commit: e03e86a9176afd40ced90c3830a7ab3a4ad40dcb Author: Nowa Ammerlaan <nowa <AT> gentoo <DOT> org> AuthorDate: Mon Feb 3 17:41:08 2025 +0000 Commit: Nowa Ammerlaan <nowa <AT> gentoo <DOT> org> CommitDate: Mon Feb 3 17:41:08 2025 +0000 URL: https://gitweb.gentoo.org/data/gentoo-news.git/commit/?id=e03e86a9
2025-02-03-dracut-hostonly: new news item Signed-off-by: Nowa Ammerlaan <nowa <AT> gentoo.org> .../2025-02-03-dracut-hostonly.en.txt | 66 ++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 66 insertions(+) diff --git a/2025-02-03-dracut-hostonly/2025-02-03-dracut-hostonly.en.txt b/2025-02-03-dracut-hostonly/2025-02-03-dracut-hostonly.en.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9dc03b3 --- /dev/null +++ b/2025-02-03-dracut-hostonly/2025-02-03-dracut-hostonly.en.txt @@ -0,0 +1,66 @@ +Title: Dracut changed default for hostonly setting +Author: Nowa Ammerlaan <[email protected]> +Posted: 2025-02-03 +Revision: 1 +News-Item-Format: 2.0 +Display-If-Installed: sys-kernel/installkernel[dracut] + +Dracut is an initramfs generation tool. It may be invoked via the +installkernel mechanism in order to automatically generate a new +initramfs when the kernel is installed. If you are reading this then +sys-kernel/installkernel is configured to use Dracut and the below is +relevant for you. + +What changed? +==================== + +Starting with version 106 of sys-kernel/dracut the default for the +"hostonly" setting has changed from disabled to enabled when Dracut is +invoked via installkernel[1]. + +"hostonly" is a setting for Dracut that controls how much is included +in the generated initramfs image. When it is disabled Dracut aims to +generate an initramfs image that is bootable on any hardware. On the +other hand, when this setting is enabled, Dracut aims to generate an +initramfs image containing only what is needed to boot the current +system. The advantage is a significantly smaller initramfs images, +but this comes with the cost of losing portability. + +Example: When the "hostonly" setting is disabled, Dracut's drm module +will cause all GPU drivers to be included in the initramfs. When it is +enabled, only the drivers for GPUs that are currently present in the +system are included in the initramfs. + +Enabling the "hostonly" setting was and is our recommendation for most +use cases. This however was not the default behaviour in versions +prior to 106. + +Note, the default value for the "hostonly" setting has changed only +when Dracut is invoked via installkernel. Disabled remains the default +behaviour when Dracut is invoked directly. + +User Action Required +==================== + +If your system is already configured to enable "hostonly" setting via +/etc/dracut.conf.d/ then effectively nothing has changed for you. + +However, if Dracut has previously not been configured to enable the +"hostonly" setting, then starting with version 106 the behaviour of +Dracut will change for you. Though we do not expect major problems, we +recommend ensuring a backup booting option remains available before +rebooting the system after the first kernel upgrade following the +upgrade of Dracut. This is usually the case unless the old kernels are +manually removed by the user. + +If you do experience a booting problem with the "hostonly" enabled +initramfs images, then please report this problem to Dracut[2]. + +The "hostonly" setting may be disabled via /etc/dracut.conf.d/ +configuration snippets. For example: + + echo "hostonly=no" >> /etc/dracut.conf.d/95-no-hostonly.conf + + +[1] https://github.com/dracut-ng/dracut-ng/pull/1158 +[2] https://github.com/dracut-ng/dracut-ng/issues
