After updating 'mdadm' package system fails to boot

Solution Verified - Updated -

Issue

  • The system is using mdraid array for root volume group and /boot filesystem. After updating the mdadm rpm to version 3.3.4-8.el6, system is failing to boot with following errors:

    dracut Warning: LVM rootvg/root not found
    dracut Warning: LVM rootvg/root not found
    
    Dropping to debug shell.
    
    sh: can't access tty; job control turned off
    dracut:/# cat /proc/mdstat
    Personalities :
    unused devices: <none>
    
  • However we are able to manually assemble the mdraid array from dracut prompt as shown below and system boots up properly. The same issue was not observed with previous version of mdadm rpm:

    dracut:/# IMSM_NO_PLATFORM=1 mdadm --assemble /dev/md0 /dev/sdb /dev/sdc
    md: md0 stopped.
    md: bind<sdc>
    md: bind<sdb>
    mdadm: Container /dev/md0 has been assembled with 2 drives
    
    dracut:/# IMSM_NO_PLATFORM=1  mdadm -A /dev/md/Volume0 /dev/md0
    md: md126 stopped.
    md: bind<sdb>
    md: bind<sdc>
    md: raid1 personality registered for level 1
    bio: create slab <bio-1> at 1
    md/raid1:md126: active with 2 out of 2 mirrors
    md126: detected capacity change from 0 to 480099958784
     md126: p1 p2
    md: md126 switched to read-write mode.
    mdadm: Started /dev/md/Volume0 with 2 devices
    
    dracut:/# ls -l /dev/root
    ls: cannot access /dev/root: No such file or directory
    
    dracut:/# lvm vhchange -ay rootvg
    File descriptor 9 (/.console_lock) leaked on lvm invocation. Parent PID 2344: sh
      8 logical volume(s) in volume group "rootvg" now active
    
    dracut:/# ls -l /dev/root
    lrwxrwxrwxx 1 0 root 4 Sep 19 12:46 /dev/root -> dm-0
    dracut:/# 
    dracut:/# 
    

Environment

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.9
  • mdadm-3.3.4-8.el6
  • mdraid array configured with imsm
    i.e Intel(R) Matrix Storage Manager metadata format.

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