ureOS:/home/lolpo88# fdisk -l
Disk /dev/hda: 40.1 GB, 40060403712 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 4870 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x4f1e4f1d
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hda1 * 1 1802 14474533+ 83 Linux
/dev/hda2 1803 4551 22081342+ 83 Linux
/dev/hda3 4552 4870 2562367+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris
PureOS:/home/lolpo88# /lib/udev/vol_id /dev/hda | grep UUID
ID_FS_UUID=
ID_FS_UUID_ENC=
PureOS:/home/lolpo88# /lib/udev/vol_id /dev/hda1 | grep UUID
ID_FS_UUID=7029e9fb-066b-4d19-9d14-ab229afcd4cc
ID_FS_UUID_ENC=7029e9fb-066b-4d19-9d14-ab229afcd4cc
PureOS:/home/lolpo88#
Stable root device (AKA UUID)
Given: server with SCSI disk for the system plus a SCSI storage in the back. The SCSI disk uses another driver than the SCSI storage. Installing Debian etch via grml is no problem, the system disk is /dev/sda, the SCSI storage is bound to /dev/sdb. But: who guarantees that /dev/sda is always the systemdisk? Using the Debian-kernel with initramfs isn’t capable of booting the system via root=/dev/sda1 because /dev/sda1 corresponds to the SCSI storage. (Side-note: the grml-kernel does not have this problem, it just boots the system without any problems at all. 8-))
Generic solution: use the power of UUID:
root@grml # /lib/udev/vol_id /dev/sda1 | grep UUID
ID_FS_UUID=4a6aed11-42dd-4c82-81ce-8f469e93f210
root@grml # eval $(/lib/udev/vol_id /dev/sda1 | grep UUID)
root@grml # ls -la /dev/disk/by-uuid/$ID_FS_UUID
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Aug 10 11:01 /dev/disk/by-uuid/4a6aed11-42dd-4c82-81ce-8f469e93f210 -> ../../sda1
Now we know the UUID and boot the system via root=UUID=… instead of a root=/dev/sda-entry:
title Debian Etch, kernel 2.6.15-1-686 (on /dev/sda1)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.15-1-686 root=UUID=4a6aed11-42dd-4c82-81ce-8f469e93f210 ro
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.15-1-686
Finally do not forget to adjust /etc/fstab as well for all entries:
UUID=e0164f78-9821-4eaf-bda7-1fd9b43a6f06 / ext3 defaults,errors=remount-ro 0 1
UUID=4a6aed11-42dd-4c82-81ce-8f469e93f210 /home ext3 defaults 0 0
UUID=0e88f32f-fb98-4279-b3bc-8edfc2046b5d none swap sw 0 0
# xfs_admin -L test /dev/hda1
writing all SBs
new label = “test”
# findfs LABEL=test
/dev/hda1
