[linux-lvm] root on lvm2 on raid5 problem... kernel 2.6.x

[Weber, Geoffrey M.]

Hello all,

I've done quite a bit of research and worked on it quite a while, but I am
having problems booting to a lvm2 on raid5 configuration.  Here are the
details:

- RAID and ioctl v4 are compiled into the kernel (not as modules).
- /boot is on a raid1 device /dev/md0.
- The other partitions are on LVM2 logical volumes riding on a raid5 (3 hard
drives) on /dev/md1.
- If I run "cat /proc/mdstat" from the initrd then I do see both raid
devices running properly.
- I am running a custom initrd that I built off of an evms initrd image
because lvmcreate_initrd didn't work.
    -- The custom initrd works on a different machine with LVM2 but no
raid5.
    -- I do run the script to setup /dev/mapper/control in the initrd as a
preliminary step.
    -- The nodes in the /dev/mapper/ and /dev/vg_raid5 directories are setup
exactly as it is in my "setup" partition (where I installed Knoppix to get
everything started).
    -- The error I get when running "lvm vgchange -ay" is:
        device-mapper: dm-linear: Device lookup failed

In broader terms, I've tried setting up an initrd that will perform a
"vgchange -a y" to allow the boot process to load correctly but keep getting
errors.  RAID and LVM2 (ioctl v4) support are compiled into the kernel(s)
(2.6.0 and 2.6.1) and mount great if I boot on my original "installation"
parition.  From the initrd image, however, vgchange is unable to activate
the volumes.

I also want to note that I have gotten the same initrd image to work on a
non-raid5 setup on a different machine.  I decided to use that image because
I couldn't get lvmcreate_initrd to work properly in either place, and it
took me a while to get the right libraries, commands, /dev/mapper/control
init/setup script, and /dev directory in the initrd all correct (I based it
off of the evms initrd image).  I did change the /dev directory on each
machine to match the configuration of that machine (e.g. /dev/vg_raid5/*),
so there shouldn't be any worries there I hope.

Has anyone gotten a root on LVM2 on raid5 setup going?  I would appreciate
any advice I could get...

TIA,
    Geoff



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