[Bug 1890612] Re: [Source NEW SRU FOCAL] ITP: Please support loading microcode early, whilst otherwise booting without initrd

[Dimitri John Ledkov]

Booted m5.metal instance in aws.

[    2.856904] TAA: Vulnerable: Clear CPU buffers attempted, no microcode
[    5.490555] microcode: sig=0x50657, pf=0x1, revision=0x5000024
[    5.496072] microcode: Microcode Update Driver: v2.2.

installed microcode-initrd from focal-proposed 2~20.04.0 and rebooted

[    0.000000] microcode: microcode updated early to revision 0x5003003, date = 2020-06-18
[    5.860519] microcode: sig=0x50657, pf=0x1, revision=0x5003003
[    5.866322] microcode: Microcode Update Driver: v2.2.

thus early micorcode update got applied.

** Tags removed: verification-needed verification-needed-focal
** Tags added: verification-done verification-done-focal

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Title:
  [Source NEW SRU FOCAL] ITP: Please support loading microcode early,
  whilst otherwise booting without initrd

Status in cloud-images:
  Fix Committed
Status in microcode-initrd package in Ubuntu:
  Fix Released
Status in microcode-initrd source package in Focal:
  Fix Committed

Bug description:
  [Impact]

   * New package to provide micorocode-only initrd for application of
  microcode on boot, when otherwise no initrd is in use.

  [Test Case]

   * install microcode-initrd in AWS cloud x86 metal instance
   * reboot, observe that microcode has been applied, and yet the boot was without initrd (observe journalctl -b -k to see that initrd was not used for boot)

  [Regression Potential]

   * This is a brand new package, that will be used by AWS images.
  Otherwise this package will not be automatically installed anywhere.
  Re spinning & promoting AWS images are tested and gated by the CPC
  team.

  [Other Info]
   
   * Original bug report for groovy:

  Normally Ubuntu boots using initrd that has three archives: early
  amd64 microcode, early intel microcode, and compressed main initrd.

  When booting without initrd, simply kernel is loaded without any
  initrd and thus without microcode.

  However, grub supports booting with multiple initrds and one can
  specify a standalone early initrd which contains microcode only, and
  separate main initrd.

  As an added bonus one can also specify just eary microcode initrd
  without a main one, to allow kernel to load microcode early, but
  otherwise boot without an initrd.

  To achieve that I need to introduce a microcode-initrd package will
  will only provide early initrd which only has microcode.

  The intention is to seed microcode-initrd to targets that boot on
  baremental without initrd.

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