RHBA-2011:0759 - Bug Fix Advisory

Topic

An updated mdadm package that fixes several bugs and adds various enhancements
is now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.

Description

mdadm is a utility for creating, managing, and monitoring Linux MD (multiple
disk) devices.

This update fixes the following bugs:

• Previously, the "noiswmd" kernel command line option did not set the

rd_NO_MDIMSM variable to 1 and the udev rules thus failed to match the option.
This update removes the rule for the rd_NO_MDIMSM variable and adds the
"noiswmd" and "nodmraid" command line options, which substitute the rule for
rd_NO_MDIMSM. (BZ#605710)

• The md kernel module stopped responding when attempting to stop a RAID device.

This occurred due to a mutex deadlock. With this update, the underlying code was
changed and the issue no longer occurs. (BZ#626762)

• Previously, mdadm did not accept the short version of the "--export" (that is

"-Y") and "--name" (that is "-N") options. This was due to missing entries in
the list of short options. With this update, the missing entries have been added
and the short versions of the options now work as expected. (BZ#636883)

This update also adds the following enhancements:

• Previously, mdadm was not able to rebuild newly-connected drives

automatically. This update adds the array auto-rebuild feature and allows a RAID
stack to automatically rebuild newly-connected drives. (BZ#633306)

• RAID migration is now supported: mdadm is now able to change the RAID level of

an already-existing device. (BZ#633667)

• Previously, mdadm could not add a new disk to an already-existing volume. This

update adds the OLCE (On Line Capacity Expansion) feature, which allows mdadm to
add new disks to an array and allocate their resources to existing volumes.
(BZ#633671)

• Previously, mdadm did not track the progress of the rebuild and

level-migration operations and therefore was not able to recover their progress
after a system failure. This update adds the check-pointing feature, which
tracks their progress and allows mdadm to resume these operations after a system
failure from the last check point. (BZ#633688)

• This update adds SAS-SATA feature, which allows the user to disconnect a set

of SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) drives from a SCSI Controller
Unit (SCU) and connect it to an Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) and
vice versa. (BZ#633690)

• This update limits the RAID-5 support for volumes on drives attached to the

SCU on systems with the X79 chipset (code-named "Patsburg"). It inhibits the
creation, assembly, activation, and level migration of RAID 5 volumes on drives
attached to the SCU on these systems. (BZ#633692)

Users are advised to upgrade to this updated mdadm package, which resolves these
issues and adds these enhancements.

Solution

Before applying this update, make sure that all previously-released errata
relevant to your system have been applied.

This update is available via Red Hat Network. Details on how to use the Red Hat
Network to apply this update are available at
https://access.redhat.com/kb/docs/DOC-11259

Affected Products

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 6 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 6 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support 6 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support 6 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 6 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 6 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 6 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 6 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems 6 s390x
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian 6 ppc64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Scientific Computing 6 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI 6 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI 6 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support (for IBM z Systems) 6 s390x

Fixes

• BZ - 605710 - Make mdadm udev rules honor noiswmd cmdline option

CVEs

(none)

References

(none)