.openindiana.org/oi/MBR+reinstall+after+illumos+loader+update
, after updating and before rebooting if you are using MBR partitioned
disk(s). You are good using older install image if GUI and full-disk
install using GPT

On the positive side/Not affected:
If you are on /hipster repository for some time and you do an update
now, you will get bootable and working system, of you use GPT disks.
(If you are on MBR partitioned disks, have to do an illumos loader
update before rebooting :
https://wiki.openindiana.org/oi/MBR+reinstall+after+illumos+loader+update)
IPS pkg(5) commands are much faster and use less RAM when repository
doesn't have many changes in it, after the snapshot.

---
One look over the shoulder on bug reporting and Oi snapshots:
Problem with unbootable systems after regular update was reported on OI
IRC at least 3(4) weeks before the end of April. (was using zfs freeze'd
osnet-incorporation for a few weeks)
Illumos fix landed before Openindiana snapshot ISO/images were made
available.
Testing of OI snapshot prior to landing was not public. Could not get
usb/ISO to test it before snapshot landed. ISO/USB images were not
recompiled and remade to include fixed illumos for ACPI v1 systems.

If there is some universal wisdom to be taken out of it for everyone,
maybe it could be:
- Report all bugs to https://www.illumos.org/projects/openindiana/issues
or https://www.illumos.org/issues/ as soon as you see it.
- Don't count on IRC/mailing list reporting will do any good.
- Don't count on bug will fix itself, if you yourself is not working on
fixing it.
- Testing on VM can't supplement testing on real hardware.
- Doing OI snapshots coul be done with public testing, before OI snapshot.
Possible workarounds:
- OI image snapshot may be more frequent?
  (And tasked to be tried out if real goal could be supportable OI
release in the future)
Research proposal:
- Knowing how to make bootable ISO/usb images, possible task of
describing now to make one.