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5.108. initscripts

Updated initscripts packages that fix one bug are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.
The initscripts package contains basic system scripts to boot the system, change runlevels, activate and deactivate most network interfaces, and shut the system down cleanly.

Bug Fix

BZ#854852
Previously, the naming policy for VLAN names was too strict. Consequently, the if-down utility did not properly remove descriptively-named interfaces from the /proc/net/vlan/config file. This update removes the name format check and if-down now works as expected in the described scenario.
All users of initscripts are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which fix this bug.
Updated initscripts packages that fix multiple bugs and add one enhancement are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.
The initscripts package contains system scripts to boot your system, change runlevels, activate and deactivate most network interfaces, and shut the system down cleanly.

Bug Fixes

BZ#781493
The previous version of initscripts did not support IPv6 routing in the same way as IPv4 routing. IPv6 addressing and routing could be achieved only by specifying the ip commands explicitly with the -6 flag in the /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/rule-DEVICE_NAME configuration file where DEVICE_NAME is the name of the respective network interface. With this update, the related network scripts have been modified to provide support for IPv6-based policy routing and IPv6 routing is now configured separately in the /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/rule6-DEVICE_NAME configuration file.
BZ#786404
During the first boot after system installation, the kernel entropy was relatively low to generate high-quality keys for sshd. With this update, the entropy created by the disk activity during system installation is saved in the /var/lib/random-seed file and used for key generation. This provides enough randomness and allows generation of keys based on sufficient entropy.
BZ#582002
In emergency mode, every read request from the /dev/tty device ended with an error and consequently, it was not possible to read from the /dev/tty device. This happened because, when activating single-user mode, the rc.sysinit script called the sulogin application directly. However, sulogin needs to be the console owner to operate correctly. With this update, rc.sysinit starts the rcS-emergency job, which then runs sulogin with the correct console setting.
BZ#588993
The ifconfig utility was not able to handle 20-byte MAC addresses in InfiniBand environments and reported that the provided addresses were too long. With this update, the respective ifconfig commands have been changed to aliases to the respective ip commands and ifconfig now handles 20-byte MAC addresses correctly.
BZ#746045
Due to a logic error, the sysfs() call did not remove the arp_ip_target correctly. As a consequence, the following error was reported when attempting to shut down a bonding device:
ifdown-eth: line 64: echo: write error: Invalid argument
This update modifies the script so that the error no longer occurs and arp_ip_target is now removed correctly.
BZ#746808
The serial.conf file now contains improved comments on how to create an /etc/init/tty<device>.conf file that corresponds to the active serial device.
BZ#802119
The network service showed error messages on service startup similar to the following:
Error: either "dev" is duplicate, or "20" is a garbage.
This was due to incorrect splitting of the parsed arguments. With this update, the arguments are processed correctly and the problem no longer occurs.
BZ#754984
The halt initscript did not contain support for the apcupsd daemon, the daemon for power mangement and controlling of APC's UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) supplies. Consequently, the supplies were not turned off on power failure. This update adds the support to the script and the UPS models are now turned off in power-failure situations as expected.
BZ#755175
In the previous version of initscripts, the comments with descriptions of variables kernel.msgmnb and kernel.msgmax were incorrect. With this update, the comments have been fixed and the variables are now described correctly.
BZ#787107
Due to an incorrect logic operator, the following error was returned on network service shutdown as the shutdown process failed:
69: echo: write error: Invalid argument
With this update, the code of the shutdown initscript has been modified and the error is no longer returned on network service shutdown.
BZ#760018
The system could remain unresponsive for some time during shutdown. This happened because initscript did not check if there were any CIFS (Common Internet File System) share mounts and failed to unmount any mounted CIFS shares before shutdown. With this update, a CIFS shares check has been added and the shares are stopped prior to shutdown.
BZ#721010
The ifup-aliases script was using the ifconfig tool when starting IP alias devices. Consequently, the ifup execution was gradually slowing down significatly with the increasing number of the devices on the NIC (Network Interface Card) device. With this update, IP aliases now use the ip tool instead of ifconfig and the performance of the ifup-aliases script remains constant in the scenario described.
BZ#765835
Prior to this update, the netconsole script could not discover and resolve the MAC address of a router specified in the /etc/sysconfig/netconsole file. This happened because the address was resolved as two identical addresses and the script failed. This update modifies the netconsole script so that it handles the MAC address correctly and the device is discovered as expected.
BZ#757637
In the Malay (ms_MY) locale, some services did not work properly. This happened due to a typographical mistake in the ms.po file. This update fixes the mistake and services in the ms_MY locale run as expected.
BZ#749610
The primary option for bonding in the ifup-eth tool had a timing issue when bonding NIC devices. Consequently, the bonding was configured, but it was the active interface that was enslaved first. With this update, the timing of bonding with the primary option has been corrected and the device defined in the primary option is enslaved first as expected.

Enhancement

BZ#704919
Users can now set the NIS (Network Information Service) domain name by configuring the NISDOMAIN parameter in the /etc/sysconfig/network file, or other relevant configuration files.
Users of initscripts should upgrade to these updated packages, which fix these bugs and add this enhancement.