Re: ZFS, chflags and installworld

(NB:  Please don't top-post.  It makes threads more difficult
to read because the context is backwards.  I tried to fix it
in the quoted text below.)

Thomas Backman wrote:
 > Francois Ranchin wrote:
 > > Thomas Backman wrote:
 > > > In any case, installworld gives me plenty of errors like "chflags:
 > > > (filename):
 > > > Operation not supported", and the files remain unchanged.
 > > > kern.securelevel is -1 and has always been.
 > > > chflags -R noschg doesn't work (plenty of "Operation not supported"
 > > > errors).
 > > > 
 > > > Any hints?
 > > 
 > > ZFS doesn't support chflags. Don't worry. The installed system is
 > > usefull.
 > 
 > I'm not so sure that it's useable.
 > For instance (_after_ running installworld):
 > # pwd
 > /usr/obj/usr/src/bin/cat
 > # diff cat /bin/cat
 > Files cat and /bin/cat differ
 > # cp cat /bin
 > # diff cat /bin/cat
 > #

That's normal.  Files are stripped during install (using
the -s option of install(1)).  The files under /usr/obj
are not stripped, so diff reports a difference.  After
your cp command, your file in /bin isn't stripped either,
so diff reports they're identical.

 > Or, in english, the files doesn't seem to be installed by installworld.

That's the wrong conclusion.  I agree with Francois:
You don't have to worry, everything is alright.

 > What I don't understand though, is why installworld receives
 > "Operation not supported" errors while my simple cp (or install(1))
 > works every time.

cp(1) or install(1) doesn't try to set any flags, i.e.
the files are installed without flags.  During install-
world, only a few important files are explicitely changed
with the chflags(1) command.  Those are the ones which
generate the warnings.

By the way, exactly the same happens when you install on
an NFS share which doesn't support chflags either:  You
get the same warnings, but the installation is fine.

 > I have very limited experience using flags, though.

Seems so.  :-)

 > Are flags retained when files are copied to a ZFS filesystem, even
 > though ZFS doesn't actually support them? I have no idea how or
 > where flags are actually "stored"... Or if there's a way to remove
 > them.

The flags are stored in the inode, just like the file
permissions (rwxr-xr-x) and other meta data of the file.
Similar to the permissions, they are not copied when you
copy the file unless you use the -p flag of cp(1).  Of
course they can only be copied if the destination FS
supports them, which is currently only the case for UFS.

Best regards
   Oliver

-- 
Oliver Fromme, secnetix GmbH & Co. KG, Marktplatz 29, 85567 Grafing b. M.
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