Package: initscripts
Version: 2.86.ds1-38+etchnhalf.1
Severity: normal
Note: assigning this report to initscripts, but it's about the source
package. Hope it's ok, otherwise feel free to clone this bug against the
sysvinit binary package.
For a long explanation, please see Joey Hess' mail in #510582[1].
In short:
- initscripts treats /etc/nologin as a symlink to
/var/lib/initscripts/nologin. The link is created by postinst (if not
existent - doesn't touch it if it's a regular file). The init scripts
only modify /var/lib/initscripts/nologin during boot/shutdown.
- shutdown(8) treats /etc/nologin as a regular file and unlink() it if
cancelled or before executing init.
As a result, after the first reboot /etc/nologin doesn't exist anymore
(either as a file or as a symlink) and the nologin feature during boot
is gone. The nologin feature on shutdown works because of shutdown(8),
but only in the last 5 min before init invocation.
Digging in changelogs and old bug reports, and googling around a bit, I
couldn't understand the rationale beyond /etc/nologin being a symlink
and the real file being out of the root fs (as noted in a changelog
entry), so in the following I'm guessing a lot. Please clarify on this
matter, thank you.
Some suggestions I can think of:
1. For the nologin feature to work also during the init phase of
halt/reboot, shutdown(8) should only unlink it if cancelled (and *not*
before invoking init). The nologin file should be removed by a late
script during shutdown or an early script during boot if DELAYLOGIN=no
(this way you can also address the fastdown case, when nologin isn't
unlinked).
2. shutdown(8) could use /var/lib/initscripts/nologin or follow
/etc/nologin if it's a symlink when unlinking (please note that it
follows it - if still exists - when fopen-ing for writing). However,
/var/lib/initscripts/nologin could be on a separate fs (possibly not
mounted). I assume shutdown(8) should only operate on root fs.
3. As 2. above, but put the real file on root filesystem (reintroducing
/etc/nologin.boot?).
4. Consistently treat /etc/nologin as a regular file.
5. If, for some reason, initscripts and shutdown(8) should treat
/etc/nologin differently, put an early script that recreate the symlink.
Thanks,
Gian Piero.
[1] http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=510582
-- System Information:
Debian Release: 4.0
APT prefers stable
APT policy: (990, 'stable'), (500, 'testing')
Architecture: i386 (i686)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash
Kernel: Linux 2.6.24-king2
Locale: LANG=it_IT.UTF8, LC_CTYPE=it_IT.UTF8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Versions of packages initscripts depends on:
ii deb 2.17 Miscellaneous utilities specific t
ii e2f 1.39+1.40-WIP-2006.11.14+dfsg-2etch1 ext2 file system utilities and lib
ii lib 2.7-16 GNU C Library: Shared libraries
ii lsb 3.1-23.2etch1 Linux Standard Base 3.1 init scrip
ii mou 2.12r-19etch1 Tools for mounting and manipulatin
ii sys 2.86.ds1-38+etchnhalf.1 System-V-like utilities
Versions of packages initscripts recommends:
ii psmisc 22.3-1 Utilities that use the proc filesy
-- no debconf information
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