Error Restoring GPT Partition Tables

[tlehrian]

@Sebastian-Roth The interesting thing is, the process seems to work every once in a while. I’m suspecting maybe the drives are being switched around and the process is trying to use the 256GB drive as the primary OS drive, when it won’t be large enough. Is there some sort of random or race condition that might cause that? I see an option in the host setup for “Host Primary Disk” - would that alleviate this issue?

[Quazz]

@tlehrian I believe this is a known problem that can occur when you have multiple NVME drives on a UEFI system as the numeration can change on reboot afaik.

[tlehrian]

@Quazz Do you know of any solution to the issue?

[Quazz]

@tlehrian I don’t believe there’s a solution currently, just some thoughts on how to potentionally address it, but without access to relevant hardware there is no way to confirm which direction we have to take.

Related thread: https://forums.fogproject.org/topic/13163/laptop-with-2-nvme-drives-randomly-selected-so-selecting-one-drive-to-capture-not-working

[tlehrian]

@Quazz Hmmmm… very interesting. I guess I’m OK that it seems to be a random thing. I can keeping booting until it finally, randomly, picks the right drive to be the primary. At least it doesn’t seem to be a larger HW issue. I’ll be looking for a solution to this issue if one does eventually pop up. Thanks for the quick reply.

[george1421]

@tlehrian said in Error Restoring GPT Partition Tables:

I’m suspecting maybe the drives are being switched around and the process is trying to use the 256GB drive as the primary OS drive, when it won’t be large enough.

Yes this is an issue we are tracking in the link Quazz provided. We are looking for someone with a little linux skills and a system with 2 nvme drives to help us debug. Are you that person?

[tlehrian]

@george1421 Possibly. Unfortunately I have a small window of opportunity here where I could help test before we need to have all of our systems with two M2 drives up and running for our Fall semester (starting Aug 27). At that point, I’d no longer have any systems to play with.

[george1421]

@tlehrian I’m hoping that with a short time of debugging (just less than an hour of on and off testing) will help us (hopefully) find a solution.

[tlehrian]

@george1421 Sure, I’d be happy to help where I can. After reading through the thread @Quazz shared, I guess I’m lucky that we’re trying to use the large NVME drive as our OS drive…

[george1421]

@tlehrian Ok here is what we are seeing. When FOS Linux boots, the nvme drives initialize (become ready to the os) at different times. Sometimes drive A is ready first and other times drive B is ready first. Well when linux boots what ever drive inits first becomes /dev/nvme01 and the second one becomes /dev/nvme02. This is not an issue with FOG or linux, its an issue between the linux OS and the hardware.

So what we need is to run a utility with a few commands to help us detect which drive is which in each state. The switch is totally at random so we can’t predict the order using linux. So what I need you (as a tester) to do is to pxe boot the target computer multiple times to record the settings when the drives are in a normal and then reversed order. If we are lucky you will see this swap within 10 pxe boots.

Here is what I want you to do:

1. Download this updated init from here: https://fogproject.org/inits/init_nvme-cli.xz
2. Rename the original inits in `/var/www/html/fog/service/ipxe init.xz to init.xz.sav
3. Move the downloaded file to that directory and save as init.xz
4. Pick one of these dual drive nvme computers and schedule a deploy task to it. But before you hit the schedule task button tick the debug checkbox then schedule the task.
5. PXE boot the target computer. After a few screens of text where you need to press enter to clear you will be dropped to the FOS Linux command prompt.
6. At the FOS Linux command prompt run this command lsblk to note the size and order of the nvme disk. Use disk size to be your guide in determining the order. So this is state 1.
   6.1 You can use these steps if you want to setup remote debugging. Its easier to do the copy and paste of commands from putty. You don’t need to, its just one option.
   6.2 At the FOS Linux command prompt key in ip addr show and collect the IP address of the FOS Linux computer.
   6.3 Give root a password with passwd. Just give it a simple password like hello. The password will be reset on the next reboot. So don’t worry.
   6.4 From a windows computer use putty to ssh into the FOS Linux computer. Login as root and the password you created in step 6.3
7. At the FOS Linux command prompt key in the following and post the results here nvme list. If the nvme command isn’t known then the downloaded inits are not in the right spot.
8. Key in the following command and post the result(s) here nvme id-ctrl /dev/nvme0n1 -H and (I’m guessing at the name since I don’t have a dual nvme system, use the name from the lsblk command above) nvme id-ctrl /dev/nvme0n2 -H
9. Now reboot the FOS Linux computer with ctrl-alt-del or key in reboot at the FOS Linux command prompt. The system should PXE boot right back into FOS Linux in debug mode.
10. Use the lsblk command to determine the disk order. We are looks for the order of the drives when they switch places. If you can’t get them to switch then power off the system instead of rebooting to see if we can get them to switch. The key is to capture the output of the nvme command in both states.

[tlehrian]

@george1421 Ok. I should have a chance to do this later today. I’m hopeful this leads to a fix for the issue.

[tlehrian]

@george1421 Here is the information from State 1:

State 1:
> nvme list

Node             SN                   Model                                    Namespace Usage                      Format           FW Rev
---------------- -------------------- ---------------------------------------- --------- -------------------------- ---------------- --------
/dev/nvme0n1     S499NX0M113634       SAMSUNG MZVLB256HAHQ-000H2               1           2.95  GB / 256.06  GB    512   B +  0 B   EXD71HAQ
/dev/nvme1n1     S498NA0M403426       SAMSUNG MZVLB512HAJQ-000H2               1         149.49  GB / 512.11  GB    512   B +  0 B   EXA71HAQ


> nvme id-ctrl /dev/nvme0n1 -H

NVME Identify Controller:
vid     : 0x144d
ssvid   : 0x144d
sn      : S499NX0M113634
mn      : SAMSUNG MZVLB256HAHQ-000H2
fr      : EXD71HAQ
rab     : 2
ieee    : 002538
cmic    : 0
  [2:2] : 0     PCI
  [1:1] : 0     Single Controller
  [0:0] : 0     Single Port

mdts    : 9
cntlid  : 4
ver     : 10200
rtd3r   : 186a0
rtd3e   : 7a1200
oaes    : 0
  [8:8] : 0     Namespace Attribute Changed Event Not Supported

oacs    : 0x17
 [15:4] : 0x1   Reserved
  [3:3] : 0     NS Management and Attachment Not Supported
  [2:2] : 0x1   FW Commit and Download Supported
  [1:1] : 0x1   Format NVM Supported
  [0:0] : 0x1   Sec. Send and Receive Supported

acl     : 7
aerl    : 7
frmw    : 0x16
  [4:4] : 0x1   Firmware Activate Without Reset Supported
  [3:1] : 0x3   Number of Firmware Slots
  [0:0] : 0     Firmware Slot 1 Read/Write

lpa     : 0x3
  [1:1] : 0x1   Command Effects Log Page Supported
  [0:0] : 0x1   SMART/Health Log Page per NS Supported

elpe    : 255
npss    : 4
avscc   : 0x1
  [0:0] : 0x1   Admin Vendor Specific Commands uses NVMe Format

apsta   : 0x1
  [0:0] : 0x1   Autonomous Power State Transitions Supported

wctemp  : 354
cctemp  : 355
mtfa    : 50
hmpre   : 0
hmmin   : 0
tnvmcap : 256060514304
unvmcap : 0
rpmbs   : 0
 [31:24]: 0     Access Size
 [23:16]: 0     Total Size
  [5:3] : 0     Authentication Method
  [2:0] : 0     Number of RPMB Units

sqes    : 0x66
  [7:4] : 0x6   Max SQ Entry Size (64)
  [3:0] : 0x6   Min SQ Entry Size (64)

cqes    : 0x44
  [7:4] : 0x4   Max CQ Entry Size (16)
  [3:0] : 0x4   Min CQ Entry Size (16)

nn      : 1
oncs    : 0x1f
  [5:5] : 0     Reservations Not Supported
  [4:4] : 0x1   Save and Select Supported
  [3:3] : 0x1   Write Zeroes Supported
  [2:2] : 0x1   Data Set Management Supported
  [1:1] : 0x1   Write Uncorrectable Supported
  [0:0] : 0x1   Compare Supported

fuses   : 0
  [0:0] : 0     Fused Compare and Write Not Supported

fna     : 0
  [2:2] : 0     Crypto Erase Not Supported as part of Secure Erase
  [1:1] : 0     Crypto Erase Applies to Single Namespace(s)
  [0:0] : 0     Format Applies to Single Namespace(s)

vwc     : 0x1
  [0:0] : 0x1   Volatile Write Cache Present

awun    : 1023
awupf   : 0
nvscc   : 1
  [0:0] : 0x1   NVM Vendor Specific Commands uses NVMe Format

acwu    : 0
sgls    : 0
  [0:0] : 0     Scatter-Gather Lists Not Supported

subnqn  :
ps    0 : mp:7.02W operational enlat:0 exlat:0 rrt:0 rrl:0
          rwt:0 rwl:0 idle_power:- active_power:-
ps    1 : mp:6.30W operational enlat:0 exlat:0 rrt:1 rrl:1
          rwt:1 rwl:1 idle_power:- active_power:-
ps    2 : mp:3.50W operational enlat:0 exlat:0 rrt:2 rrl:2
          rwt:2 rwl:2 idle_power:- active_power:-
ps    3 : mp:0.0760W non-operational enlat:210 exlat:1200 rrt:3 rrl:3
          rwt:3 rwl:3 idle_power:- active_power:-
ps    4 : mp:0.0050W non-operational enlat:2000 exlat:8000 rrt:4 rrl:4
          rwt:4 rwl:4 idle_power:- active_power:-

> nvme id-ctrl /dev/nvme1n1 -H

NVME Identify Controller:
vid     : 0x144d
ssvid   : 0x144d
sn      : S498NA0M403426
mn      : SAMSUNG MZVLB512HAJQ-000H2
fr      : EXA71HAQ
rab     : 2
ieee    : 002538
cmic    : 0
  [2:2] : 0     PCI
  [1:1] : 0     Single Controller
  [0:0] : 0     Single Port

mdts    : 9
cntlid  : 4
ver     : 10200
rtd3r   : 186a0
rtd3e   : 7a1200
oaes    : 0
  [8:8] : 0     Namespace Attribute Changed Event Not Supported

oacs    : 0x17
 [15:4] : 0x1   Reserved
  [3:3] : 0     NS Management and Attachment Not Supported
  [2:2] : 0x1   FW Commit and Download Supported
  [1:1] : 0x1   Format NVM Supported
  [0:0] : 0x1   Sec. Send and Receive Supported

acl     : 7
aerl    : 7
frmw    : 0x16
  [4:4] : 0x1   Firmware Activate Without Reset Supported
  [3:1] : 0x3   Number of Firmware Slots
  [0:0] : 0     Firmware Slot 1 Read/Write

lpa     : 0x3
  [1:1] : 0x1   Command Effects Log Page Supported
  [0:0] : 0x1   SMART/Health Log Page per NS Supported

elpe    : 255
npss    : 4
avscc   : 0x1
  [0:0] : 0x1   Admin Vendor Specific Commands uses NVMe Format

apsta   : 0x1
  [0:0] : 0x1   Autonomous Power State Transitions Supported

wctemp  : 354
cctemp  : 355
mtfa    : 50
hmpre   : 0
hmmin   : 0
tnvmcap : 512110190592
unvmcap : 0
rpmbs   : 0
 [31:24]: 0     Access Size
 [23:16]: 0     Total Size
  [5:3] : 0     Authentication Method
  [2:0] : 0     Number of RPMB Units

sqes    : 0x66
  [7:4] : 0x6   Max SQ Entry Size (64)
  [3:0] : 0x6   Min SQ Entry Size (64)

cqes    : 0x44
  [7:4] : 0x4   Max CQ Entry Size (16)
  [3:0] : 0x4   Min CQ Entry Size (16)

nn      : 1
oncs    : 0x1f
  [5:5] : 0     Reservations Not Supported
  [4:4] : 0x1   Save and Select Supported
  [3:3] : 0x1   Write Zeroes Supported
  [2:2] : 0x1   Data Set Management Supported
  [1:1] : 0x1   Write Uncorrectable Supported
  [0:0] : 0x1   Compare Supported

fuses   : 0
  [0:0] : 0     Fused Compare and Write Not Supported

fna     : 0
  [2:2] : 0     Crypto Erase Not Supported as part of Secure Erase
  [1:1] : 0     Crypto Erase Applies to Single Namespace(s)
  [0:0] : 0     Format Applies to Single Namespace(s)

vwc     : 0x1
  [0:0] : 0x1   Volatile Write Cache Present

awun    : 1023
awupf   : 0
nvscc   : 1
  [0:0] : 0x1   NVM Vendor Specific Commands uses NVMe Format

acwu    : 0
sgls    : 0
  [0:0] : 0     Scatter-Gather Lists Not Supported

subnqn  :
ps    0 : mp:7.02W operational enlat:0 exlat:0 rrt:0 rrl:0
          rwt:0 rwl:0 idle_power:- active_power:-
ps    1 : mp:6.30W operational enlat:0 exlat:0 rrt:1 rrl:1
          rwt:1 rwl:1 idle_power:- active_power:-
ps    2 : mp:3.50W operational enlat:0 exlat:0 rrt:2 rrl:2
          rwt:2 rwl:2 idle_power:- active_power:-
ps    3 : mp:0.0760W non-operational enlat:210 exlat:1200 rrt:3 rrl:3
          rwt:3 rwl:3 idle_power:- active_power:-
ps    4 : mp:0.0050W non-operational enlat:2000 exlat:8000 rrt:4 rrl:4
          rwt:4 rwl:4 idle_power:- active_power:-

[tlehrian]

@george1421 And from State 2 (reversed):

> nvme list

Node             SN                   Model                                    Namespace Usage                      Format           FW Rev
---------------- -------------------- ---------------------------------------- --------- -------------------------- ---------------- --------
/dev/nvme0n1     S498NA0M403426       SAMSUNG MZVLB512HAJQ-000H2               1         149.49  GB / 512.11  GB    512   B +  0 B   EXA71HAQ
/dev/nvme1n1     S499NX0M113634       SAMSUNG MZVLB256HAHQ-000H2               1           2.95  GB / 256.06  GB    512   B +  0 B   EXD71HAQ

> nvme id-ctrl /dev/nvme0n1 -H

NVME Identify Controller:
vid     : 0x144d
ssvid   : 0x144d
sn      : S498NA0M403426
mn      : SAMSUNG MZVLB512HAJQ-000H2
fr      : EXA71HAQ
rab     : 2
ieee    : 002538
cmic    : 0
  [2:2] : 0     PCI
  [1:1] : 0     Single Controller
  [0:0] : 0     Single Port

mdts    : 9
cntlid  : 4
ver     : 10200
rtd3r   : 186a0
rtd3e   : 7a1200
oaes    : 0
  [8:8] : 0     Namespace Attribute Changed Event Not Supported

oacs    : 0x17
 [15:4] : 0x1   Reserved
  [3:3] : 0     NS Management and Attachment Not Supported
  [2:2] : 0x1   FW Commit and Download Supported
  [1:1] : 0x1   Format NVM Supported
  [0:0] : 0x1   Sec. Send and Receive Supported

acl     : 7
aerl    : 7
frmw    : 0x16
  [4:4] : 0x1   Firmware Activate Without Reset Supported
  [3:1] : 0x3   Number of Firmware Slots
  [0:0] : 0     Firmware Slot 1 Read/Write

lpa     : 0x3
  [1:1] : 0x1   Command Effects Log Page Supported
  [0:0] : 0x1   SMART/Health Log Page per NS Supported

elpe    : 255
npss    : 4
avscc   : 0x1
  [0:0] : 0x1   Admin Vendor Specific Commands uses NVMe Format

apsta   : 0x1
  [0:0] : 0x1   Autonomous Power State Transitions Supported

wctemp  : 354
cctemp  : 355
mtfa    : 50
hmpre   : 0
hmmin   : 0
tnvmcap : 512110190592
unvmcap : 0
rpmbs   : 0
 [31:24]: 0     Access Size
 [23:16]: 0     Total Size
  [5:3] : 0     Authentication Method
  [2:0] : 0     Number of RPMB Units

sqes    : 0x66
  [7:4] : 0x6   Max SQ Entry Size (64)
  [3:0] : 0x6   Min SQ Entry Size (64)

cqes    : 0x44
  [7:4] : 0x4   Max CQ Entry Size (16)
  [3:0] : 0x4   Min CQ Entry Size (16)

nn      : 1
oncs    : 0x1f
  [5:5] : 0     Reservations Not Supported
  [4:4] : 0x1   Save and Select Supported
  [3:3] : 0x1   Write Zeroes Supported
  [2:2] : 0x1   Data Set Management Supported
  [1:1] : 0x1   Write Uncorrectable Supported
  [0:0] : 0x1   Compare Supported

fuses   : 0
  [0:0] : 0     Fused Compare and Write Not Supported

fna     : 0
  [2:2] : 0     Crypto Erase Not Supported as part of Secure Erase
  [1:1] : 0     Crypto Erase Applies to Single Namespace(s)
  [0:0] : 0     Format Applies to Single Namespace(s)

vwc     : 0x1
  [0:0] : 0x1   Volatile Write Cache Present

awun    : 1023
awupf   : 0
nvscc   : 1
  [0:0] : 0x1   NVM Vendor Specific Commands uses NVMe Format

acwu    : 0
sgls    : 0
  [0:0] : 0     Scatter-Gather Lists Not Supported

subnqn  :
ps    0 : mp:7.02W operational enlat:0 exlat:0 rrt:0 rrl:0
          rwt:0 rwl:0 idle_power:- active_power:-
ps    1 : mp:6.30W operational enlat:0 exlat:0 rrt:1 rrl:1
          rwt:1 rwl:1 idle_power:- active_power:-
ps    2 : mp:3.50W operational enlat:0 exlat:0 rrt:2 rrl:2
          rwt:2 rwl:2 idle_power:- active_power:-
ps    3 : mp:0.0760W non-operational enlat:210 exlat:1200 rrt:3 rrl:3
          rwt:3 rwl:3 idle_power:- active_power:-
ps    4 : mp:0.0050W non-operational enlat:2000 exlat:8000 rrt:4 rrl:4
          rwt:4 rwl:4 idle_power:- active_power:-

> nvme id-ctrl /dev/nvme1n1 -H

NVME Identify Controller:
vid     : 0x144d
ssvid   : 0x144d
sn      : S499NX0M113634
mn      : SAMSUNG MZVLB256HAHQ-000H2
fr      : EXD71HAQ
rab     : 2
ieee    : 002538
cmic    : 0
  [2:2] : 0     PCI
  [1:1] : 0     Single Controller
  [0:0] : 0     Single Port

mdts    : 9
cntlid  : 4
ver     : 10200
rtd3r   : 186a0
rtd3e   : 7a1200
oaes    : 0
  [8:8] : 0     Namespace Attribute Changed Event Not Supported

oacs    : 0x17
 [15:4] : 0x1   Reserved
  [3:3] : 0     NS Management and Attachment Not Supported
  [2:2] : 0x1   FW Commit and Download Supported
  [1:1] : 0x1   Format NVM Supported
  [0:0] : 0x1   Sec. Send and Receive Supported

acl     : 7
aerl    : 7
frmw    : 0x16
  [4:4] : 0x1   Firmware Activate Without Reset Supported
  [3:1] : 0x3   Number of Firmware Slots
  [0:0] : 0     Firmware Slot 1 Read/Write

lpa     : 0x3
  [1:1] : 0x1   Command Effects Log Page Supported
  [0:0] : 0x1   SMART/Health Log Page per NS Supported

elpe    : 255
npss    : 4
avscc   : 0x1
  [0:0] : 0x1   Admin Vendor Specific Commands uses NVMe Format

apsta   : 0x1
  [0:0] : 0x1   Autonomous Power State Transitions Supported

wctemp  : 354
cctemp  : 355
mtfa    : 50
hmpre   : 0
hmmin   : 0
tnvmcap : 256060514304
unvmcap : 0
rpmbs   : 0
 [31:24]: 0     Access Size
 [23:16]: 0     Total Size
  [5:3] : 0     Authentication Method
  [2:0] : 0     Number of RPMB Units

sqes    : 0x66
  [7:4] : 0x6   Max SQ Entry Size (64)
  [3:0] : 0x6   Min SQ Entry Size (64)

cqes    : 0x44
  [7:4] : 0x4   Max CQ Entry Size (16)
  [3:0] : 0x4   Min CQ Entry Size (16)

nn      : 1
oncs    : 0x1f
  [5:5] : 0     Reservations Not Supported
  [4:4] : 0x1   Save and Select Supported
  [3:3] : 0x1   Write Zeroes Supported
  [2:2] : 0x1   Data Set Management Supported
  [1:1] : 0x1   Write Uncorrectable Supported
  [0:0] : 0x1   Compare Supported

fuses   : 0
  [0:0] : 0     Fused Compare and Write Not Supported

fna     : 0
  [2:2] : 0     Crypto Erase Not Supported as part of Secure Erase
  [1:1] : 0     Crypto Erase Applies to Single Namespace(s)
  [0:0] : 0     Format Applies to Single Namespace(s)

vwc     : 0x1
  [0:0] : 0x1   Volatile Write Cache Present

awun    : 1023
awupf   : 0
nvscc   : 1
  [0:0] : 0x1   NVM Vendor Specific Commands uses NVMe Format

acwu    : 0
sgls    : 0
  [0:0] : 0     Scatter-Gather Lists Not Supported

subnqn  :
ps    0 : mp:7.02W operational enlat:0 exlat:0 rrt:0 rrl:0
          rwt:0 rwl:0 idle_power:- active_power:-
ps    1 : mp:6.30W operational enlat:0 exlat:0 rrt:1 rrl:1
          rwt:1 rwl:1 idle_power:- active_power:-
ps    2 : mp:3.50W operational enlat:0 exlat:0 rrt:2 rrl:2
          rwt:2 rwl:2 idle_power:- active_power:-
ps    3 : mp:0.0760W non-operational enlat:210 exlat:1200 rrt:3 rrl:3
          rwt:3 rwl:3 idle_power:- active_power:-
ps    4 : mp:0.0050W non-operational enlat:2000 exlat:8000 rrt:4 rrl:4
          rwt:4 rwl:4 idle_power:- active_power:-

[george1421]

@tlehrian Excellent you have been able to prove the case. Now we just need to paw through the data and see if we can find a unique key to identify the drives. We are done with the testing for now. We may need you to check a few more commands later if these two don’t give us a workable solution, but for now this is great!!.

[tlehrian]

@george1421 Cool. Glad I could help. Let me know if/when you need any other testing done.

[Quazz]

Interesting.

Reading up more on this subject, I suspect this issue isn’t actually specific to NVME drives, but rather to any multi drive system where one drive is larger than the other since they can initialize in ‘random’ order.

Of course, with traditional drives they tend to be slow enough that they initialize in a more predictable pattern I guess.

[george1421]

@Quazz Right since this know proven to happen on more than one hardware type, this is something the linux kernel developers should be working on. From the nvme printout we can surely see the drives changing location. The linux kernel developers may get around this by scanning the nvme drives and looking for a disk that has the boot blocks on it and picking that one for disk 0. In FOS’ case we aren’t trying to boot from the media. But I’m only guessing here. We surely need to do a bunch more research now that we have detailed info.

[Quazz]

@george1421 As far as I understand, in a normal Linux install they simply use UUID of the disk to determine the order (though predictability is still low since if any device isn’t working properly, any following devices will take up preceding values)

eg

3 disks
/dev/sda
/dev/sdb
/dev/sdc

disk /dev/sdb fails to load properly.

/dev/sda
/dev/sdb (was /dev/sdc previously!)

Since no such data is ever stored on FOS, it’s basically a race between the devices and whoever wins is the one on top.

[Quazz]

@george1421 Created an issue over at github

https://github.com/FOGProject/fos/issues/27

This one will need some consideration I think, not really straightforward

[george1421]

@tlehrian Ok I have a few more tasks for you, well kind of.

1. Does this lenovo computer have the latest firmware updates installed
2. Does this lenovo computer’s nvme drives have the latest firmware installed? (you should be able to get disk firmware for this model of computer from the lenovo site)
3. How many times of rebooting did it take to get the drive order to flip? Did you have to do a hard boot to get them to flip or was just a reboot enough?
4. Does this laptop have legacy (bios) mode? If it does, do these drives change order in bios mode?

So right now its not clear in my head if its a hardware, firmware (bios), or linux kernel error.