[Bug 2045586] Re: livecd-rootfs uses losetup -P for theoretically reliable/synchronous partition setup but it's not reliable

[Launchpad Bug Tracker]

** Merge proposal linked:
   https://code.launchpad.net/~mwhudson/livecd-rootfs/+git/livecd-rootfs/+merge/460732

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2045586

Title:
  livecd-rootfs uses losetup -P for theoretically reliable/synchronous
  partition setup but it's not reliable

Status in linux package in Ubuntu:
  New
Status in livecd-rootfs package in Ubuntu:
  Fix Released
Status in util-linux package in Ubuntu:
  New
Status in linux source package in Jammy:
  New
Status in livecd-rootfs source package in Jammy:
  New
Status in util-linux source package in Jammy:
  New
Status in linux source package in Mantic:
  New
Status in livecd-rootfs source package in Mantic:
  New
Status in util-linux source package in Mantic:
  New
Status in linux source package in Noble:
  New
Status in livecd-rootfs source package in Noble:
  Fix Released
Status in util-linux source package in Noble:
  New

Bug description:
  [impact]
  In mantic, we migrated livecd-rootfs to use losetup -P instead of kpartx, with the expectation that this would give us a reliable, race-free way of loop-mounting partitions from a disk image during image build.

  In noble, we are finding that it is no longer reliable, and in fact
  fails rather often.

  It is most noticeable with riscv64 builds, which is the architecture
  where we most frequently ran into problems before with kpartx.  The
  first riscv64+generic build in noble where the expected loop partition
  device is not available is

    https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-
  cdimage/+livefs/ubuntu/noble/cpc/+build/531790

  The failure is however not unique to riscv64, and the autopkgtest for
  the latest version of livecd-rootfs (24.04.7) - an update that
  specifically tries to add more debugging code for this scenario - has
  also failed on ppc64el.

    https://autopkgtest.ubuntu.com/packages/l/livecd-
  rootfs/noble/ppc64el

  The first failure happened on November 16.  While there has been an
  update to the util-linux package in noble, this did not land until
  November 23.

  The losetup usage has been backported to Jammy, and sees frequent
  failures there.

  [test case]
  The autopkgtests will provide enough confidence that the changes are not completely broken. Whether the change helps with the races on riscv can be "tested in prod" just as well as any other way.

  [regression potential]
  If the backport has been done incorrectly, image builds can fail (and the autopkgtests will fail if it has been completely bungled). This can be quickly handled. There is no foreseeable way for this to result in successful builds but broken images, which would be a much more difficult failure mode to unpick.

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