armbian-config switch to nightly killed my helios4

[marcz]

I bought an helios4 (and run helios4 4.19.63-mvebu) to replace a bananapi server under armbian, the bananapi was running a DRBD node, so I need this service. I first tried to install it, and have seen that DRBD was not configured in the kernel linux-image-next-mvebu 5.91. and the module was missing I checked in the git repository that linux-mvebu64-next.config has now this configuration option, and thought that I will get a new kernel by switching to nightly build. As this option is offered by armbian-config I toggled it. After some time my Helios4 failed to reboot and was bricked.

 

I mounted my SD on an other system to try to analyze the situation, nothing appeared in the log neither syslog, message, or apt/history.log. So I checked the script armbian-config. jobs.sh only switch the source.list from apt.armbian.com  to beta.armbian.com then call reload_bsp which remove linux-image-next-mvebu, linux-dtb-next-mvebu, linux-buster-root-next-helios4, armbian-config. Then it try to reinstall them, but for helios4  linux-image-next-mvebu, linux-dtb-next-mvebu, and linux-buster-root-next-helios4 are not in beta.armbian.com, so nothing get reinstalled and the system was broken.

 

So I checked that the previous packages were missing, except the kernel which was not removed. I downloaded them from stable, re-installed them on the sdcard with `dpkg -x`,  I edited the armbian.list to switch back to apt.armbian.com, and my system came back to life after few hours of work.

 

I would consider that it is not reasonable to propose to switch to nightly build when they don't exist. The script should first verify that the packages to be uninstalled are present on beta.armbian.com.

 

And now my question is how to install the development kernel on Helios4, do I need to recompile the kernel, or only the DRBD module, and why daily build are missing for helios4.

 

[Igor]

4 hours ago, marcz said:

I would consider that it is not reasonable to propose to switch to nightly build

Which part of the message, which you had specially complied to, "You are switching to an untested auto-build repository which might break your system." is not clear? Why do you think its there? In most cases such switching to beta works, yes, but not always. Beta repository is not tested for anything and there are no plans to change anything since we have no resources for providing better service in this area and since "you" don't care about. Ranting doesn't help.

 

4 hours ago, marcz said:

and why

 

Check your support contract. Everything about support is written there. To be more precise about this: if (our) infrastructure for automatic building fails to build / is broken for any reasons, you have to build on your own infrastructure. This is not a professional service.

 

4 hours ago, marcz said:

I checked the script armbian-config

If you don't like how things are or you find a bug - dive in to understand the background and https://www.armbian.com/get-involved

[marcz]

Sorry Igor if my post looks like ranting, it was not my purpose, I don't want to protest against any defect, if it looks so I apologize. This title that I thought to be a joke mimicking tabloids title , may have caused a misunderstanding.

 

I was knowing that switching to nightly build could break the system, but I was supposing it is because a defect in or incompatibility in the development package, I was surprised the script uninstall packages without verifying there is a replacement. I wanted also to tell other users of Helios4 to care not to switch to nightly build without first checking it exists.

 

When I asked "and why?" it was not a complain, but I would like to know why this architecture is missing.

 

For the armbian-config script, I did not know if it could be useful to open an issue on github, so I asked here,  with your answer I suppose, that such issue is not welcome until I can submit a push request.

 

I'm new, no to armbian, but to armbian build system. It is why I was asking the question about how to build a module, looking at the forum, I have found people having tried different methods, but I don't know what is the right way. May be I have to reinstall my broken banana pi, and wait for linux-mvebu64-next for DRBD.

 

I apologize again if something could look offensive in my post, I am thankful to developers who provide this great distribution, and hope not to hurt anybody.

[martinayotte]

13 minutes ago, marcz said:

I'm new, no to armbian, but to armbian build system. It is why I was asking the question about how to build a module

Most probably, you can turn it on at this line for DEV :

https://github.com/armbian/build/blob/master/config/kernel/linux-mvebu-dev.config#L1902

or at this line for NEXT :

https://github.com/armbian/build/blob/master/config/kernel/linux-mvebu-next.config#L1752

[marcz]

Yes it is what is done in #1597 now in the kernel tree.

[Igor]

17 minutes ago, marcz said:

I was surprised the script uninstall packages without verifying there is a replacement

 

Not completely true: https://github.com/armbian/config/blob/master/debian-config-functions#L379 , but yes it needs some fixing. It doesn't work as expected. This entire armbian-config scripts is labelled beta since it was not properly inspected and as you can see, almost entirely my work. I don't know why I still maintain it when there is so little help.

 

19 minutes ago, marcz said:

but I would like to know why this

 

Unfortunately project is too big. Nobody can answer without investigation which is yet another expensive support task.
 

27 minutes ago, marcz said:

I'm new, no to armbian, but to armbian build system.

I understand that not everyone can be a developer, dig into the build system or fix scripts. But if you want this, you will need to do that. You can also start to help the project and we will have more time and automatic system will be repaired sooner. 

[marcz]

I looked in armbian-config and the debian-config-functions and I may have found why the test of downloading did not work. At the beginning of reload_bsp we update the cache to use beta.armbian.com which does not include the architecture and the board. So all lookup by apt-cache fail, In this case the PACKAGE_LIST  is set to the old packages, so the download work and no error is returned. The the purge is not done on the the PACKAGE_LIST but on a fixed list of package, which may be or not in PACKAGE_LIST. When trying to reinstall the purged packages are missing.

 

This as a script which is quite complicated if we have to consider all combination of parameters, and I don't think I am able to give a pull request that will not break a lot more than what it will repair.

 

But I would suggest that if the apt-cache lookup always fail, the script exit without deleting anything. And only purging the PACKAGE_LIST that has been downloaded.

[Igor]

12 hours ago, marcz said:

I looked in armbian-config and

My first available time slot to possible fix this is in three months from now if I will not forget about. My task list is full so I am unable to add more things to it. Let's wait if someone fixes this (project is open) or it will remain as is.

[ebin-dev]

@Igor In armbian-config on EspressoBin (Buster - fully updated und upgraded) there are currently not options for alternative kernels under System -> Other. I am currently on the nightly branch (Linux version 4.19.66-mvebu64). 

 

Edit: Switching back to stable kernels in armbian-config now leads to the installation of Linux version 4.19.85-mvebu64. Everything went fine without any issues. 

armbian-config now presents alternative kernels under System -> Other: either "legacy" kernel 4.14.135-mvebu64 or "next" kernel 4.19.56-mvebu64.

[marcz]

First in armbian-config the entry

9 hours ago, ebin-dev said:

under System -> Other.

is not the same that nightly build, the first one look for an other kernel in the same apt.debian.com repository so you can switch to an other version without changing your source list in armbian.list, going back to the old kernel work flawessly, but nightly change the repository, this is why if your distribution is missing after deleting packages, you cannot go forward installing inexistent nightly build, nor backward since the stable packages are not there either.

 

EspressoBin is not the same than helios4 since the first is arm64 and the second armhf, but looking to https://beta.armbian.com/dists/buster/main/binary-arm64/Packages it seems it is also currently missing in nightly builds; and I guess that if you try on your board to switch to nightly builds, may be you non longer can tell that

9 hours ago, ebin-dev said:

. Everything went fine without any issues. 

 

[Igor]

25 minutes ago, marcz said:

you cannot

Yes, I do understand its a bug. Now what?

[marcz]

I was just pointing out that even if "Nightly" are unavailable, "Other" can still work.  Since the previous post answered that "Other" is working. So

10 minutes ago, Igor said:

Now what

is just to avoid confusion between these two actions, if some other people happen to read this thread, and to tell them, don't do like I did, first look at available packages.