[Bug 2100618] Re: dracut install removes flash-kernel

[Dave Jones]

What does the dependency of flash-kernel on initramfs-tools "mean"?
Here, that flash-kernel depends on the existence of the
/usr/sbin/update-initramfs binary.

Historically, dracut provided a different interface to generate initrds
(/usr/bin/dracut), so a dependency on (initramfs-tools | dracut) would
imply that the caller supported both initramfs-tools interface
(/usr/sbin/update-initramfs), and dracut's interface (/usr/bin/dracut).
However, dracut has now been updated with a stub to emulate the
/usr/sbin/update-initramfs interface. To me, this seems a fairly clear
indication that dracut now "provides" the initramfs-tools "interface"?

> dracut provides linux-initramfs-tool. Letting dracut provide
initramfs-tools would be the wrong approach.

Yes, it also "provides linux-initramfs-tool" but given that's a virtual
package all it's really indicating is that it provides a means of
producing an initrd, but says nothing (in terms of dependencies and
interfaces) about how that's achieved.

-- 
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu
Foundations Bugs, which is subscribed to dracut in Ubuntu.
Matching subscriptions: dracut
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2100618

Title:
  dracut install removes flash-kernel

Status in dracut package in Ubuntu:
  New

Bug description:
  Attempting to switch a plucky install on raspi to dracut attempts to
  remove flash-kernel (which is required to copy the generated initrd
  and other artifacts to the boot partition). This is because flash-
  kernel depends on initramfs-tools (which is going to be removed):

  $ sudo apt install dracut
  The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required:
    devio  libiniparser4  libraspberrypi0  libubootenv-tool  libubootenv0.1  mtd-utils  u-boot-tools
  Use 'sudo apt autoremove' to remove them.

  Installing:
    dracut

  Installing dependencies:
    dracut-core

  Suggested packages:
    dracut-network  dmraid

  REMOVING:
    cloud-initramfs-copymods  cloud-initramfs-dyn-netconf  flash-kernel  initramfs-tools  overlayroot  ubuntu-server  ubuntu-server-raspi

  
  Given dracut now contains drop-in replacements for the various binaries provided by initramfs-tools, could dracut simply "Provide: initramfs-tools" (as well as linux-initramfs-tool as it currently does)?

To manage notifications about this bug go to:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/dracut/+bug/2100618/+subscriptions