aboutsummaryrefslogtreecommitdiff
path: root/doc/guix.texi
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
authorMaxim Cournoyer <maxim.cournoyer@gmail.com>2019-07-14 20:50:23 +0900
committerMaxim Cournoyer <maxim.cournoyer@gmail.com>2020-05-20 08:30:35 -0400
commitb460ba7992a0b4af2ddb5927dcf062784539ef7b (patch)
tree4d77d01574da9a7aedf31dc3f16e94d82fa31adb /doc/guix.texi
parentfa35fb58c84d1c1741e4e63c0b37074e35ed2a61 (diff)
downloadguix-b460ba7992a0b4af2ddb5927dcf062784539ef7b.tar
guix-b460ba7992a0b4af2ddb5927dcf062784539ef7b.tar.gz
bootloader: grub: Allow booting from a Btrfs subvolume.
* gnu/bootloader/grub.scm (strip-mount-point): Remove procedure. (normalize-file): Add procedure. (grub-configuration-file): New BTRFS-SUBVOLUME-FILE-NAME parameter. When defined, prepend its value to the kernel and initrd file names, using the NORMALIZE-FILE procedure. Adjust the call to EYE-CANDY to pass the BTRFS-SUBVOLUME-FILE-NAME argument. Normalize the KEYMAP file as well. (eye-candy): Add a BTRFS-SUBVOLUME-FILE-NAME parameter, and use it, along with the NORMALIZE-FILE procedure, to normalize the FONT-FILE and IMAGE nested variables. Adjust doc. * gnu/bootloader/depthcharge.scm (depthcharge-configuration-file): Adapt. * gnu/bootloader/extlinux.scm (extlinux-configuration-file): Likewise. * gnu/system/file-systems.scm (btrfs-subvolume?) (btrfs-store-subvolume-file-name): New procedures. * gnu/system.scm (operating-system-bootcfg): Specify the Btrfs subvolume file name the store resides on to the `operating-system-bootcfg' procedure, using the new BTRFS-SUBVOLUME-FILE-NAME argument. * doc/guix.texi (File Systems): Add a Btrfs subsection to document the use of subvolumes. * gnu/tests/install.scm (%btrfs-root-on-subvolume-os) (%btrfs-root-on-subvolume-os-source) (%btrfs-root-on-subvolume-installation-script) (%test-btrfs-root-on-subvolume-os): New variables.
Diffstat (limited to 'doc/guix.texi')
-rw-r--r--doc/guix.texi104
1 files changed, 104 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/doc/guix.texi b/doc/guix.texi
index 05f2d595b2..216422fe31 100644
--- a/doc/guix.texi
+++ b/doc/guix.texi
@@ -11782,6 +11782,110 @@ and unmount user-space FUSE file systems. This requires the
@code{fuse.ko} kernel module to be loaded.
@end defvr
+@node Btrfs file system
+@subsection Btrfs file system
+
+The Btrfs has special features, such as subvolumes, that merit being
+explained in more details. The following section attempts to cover
+basic as well as complex uses of a Btrfs file system with the Guix
+System.
+
+In its simplest usage, a Btrfs file system can be described, for
+example, by:
+
+@lisp
+(file-system
+ (mount-point "/home")
+ (type "btrfs")
+ (device (file-system-label "my-home")))
+@end lisp
+
+The example below is more complex, as it makes use of a Btrfs
+subvolume, named @code{rootfs}. The parent Btrfs file system is labeled
+@code{my-btrfs-pool}, and is located on an encrypted device (hence the
+dependency on @code{mapped-devices}):
+
+@lisp
+(file-system
+ (device (file-system-label "my-btrfs-pool"))
+ (mount-point "/")
+ (type "btrfs")
+ (options "subvol=rootfs")
+ (dependencies mapped-devices))
+@end lisp
+
+Some bootloaders, for example GRUB, only mount a Btrfs partition at its
+top level during the early boot, and rely on their configuration to
+refer to the correct subvolume path within that top level. The
+bootloaders operating in this way typically produce their configuration
+on a running system where the Btrfs partitions are already mounted and
+where the subvolume information is readily available. As an example,
+@command{grub-mkconfig}, the configuration generator command shipped
+with GRUB, reads @file{/proc/self/mountinfo} to determine the top-level
+path of a subvolume.
+
+The Guix System produces a bootloader configuration using the operating
+system configuration as its sole input; it is therefore necessary to
+extract the subvolume name on which @file{/gnu/store} lives (if any)
+from that operating system configuration. To better illustrate,
+consider a subvolume named 'rootfs' which contains the root file system
+data. In such situation, the GRUB bootloader would only see the top
+level of the root Btrfs partition, e.g.:
+
+@example
+/ (top level)
+├── rootfs (subvolume directory)
+ ├── gnu (normal directory)
+ ├── store (normal directory)
+[...]
+@end example
+
+Thus, the subvolume name must be prepended to the @file{/gnu/store} path
+of the kernel, initrd binaries and any other files referred to in the
+GRUB configuration that must be found during the early boot.
+
+The next example shows a nested hierarchy of subvolumes and
+directories:
+
+@example
+/ (top level)
+├── rootfs (subvolume)
+ ├── gnu (normal directory)
+ ├── store (subvolume)
+[...]
+@end example
+
+This scenario would work without mounting the 'store' subvolume.
+Mounting 'rootfs' is sufficient, since the subvolume name matches its
+intended mount point in the file system hierarchy. Alternatively, the
+'store' subvolume could be referred to by setting the @code{subvol}
+option to either @code{/rootfs/gnu/store} or @code{rootfs/gnu/store}.
+
+Finally, a more contrived example of nested subvolumes:
+
+@example
+/ (top level)
+├── root-snapshots (subvolume)
+ ├── root-current (subvolume)
+ ├── guix-store (subvolume)
+[...]
+@end example
+
+Here, the 'guix-store' subvolume doesn't match its intended mount point,
+so it is necessary to mount it. The subvolume must be fully specified,
+by passing its file name to the @code{subvol} option. To illustrate,
+the 'guix-store' subvolume could be mounted on @file{/gnu/store} by using
+a file system declaration such as:
+
+@lisp
+(file-system
+ (device (file-system-label "btrfs-pool-1"))
+ (mount-point "/gnu/store")
+ (type "btrfs")
+ (options "subvol=root-snapshots/root-current/guix-store,\
+compress-force=zstd,space_cache=v2"))
+@end lisp
+
@node Mapped Devices
@section Mapped Devices