]> git.ipfire.org Git - thirdparty/dracut.git/blame - dracut.usage.asc
dracut.sh: Fix UUID= fstab parsing in case --mount option is passed
[thirdparty/dracut.git] / dracut.usage.asc
CommitLineData
b6c89768
HH
1To create a initramfs image, the most simple command is:
2----
3# dracut
4----
5
6This will generate a general purpose initramfs image, with all possible
7functionality resulting of the combination of the installed dracut modules and
8system tools. The image is /boot/initramfs-_++<kernel version>++_.img and
9contains the kernel modules of the currently active kernel with version
10_++<kernel version>++_.
11
12If the initramfs image already exists, dracut will display an error message, and
13to overwrite the existing image, you have to use the --force option.
14----
15# dracut --force
16----
17
18If you want to specify another filename for the resulting image you would issue
19a command like:
20----
21# dracut foobar.img
22----
23
24To generate an image for a specific kernel version, the command would be:
25----
26# dracut foobar.img 2.6.40-1.rc5.f20
27----
28
29A shortcut to generate the image at the default location for a specific kernel
30version is:
31----
32# dracut --kver 2.6.40-1.rc5.f20
33----
34
35If you want to create lighter, smaller initramfs images, you may want to specify
36the --hostonly or -H option. Using this option, the resulting image will
37contain only those dracut modules, kernel modules and filesystems, which are
38needed to boot this specific machine. This has the drawback, that you can't put
39the disk on another controller or machine, and that you can't switch to another
40root filesystem, without recreating the initramfs image. The usage of the
41--hostonly option is only for experts and you will have to keep the broken
42pieces. At least keep a copy of a general purpose image (and corresponding
43kernel) as a fallback to rescue your system.
44
45=== Inspecting the Contents
ef9ddb91
HH
46To see the contents of the image created by dracut, you can use the lsinitrd
47tool.
b6c89768
HH
48----
49# lsinitrd | less
50----
51
52To display the contents of a file in the initramfs also use the lsinitrd tool:
53----
54# lsinitrd -f /etc/ld.so.conf
55include ld.so.conf.d/*.conf
56----
57
58=== Adding dracut Modules
59Some dracut modules are turned off by default and have to be activated manually.
60You can do this by adding the dracut modules to the configuration file
61_/etc/dracut.conf_ or _/etc/dracut.conf.d/myconf.conf_. See *dracut.conf*(5).
62You can also add dracut modules on the command line
63by using the -a or --add option:
64----
65# dracut --add bootchart initramfs-bootchart.img
66----
67
68To see a list of available dracut modules, use the --list-modules option:
69----
70# dracut --list-modules
71----
72
73=== Omitting dracut Modules
74Sometimes you don't want a dracut module to be included for reasons of speed,
75size or functionality. To do this, either specify the omit_dracutmodules
76variable in the _dracut.conf_ or _/etc/dracut.conf.d/myconf.conf_ configuration
77file (see *dracut.conf*(5)), or use the -o or --omit option
78on the command line:
79----
80# dracut -o "multipath lvm" no-multipath-lvm.img
81----
82
83=== Adding Kernel Modules
84If you need a special kernel module in the initramfs, which is not
85automatically picked up by dracut, you have the use the --add-drivers option
86on the command line or the drivers vaiable in the _/etc/dracut.conf_
87or _/etc/dracut.conf.d/myconf.conf_ configuration file (see *dracut.conf*(5)):
88----
89# dracut --add-drivers mymod initramfs-with-mymod.img
90----
91
92=== Boot parameters
93An initramfs generated without the "hostonly" mode, does not contain any system
94configuration files (except for some special exceptions), so the configuration
95has to be done on the kernel command line. With this flexibility, you can easily
96boot from a changed root partition, without the need to recompile the initramfs
97image. So, you could completly change your root partition (move it inside a md
98raid with encryption and LVM on top), as long as you specify the correct
99filesystem LABEL or UUID on the kernel command line for your root device, dracut
100will find it and boot from it.
101
6e53596c
SD
102The kernel command line usually can be configured in _/boot/grub/grub.conf_ or
103_/boot/grub2/grub.cfg_, if grub is your bootloader and it also can be edited in
104the real boot process in the grub menu.
b6c89768
HH
105
106The kernel command line can also be provided by the dhcp server with the
107root-path option. See <<NetworkBoot>>.
108
ef9ddb91
HH
109For a full reference of all kernel command line parameters,
110see *dracut.cmdline*(5).
b6c89768 111
ef9ddb91
HH
112To get a quick start for the suitable kernel command line on your system,
113use the __--print-cmdline__ option:
b6c89768
HH
114----
115# dracut --print-cmdline
116 root=UUID=8b8b6f91-95c7-4da2-831b-171e12179081 rootflags=rw,relatime,discard,data=ordered rootfstype=ext4
117----
118
119==== Specifying the root Device
120This is the only option dracut really needs to boot from your root partition.
121Because your root partition can live in various environments, there are a lot of
122formats for the root= option. The most basic one is root=_++<path to device
123node>++_:
124----
125root=/dev/sda2
126----
127
128Because device node names can change, dependent on the drive ordering, you are
129encouraged to use the filesystem identifier (UUID) or filesystem label (LABEL)
130to specify your root partition:
131----
132root=UUID=19e9dda3-5a38-484d-a9b0-fa6b067d0331
133----
134
135or
136
137----
138root=LABEL=myrootpartitionlabel
139----
140
141To see all UUIDs or LABELs on your system, do:
142----
143# ls -l /dev/disk/by-uuid
144----
145
146or
147
148----
149# ls -l /dev/disk/by-label
150----
151
152If your root partition is on the network see <<NetworkBoot>>.
153
154==== Keyboard Settings
155If you have to input passwords for encrypted disk volumes, you might want to set
156the keyboard layout and specify a display font.
157
158A typical german kernel command would contain:
159----
160rd.vconsole.font=latarcyrheb-sun16 rd.vconsole.keymap=de-latin1-nodeadkeys rd.locale.LANG=de_DE.UTF-8
161----
162
163Setting these options can override the setting stored on your system, if you use
164a modern init system, like systemd.
165
166==== Blacklisting Kernel Modules
167Sometimes it is required to prevent the automatic kernel module loading of a
168specific kernel module. To do this, just add rd.blacklist=_++<kernel module
169name>++_, with _++<kernel module name>++_ not containing the _.ko_
170suffix, to the kernel command line. For example:
171----
172rd.driver.blacklist=mptsas rd.driver.blacklist=nouveau
173----
174
175The option can be specified multiple times on the kernel command line.
176
177==== Speeding up the Boot Process
178If you want to speed up the boot process, you can specify as much information
179for dracut on the kernel command as possible. For example, you can tell dracut,
180that you root partition is not on a LVM volume or not on a raid partition, or
181that it lives inside a specific crypto LUKS encrypted volume. By default, dracut
182searches everywhere. A typical dracut kernel command line for a plain primary or
183logical partition would contain:
184----
185rd.luks=0 rd.lvm=0 rd.md=0 rd.dm=0
186----
187
ef9ddb91
HH
188This turns off every automatic assembly of LVM, MD raids, DM raids and
189crypto LUKS.
b6c89768
HH
190
191Of course, you could also omit the dracut modules in the initramfs creation
192process, but then you would lose the posibility to turn it on on demand.
193
194
195[[Injecting]]
196=== Injecting custom Files
197To add your own files to the initramfs image, you have several possibilities.
198
ef9ddb91
HH
199The --include option let you specify a source path and a target path.
200For example
b6c89768
HH
201----
202# dracut --include cmdline-preset /etc/cmdline.d/mycmdline.conf initramfs-cmdline-pre.img
203----
204will create an initramfs image, where the file cmdline-preset will be copied
ef9ddb91
HH
205inside the initramfs to _/etc/cmdline.d/mycmdline.conf_. --include can only
206be specified once.
b6c89768
HH
207
208
209----
210# mkdir -p rd.live.overlay/etc/cmdline.d
211# mkdir -p rd.live.overlay/etc/conf.d
e3250e20 212# echo "ip=dhcp" >> rd.live.overlay/etc/cmdline.d/mycmdline.conf
b6c89768
HH
213# echo export FOO=testtest >> rd.live.overlay/etc/conf.d/testvar.conf
214# echo export BAR=testtest >> rd.live.overlay/etc/conf.d/testvar.conf
215# tree rd.live.overlay/
216rd.live.overlay/
217`-- etc
218 |-- cmdline.d
219 | `-- mycmdline.conf
220 `-- conf.d
221 `-- testvar.conf
222
223# dracut --include rd.live.overlay / initramfs-rd.live.overlay.img
224----
225
226This will put the contents of the rd.live.overlay directory into the root of the
227initramfs image.
228
229The --install option let you specify several files, which will get installed in
230the initramfs image at the same location, as they are present on initramfs
231creation time.
232
233
234----
235# dracut --install 'strace fsck.ext3 ssh' initramfs-dbg.img
236----
237
238This will create an initramfs with the strace, fsck.ext3 and ssh executables,
239together with the libraries needed to start those. The --install option can be
240specified multiple times.
241
242
243[[NetworkBoot]]
244=== Network Boot
245
246If your root partition is on a network drive, you have to have the network
247dracut modules installed to create a network aware initramfs image.
248
249On a Red Hat Enterprise Linux or Fedora system, this means, you have to install
250the _dracut-network_ rpm package:
251
252
253----
254# yum install dracut-network
255----
256
257The resulting initramfs image can be served by a boot manager residing on your
258local hard drive or it can be served by a PXE/TFTP server.
259
260How to setup your PXE/TFTP server can be found in the
261http://docs.redhat.com/docs/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/6/html/Storage_Administration_Guide/[Red
11b5db88
HH
262Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Storage Administration Guide]
263or http://docs.redhat.com/docs/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/6/html/Storage_Administration_Guide/[Red
264Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Storage Administration Guide].
b6c89768 265
e3250e20 266If you specify ip=dhcp on the kernel command line, then dracut asks a dhcp
b6c89768
HH
267server about the ip adress for the machine. The dhcp server can also serve an
268additional root-path, which will set the root device for dracut. With this
269mechanism, you have static configuration on your client machine and a
270centralized boot configuration on your TFTP/DHCP server. If you can't pass a
ef9ddb91
HH
271kernel command line, then you can inject _/etc/cmdline.d/mycmdline.conf_, with a
272method described in <<Injecting>>.
b6c89768
HH
273
274==== Reducing the Image Size
275
276To reduce the size of the initramfs, you should create it with by ommitting all
277dracut modules, which you know, you don't need to boot the machine.
278
279You can also specify the exact dracut and kernel modules to produce a very tiny
280initramfs image.
281
282For example for a NFS image, you would do:
283
284
285----
286# dracut -m "nfs network base" initramfs-nfs-only.img
287----
288
289Then you would boot from this image with your target machine and reduce the size
290once more by creating it on the target machine with the --host-only option:
291
292
293----
294# dracut -m "nfs network base" --host-only initramfs-nfs-host-only.img
295----
296
297This will reduce the size of the initramfs image significantly.
298
299
300== Troubleshooting
301
302If the boot process does not succeed, you have several options to debug the
303situation. Some of the basic operations are covered here. For more information
304you should also visit:
305http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/How_to_debug_Dracut_problems
306
307
308[[identifying-your-problem-area]]
309=== Identifying your problem area
310. Remove ''rhgb'' and ''quiet'' from the kernel command line
311. Add ''rd.shell'' to the kernel command line. This will present a shell should
312dracut be unable to locate your root device
313. Add ''rd.shell rd.debug log_buf_len=1M'' to the kernel command line so that
314dracut shell commands are printed as they are executed
315. The file /run/initramfs/rdsosreport.txt is generated,
ef9ddb91
HH
316which contains all the logs and the output of all significant tools, which are
317mentioned later.
b6c89768 318
ef9ddb91
HH
319If you want to save that output, simply mount /boot by hand or insert an USB
320stick and mount that. Then you can store the output for later inspection.
b6c89768
HH
321
322[[information-to-include-in-your-report]]
323=== Information to include in your report
324
325[[all-bug-reports]]
326==== All bug reports
327In all cases, the following should be mentioned and attached to your bug report:
328
329* The exact kernel command-line used. Typically from the bootloader
330configuration file (e.g. _/etc/grub.conf_) or from _/proc/cmdline_.
331* A copy of your disk partition information from _/etc/fstab_, which might be
332obtained booting an old working initramfs or a rescue medium.
333* Turn on dracut debugging (see _the 'debugging dracut' section_), and attach
334the file /run/initramfs/rdsosreport.txt.
335* If you use a dracut configuration file, please include _/etc/dracut.conf_ and
336all files in _/etc/dracut.conf.d/*.conf_
337
338[[network-root-device-related-problems]]
339==== Network root device related problems
340This section details information to include when experiencing problems on a
341system whose root device is located on a network attached volume (e.g. iSCSI,
342NFS or NBD). As well as the information from <<all-bug-reports>>, include the
343following information:
344
345
346* Please include the output of
347+
348----
349# /sbin/ifup <interfacename>
350# ip addr show
351----
352
353[[debugging-dracut]]
354=== Debugging dracut
355
356
357[[configure-a-serial-console]]
358==== Configure a serial console
359
360Successfully debugging dracut will require some form of console
361logging during the system boot. This section documents configuring a
362serial console connection to record boot messages.
363
364. First, enable serial console output for both the kernel and the bootloader.
365. Open the file _/etc/grub.conf_ for editing. Below the line ''timeout=5'', add
366the following:
367+
368----
369serial --unit=0 --speed=9600
370terminal --timeout=5 serial console
371----
372+
373. Also in _/etc/grub.conf_, add the following boot arguemnts to the ''kernel''
374line:
375+
376----
377console=tty0 console=ttyS0,9600
378----
379+
380. When finished, the _/etc/grub.conf_ file should look similar to the example
381below.
382+
383----
384default=0
385timeout=5
386serial --unit=0 --speed=9600
387terminal --timeout=5 serial console
388title Fedora (2.6.29.5-191.fc11.x86_64)
389 root (hd0,0)
390 kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.29.5-191.fc11.x86_64 ro root=/dev/mapper/vg_uc1-lv_root console=tty0 console=ttyS0,9600
391 initrd /dracut-2.6.29.5-191.fc11.x86_64.img
392----
393+
394. More detailed information on how to configure the kernel for console output
395can be found at
396http://www.faqs.org/docs/Linux-HOWTO/Remote-Serial-Console-HOWTO.html#CONFIGURE-KERNEL.
397. Redirecting non-interactive output
398+
399--
400NOTE: You can redirect all non-interactive output to _/dev/kmsg_ and the kernel
401will put it out on the console when it reaches the kernel buffer by doing
402
403----
404# exec >/dev/kmsg 2>&1 </dev/console
405----
406--
407
408[[using-the-dracut-shell]]
409==== Using the dracut shell
410
411dracut offers a shell for interactive debugging in the event dracut fails to
412locate your root filesystem. To enable the shell:
413
414. Add the boot parameter ''rd.shell'' to your bootloader configuration file
415(e.g. _/etc/grub.conf_)
416. Remove the boot arguments ''rhgb'' and ''quiet''
417+
418A sample _/etc/grub.conf_ bootloader configuration file is listed below.
419+
420----
421default=0
422timeout=5
423serial --unit=0 --speed=9600
424terminal --timeout=5 serial console
425title Fedora (2.6.29.5-191.fc11.x86_64)
426 root (hd0,0)
427 kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.29.5-191.fc11.x86_64 ro root=/dev/mapper/vg_uc1-lv_root console=tty0 rd.shell
428 initrd /dracut-2.6.29.5-191.fc11.x86_64.img
429----
430+
ef9ddb91
HH
431. If system boot fails, you will be dropped into a shell as seen in the example
432below.
b6c89768
HH
433+
434----
435No root device found
436Dropping to debug shell.
437
438#
439----
440+
ef9ddb91
HH
441. Use this shell prompt to gather the information requested above
442(see <<all-bug-reports>>).
b6c89768
HH
443
444[[accessing-the-root-volume-from-the-dracut-shell]]
445==== Accessing the root volume from the dracut shell
446From the dracut debug shell, you can manually perform the task of locating and
447preparing your root volume for boot. The required steps will depend on how your
448root volume is configured. Common scenarios include:
449
450* A block device (e.g. _/dev/sda7_)
451* A LVM logical volume (e.g. _/dev/VolGroup00/LogVol00_)
ef9ddb91
HH
452* An encrypted device
453 (e.g. _/dev/mapper/luks-4d5972ea-901c-4584-bd75-1da802417d83_)
454* A network attached device
455 (e.g. _netroot=iscsi:@192.168.0.4::3260::iqn.2009-02.org.example:for.all_)
b6c89768
HH
456
457The exact method for locating and preparing will vary. However, to continue with
458a successful boot, the objective is to locate your root volume and create a
459symlink _/dev/root_ which points to the file system. For example, the following
460example demonstrates accessing and booting a root volume that is an encrypted
461LVM Logical volume.
462
463. Inspect your partitions using parted
464+
465----
466# parted /dev/sda -s p
467Model: ATA HTS541060G9AT00 (scsi)
468Disk /dev/sda: 60.0GB
469Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
470Partition Table: msdos
471Number Start End Size Type File system Flags
4721 32.3kB 10.8GB 107MB primary ext4 boot
4732 10.8GB 55.6GB 44.7GB logical lvm
474----
475+
476. You recall that your root volume was a LVM logical volume. Scan and activate
477any logical volumes.
478+
479----
480# lvm vgscan
481# lvm vgchange -ay
482----
483+
484. You should see any logical volumes now using the command blkid:
485+
486----
487# blkid
488/dev/sda1: UUID="3de247f3-5de4-4a44-afc5-1fe179750cf7" TYPE="ext4"
489/dev/sda2: UUID="Ek4dQw-cOtq-5MJu-OGRF-xz5k-O2l8-wdDj0I" TYPE="LVM2_member"
490/dev/mapper/linux-root: UUID="def0269e-424b-4752-acf3-1077bf96ad2c" TYPE="crypto_LUKS"
491/dev/mapper/linux-home: UUID="c69127c1-f153-4ea2-b58e-4cbfa9257c5e" TYPE="ext3"
492/dev/mapper/linux-swap: UUID="47b4d329-975c-4c08-b218-f9c9bf3635f1" TYPE="swap"
493----
494+
495. From the output above, you recall that your root volume exists on an encrypted
496block device. Following the guidance disk encryption guidance from the
497Installation Guide, you unlock your encrypted root volume.
498+
499----
500# UUID=$(cryptsetup luksUUID /dev/mapper/linux-root)
501# cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/mapper/linux-root luks-$UUID
502Enter passphrase for /dev/mapper/linux-root:
503Key slot 0 unlocked.
504----
505+
506. Next, make a symbolic link to the unlocked root volume
507+
508----
509# ln -s /dev/mapper/luks-$UUID /dev/root
510----
511+
512. With the root volume available, you may continue booting the system by exiting
513the dracut shell
514+
515----
516# exit
517----
518
519[[additional-dracut-boot-parameters]]
520==== Additional dracut boot parameters
521For more debugging options, see *dracut.cmdline*(7).
522
523
524[[debugging-dracut-on-shutdown]]
525==== Debugging dracut on shutdown
526
527To debug the shutdown sequence on systemd systems, you can _rd.break_
528on _pre-shutdown_ or _shutdown_.
529
530To do this from an already booted system:
531----
532# mkdir -p /run/initramfs/etc/cmdline.d
e02a29e7 533# echo "rd.debug rd.break=pre-shutdown rd.break=shutdown" > /run/initramfs/etc/cmdline.d/debug.conf
b6c89768
HH
534# touch /run/initramfs/.need_shutdown
535----
536
ef9ddb91
HH
537This will give you a dracut shell after the system pivot'ed back in the
538initramfs.
b6c89768 539