** Description changed: Re-introduce qeth layer2 and portno options at install time PROBLEM Ubuntu installers no longer allow IBM Z specific network device attributes - notably the QETH layer2 and portno settings - to be supplied via the kernel command line (parmfile). Under debian-installer these were preseedable directly from the parmfile: - s390-netdevice/qeth/port=1 - s390-netdevice/qeth/layer2=false + s390-netdevice/qeth/port=1 + s390-netdevice/qeth/layer2=false The capability disappeared over time, when we migrated away from di. IMPACT A system whose only network path is an OSA-Express device requiring a non-default portno, or a layer discipline other than the driver default (L2), cannot be installed unattended at all. The initramfs brings up networking before any installer-level configuration is read, and nothing on the kernel command line can influence how the QETH group device is created - so it is always grouped with portno=0 and the default layer mode. Networking fails, and with it the fetch of the ISO (url=), the cloud-init datasource (ds=nocloud-net) and the autoinstall YAML. autoinstall cannot close this gap: fetching the autoinstall configuration requires the very network that is missing, and early-commands run later still. Injecting configuration into the ISO or initrd works, but requires repacking a boot artefact. Where each attribute is needed: - - portno: required on classic mode / PR-SM LPARs and on z/VM. Not needed on - DPM, where adapter and port are selected in the partition profile. - - layer2: can be needed anywhere, including DPM, because layer discipline is - a Linux-side property that the DPM adapter/port mapping does not express. - On LPAR there is no autodetection at all - the DIAG 26C detection in the - qeth driver applies only to z/VM virtual NICs - so layer 3 must be - requested explicitly. + - portno: required on classic mode / PR-SM LPARs and on z/VM. Not needed on + DPM, where adapter and port are selected in the partition profile. + - layer2: can be needed anywhere, including DPM, because layer discipline is + a Linux-side property that the DPM adapter/port mapping does not express. + On LPAR there is no autodetection at all - the DIAG 26C detection in the + qeth driver applies only to z/VM virtual NICs - so layer 3 must be + requested explicitly. PROPOSAL Extend the existing rd.zdev= kernel parameter - implemented by s390-tools/zdev, already present in Ubuntu installer initrds, currently accepting only the value "no-auto" - so that it also takes chzdev device specifications: - rd.zdev=<type>,<device-spec>[,<attribute>=<value>]... + rd.zdev=<type>,<device-spec>[,<attribute>=<value>]... - rd.zdev=qeth,0.0.0600:0.0.0601:0.0.0602,layer2=0,portno=1 + rd.zdev=qeth,0.0.0600:0.0.0601:0.0.0602,layer2=0,portno=1 This aligns with the mechanism other distributions use (rd.znet=, rd.dasd=, rd.zfcp=) but generalises it into a single, device-type agnostic parameter, so no per-device-type implementation is required. Attributes are passed to chzdev verbatim - chzdev and the kernel arbitrate - which keeps behaviour consistent across distributions. It complements autoinstall rather than duplicating it: rd.zdev covers only the initramfs window before the installer exists. Everything from the ISO fetch onwards remains autoinstall's job. TARGET Ubuntu 27.04 (dracut-based), no SRU planned yet. Two changes are needed: - 1. s390-tools (upstream) - extend rd.zdev parsing - 2. casper - make the interactive netboot dialog accept device attributes - deliberately rather than by accident + 1. s390-tools (upstream) - extend rd.zdev parsing + 2. casper - make the interactive netboot dialog accept device attributes + deliberately rather than by accident WORKAROUNDS ON 22.04 - 26.10 - a) Interactive. IPL with a parmfile that contains no url=. casper then offers - its interactive netboot dialog; at the "zdev to activate" prompt enter - "qeth 0.0.0600:0.0.0601:0.0.0602 portno=1 layer2=0" instead of just the - device. Needs console access, and works while the device is still offline - (classic LPAR, z/VM). + a) Interactive. IPL with a parmfile that contains no url=. casper then offers + its interactive netboot dialog; at the "zdev to activate" prompt enter + "qeth 0.0.0600:0.0.0601:0.0.0602 portno=1 layer2=0" instead of just the + device. Needs console access, and works while the device is still offline + (classic LPAR, z/VM). - b) Non-interactive. Append a small cpio archive to the published initrd that - replaces /scripts/init-top/s390-tools-zdev with a version running the - required chzdev command. Works together with url= and autoinstall, and on - DPM. + b) Non-interactive. Append a small cpio archive to the published initrd that + replaces /scripts/init-top/s390-tools-zdev with a version running the + required chzdev command. Works together with url= and autoinstall, and on + DPM. A full specification covering syntax, DPM coexistence, cross-distribution - behaviour, reference implementation and a test plan is available on request. + behaviour, reference implementation and a test plan is attached. __________ Current Ubuntu releases do not support the options: port= and layer2= anymore, like they were under s390-netdevice/qeth. This bug is the ask to re-introduce these again.
-- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2170669 Title: Re-introduce qeth layer2 and portno options To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu-z-systems/+bug/2170669/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list [email protected] https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
