RHBA-2011:1021 - Bug Fix Advisory

Topic

An updated s390utils package that fixes various bugs and adds two enhancements
is now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.

Description

The s390utils package contains utilities related to Linux for the IBM System z
architecture.

This update fixes the following bugs:

• Prior to this update, the format 7 label written by the fdasd and dasdfmt

utilities was incorrect. Consequent to this, backups of Linux on System z disks
from z/OS did not work when the disk was not fully partitioned. This update
adapts the libvtoc library to make sure that both fdasd and dasdfmt now write
the format 7 label correctly. As a result, such backups now work as expected.
(BZ#649966)

• When the previous version of the cpuplugd service exited, it incorrectly

changed /proc/sys/vm/cmm_pages to 0 regardless of its previous value.
Additionally, when the values of cmm_pages and cmm_inc were equal, cmm_pages
failed to reach a cmm_min of 0 during runtime. This update adapts the underlying
source code to retain the value of /proc/sys/vm/cmm_pages and evaluate cmm_min
correctly. (BZ#658273)

• The previous version of the lsluns utility failed to report LUNs from the SAN

Volume Controller (SVC). This update changes the strategy of this utility to
determine whether LUN 0 or the WLUN is already available. Now, if none of the
LUNs is available, LUN 0 is tried first, and if it fails, the WLUN is tried
next. As a result, the lsluns utility reports LUNs from the SVC as expected.
(BZ#659827)

• Previously, the lsluns utility did not accept uppercase letters for hex digits

in an FCP device identifier or WWPN. This error no longer occurs, and lsluns now
accepts both uppercase and lowercase letters. (BZ#660359)

• Prior to this update, the cpuplugd service did not evaluate rules correctly

when the multiplication (that is, *) was used. This update applies a patch that
addresses this issue so that such rules are now evaluated correctly. (BZ#693366)

• Previously, the cmsfs utilities crashed when they were used on file systems

with block sizes different from the underlying device. Consequently, users had
to work around the issue by creating a file system with the same block size as
the device. With this update, the cmsfs utilities now report the mismatch in
block sizes but still work. (BZ#696149)

• Due to an error in the option parser, the previous version of the ziomon

utility incorrectly accepted the "--output" command line option instead of
"--outfile". Consequently, an attempt to run the utility with the "--outfile"
option as specified in the documentation failed. This update corrects the option
parser to accept the "--outfile" option as described in the documentation.
(BZ#697479)

• Previously, mounting the debugfs file system in a directory other than

/sys/kernel/debug caused the ziomon utility to fail with an error. This update
adapts the underlying source code to verify the debugfs mount path, resolving
this issue. (BZ#700687)

As well, this update adds the following enhancements:

• This update introduces an application programming interface (API) to determine

the status of a direct access storage device (DASD), and adapts the tunedasd
utility to provide the "-Q" (or "--query_reserve") command line option, which
allows users to write this information to standard output. (BZ#651142)

• This update adds a new configuration option, "DELAY_MINUTES", to the

/etc/sysconfig/dumpconf file. When specified, this option allows a user to delay
the activation of the dumpconf service to prevent possible re-IPL loops.
(BZ#651168)

All users of s390utils are advised to upgrade to this updated package, which
fixes these bugs 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 for IBM z Systems 5 s390x

Fixes

• BZ - 651168 - [LTC 5.7 FEAT] Dump on panic - Prevent reipl loop
• BZ - 693366 - cpuplugd: Fix incorrect multiplication in rules evaluation
• BZ - 696149 - cmsfscat crashes during install with CMSDASD on vdisk
• BZ - 697479 - ziomon: Option '--output' should be '--outfile' as documented.
• BZ - 700687 - ziomon: Debugfs mount path check at /sys/kernel/debug

CVEs

(none)

References

(none)