SET_BITMAP_FILE assembling raid1

SET_BITMAP_FILE assembling raid1

[aristizb]

Hi,

After have stopped a raid1, I try to assemble it with one device and  
its bitmap; but I received the following error message:

$mdadm --assemble --force /dev/md2003 --bitmap=/tmp/md2003bm  
/dev/syntropy21/ian_dvol_200_0_1

mdadm: SET_BITMAP_FILE failed.

After 5 minutes I retry the command and it succeeds, assembling the  
raid without any problems.


It looks like mdadm cannot use the file I specified for the external  
bitmap, but this file is not in use by any other raid. Is there any  
explanation on why assemble could fail to create the raid with the  
specified bitmap?


Thank you.



Juan.

Re: SET_BITMAP_FILE assembling raid1

[Neil Brown]

On Thursday September 17, aristizb@ualberta.ca wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> After have stopped a raid1, I try to assemble it with one device and  
> its bitmap; but I received the following error message:
> 
> $mdadm --assemble --force /dev/md2003 --bitmap=/tmp/md2003bm  
> /dev/syntropy21/ian_dvol_200_0_1
> 
> mdadm: SET_BITMAP_FILE failed.
> 
> After 5 minutes I retry the command and it succeeds, assembling the  
> raid without any problems.
> 
> 
> It looks like mdadm cannot use the file I specified for the external  
> bitmap, but this file is not in use by any other raid. Is there any  
> explanation on why assemble could fail to create the raid with the  
> specified bitmap?

If it failed once and then succeeded later it is most like that md
thought the file was already in use in some way.

If so there should be a message in the kernel logs saying something
like:
  md2003: error: bitmap file is already in use

Was there such a message?

NeilBrown


> 
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> 
> 
> Juan.
> --
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Re: SET_BITMAP_FILE assembling raid1

[aristizb]

Hi Neil,

That is exactly the message I get in the kernel logs.

I tried ten times to assemble the array (waiting 2 seconds in between)  
with no luck, but after 2-3 minutes it worked.



Quoting "Neil Brown" <neilb@suse.de>:

> On Thursday September 17, aristizb@ualberta.ca wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> After have stopped a raid1, I try to assemble it with one device and
>> its bitmap; but I received the following error message:
>>
>> $mdadm --assemble --force /dev/md2003 --bitmap=/tmp/md2003bm
>> /dev/syntropy21/ian_dvol_200_0_1
>>
>> mdadm: SET_BITMAP_FILE failed.
>>
>> After 5 minutes I retry the command and it succeeds, assembling the
>> raid without any problems.
>>
>>
>> It looks like mdadm cannot use the file I specified for the external
>> bitmap, but this file is not in use by any other raid. Is there any
>> explanation on why assemble could fail to create the raid with the
>> specified bitmap?
>
> If it failed once and then succeeded later it is most like that md
> thought the file was already in use in some way.
>
> If so there should be a message in the kernel logs saying something
> like:
>   md2003: error: bitmap file is already in use
>
> Was there such a message?
>
> NeilBrown
>
>
>>
>>
>> Thank you.
>>
>>
>>
>> Juan.
>> --
>> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-raid" in
>> the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
>> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
>
>

Re: SET_BITMAP_FILE assembling raid1

[Neil Brown]

On Friday September 18, aristizb@ualberta.ca wrote:
> Hi Neil,
> 
> That is exactly the message I get in the kernel logs.
> 
> I tried ten times to assemble the array (waiting 2 seconds in between)  
> with no luck, but after 2-3 minutes it worked.
> 

That is very strange.
That error message implies that the file is open by some other
program... maybe you have a file browser (Konqueror? nautilus?) open
on /tmp and when the bitmap file changes it opens it to have a look
inside to produce a thumbnail, and that stops md from being able to
use it?  That seems very unlikely though...

Maybe try
  lsof /tmp/md2003bm

to see if anything is using the file.

NeilBrown