Re: [gentoo-user] Optional /usr merge in Gentoo

["Canek Peláez Valdés" <caneko@gmail.com>]

On Fri, Aug 16, 2013 at 7:35 AM, Tanstaafl <tanstaafl@libertytrek.org> wrote:
> On 2013-08-16 8:29 AM, Alessio Ababilov <ilovegnulinux@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> 2013/8/13 Canek Peláez Valdés <caneko@gmail.com <mailto:caneko@gmail.com>>
>>
>>
>>     I think it's a great experiment, but perhaps too much work for little
>>     gain, at least currently.
>>
>> Thank you!
>>
>>     The next council meeting will vote if separated /usr without and
>>     initramfs is officially supported by Gentoo; I hope this time around
>>     finally is officially and unequivocally stated by the council that a
>>     separated /usr without an initramfs is *NOT* supported.
>>
>> As I see from
>> http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/council/meeting-logs/20130813.txt, the
>> council has stated that it is not supported anymore.
>
>
> <sigh>
>
> Great. So what does this mean for those of us with older systems with
> separate /usr and don't want initramfs?

It means exactly what the Council voted:

"Since that particular setup may already be subtly broken today
depending on the installed software, Council recommends using an early
boot mount mechanism, e.g. initramfs, to mount /usr if /usr is on a
separate partition."

If you don't want an initramfs, you are on your own. Things will start
to break subtly (probably they *are* broken *now*, you just didn't
noticed), and if you file bugs about it they will be closed as WONTFIX
or INVALID.

If you want your system to be supported, you need an initarmfs, or
anything similar that allows the system to mount /usr really early in
the boot process.

https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Early_Userspace_Mounting

http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/initramfs-guide.xml

By a quick lecture of the Council session, I believe they are even
open to a closer /usr merge than I thought. When that happens (if it
happens), your system (if you keep upgrading) will not be able to boot
for sure if you don't follow the Council suggestion.

Regards.
-- 
Canek Peláez Valdés
Posgrado en Ciencia e Ingeniería de la Computación
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México