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Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster

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  Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster rhkramer <rhkramer.s32@gmail.com> - 2020-07-22 04:10 +0200
    Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster Andrew Cater <amacater@gmail.com> - 2020-07-22 13:10 +0200
      Resolved (without understanding ;-) (was: Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster) rhkramer <rhkramer.s32@gmail.com> - 2020-07-22 20:40 +0200
        Re: Resolved (without understanding ;-) (was: Re: Error while trying  to install openssh-server on Buster) Greg Wooledge <wooledg@eeg.ccf.org> - 2020-07-22 21:00 +0200
          Re: Resolved (without understanding ;-) (was: Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster) rhkramer@gmail.com - 2020-07-22 22:30 +0200
        Re: Resolved (without understanding ; -) (was: Re: Error while trying  to install openssh-server on Buster) David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> - 2020-07-22 21:30 +0200
          Re: Resolved (without understanding ; -) (was: Re: Error while  trying to install openssh-server on Buster) <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2020-07-23 10:20 +0200
            Re: Resolved (without understanding ; -) (was: Re: Error while  trying to install openssh-server on Buster) David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> - 2020-07-24 01:50 +0200
              Re: Resolved (without understanding ; -) (was: Re: Error while  trying to install openssh-server on Buster) <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2020-07-24 11:00 +0200
                Re: Resolved (without understanding ; -) (was: Re: Error while  trying to install openssh-server on Buster) Andrei POPESCU <andreimpopescu@gmail.com> - 2020-07-24 11:10 +0200
                  Antipatterns and Handcuffs [was: Re: Resolved (without understanding  ...] <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2020-07-24 11:30 +0200
    Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster Greg Wooledge <wooledg@eeg.ccf.org> - 2020-07-22 13:40 +0200
      Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster Jonathan Dowland <jon+debian-user@dow.land> - 2020-07-22 17:30 +0200
        Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster Andrei POPESCU <andreimpopescu@gmail.com> - 2020-07-23 12:30 +0200
          slashes in filenames [was Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server  on Buster] The Wanderer <wanderer@fastmail.fm> - 2020-07-24 01:20 +0200
            Re: slashes in filenames [was Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster] Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca> - 2020-07-24 01:30 +0200
            Re: slashes in filenames [was Re: Error while trying to install  openssh-server on Buster] Greg Wooledge <wooledg@eeg.ccf.org> - 2020-07-24 13:50 +0200
              Re: slashes in filenames [was Re: Error while trying to install  openssh-server on Buster] Greg Wooledge <wooledg@eeg.ccf.org> - 2020-07-24 14:00 +0200
                Re: slashes in filenames [was Re: Error while trying to install  openssh-server on Buster] <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2020-07-24 15:30 +0200
                  Re: slashes in filenames [was Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server  on Buster] The Wanderer <wanderer@fastmail.fm> - 2020-07-24 15:50 +0200
                    Re: slashes in filenames [was Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server  on Buster] The Wanderer <wanderer@fastmail.fm> - 2020-07-24 16:00 +0200
                      Re: slashes in filenames [was Re: Error while trying to install  openssh-server on Buster] <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2020-07-24 16:10 +0200
                    Re: slashes in filenames [was Re: Error while trying to install  openssh-server on Buster] <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2020-07-24 16:00 +0200
                    Re: slashes in filenames [was Re: Error while trying to install  openssh-server on Buster] Michael Stone <mstone@debian.org> - 2020-07-24 16:00 +0200
                    Re: slashes in filenames [was Re: Error while trying to install  openssh-server on Buster] Greg Wooledge <wooledg@eeg.ccf.org> - 2020-07-24 16:00 +0200
                      Re: slashes in filenames [was Re: Error while trying to install  openssh-server on Buster] <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2020-07-24 16:10 +0200
              Re: slashes in filenames [was Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server  on Buster] The Wanderer <wanderer@fastmail.fm> - 2020-07-24 14:00 +0200
          Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster Jonathan Dowland <jon+debian-user@dow.land> - 2020-07-24 16:10 +0200
            Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster Andrei POPESCU <andreimpopescu@gmail.com> - 2020-07-24 16:20 +0200
              Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2020-07-24 18:00 +0200
                Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster Andrei POPESCU <andreimpopescu@gmail.com> - 2020-07-24 20:50 +0200
                  Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster Greg Wooledge <wooledg@eeg.ccf.org> - 2020-07-24 21:20 +0200
                  Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2020-07-25 11:40 +0200
      Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster Anssi Saari <as@sci.fi> - 2020-07-22 20:50 +0200

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#225116 — Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster

I get this error when trying to apt-get install openssh-server on my (up to 
date) Buster system:

Error: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.systemd1.UnitMasked: Unit -.mount is 
masked.

I tried (based on the reference below):

root@s32:/# systemctl unmask org.freedesktop.systemd1.UnitMasked
Unit org.freedesktop.systemd1.UnitMasked.service does not exist, proceeding 
anyway.

I don't really have a clue.  One googled page suggests 

<quote>
Situation

Checking the status of a service shows it is masked.

Running systemctl unmask <unit file> doesn't change the status.


Resolution
The systemd unit file is empty.  Replace it in /usr/lib/systemd/system by 
reinstalling the package in which the unit file was contained.
</quote>

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#225122

[Multipart message — attachments visible in raw view] — view raw

It should "just work" - if you can "ssh localhost" - the server is running.

Hope this helps

Andy C

On Wed, Jul 22, 2020 at 2:06 AM rhkramer <rhkramer.s32@gmail.com> wrote:

> I get this error when trying to apt-get install openssh-server on my (up
> to
> date) Buster system:
>
> Error: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.systemd1.UnitMasked: Unit -.mount is
> masked.
>
> I tried (based on the reference below):
>
> root@s32:/# systemctl unmask org.freedesktop.systemd1.UnitMasked
> Unit org.freedesktop.systemd1.UnitMasked.service does not exist,
> proceeding
> anyway.
>
> I don't really have a clue.  One googled page suggests
>
> <quote>
> Situation
>
> Checking the status of a service shows it is masked.
>
> Running systemctl unmask <unit file> doesn't change the status.
>
>
> Resolution
> The systemd unit file is empty.  Replace it in /usr/lib/systemd/system by
> reinstalling the package in which the unit file was contained.
> </quote>
>
>
>
>

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#225130 — Resolved (without understanding ;-) (was: Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster)

On Wednesday, July 22, 2020 7:08:40 AM EDT Andrew Cater wrote:
> It should "just work" - if you can "ssh localhost" - the server is running.

Thanks for the reply.  The problem is solved, and I'll mention the solution 
here with maybe more details in replies to Greg Wooledge and/or  Jonathan 
Dowland.  

The basic solution involved stopping gparted (I don't know why, but google 
found a page that described the same problem I had and the page said it 
occurred with gparted running and went away with gparted stopped.

Anyway, what I wanted to say here is that it did not "just work" while I had 
that _.mount error, but I probably should have quoted a little more of the 
output from apt-get install before I stopped gparted.  Here it is

<quote>
Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/ssh.service → /
lib/systemd/system/ssh.service.
rescue-ssh.target is a disabled or a static unit, not starting it.
Failed to start ssh.service: Unit -.mount is masked.
invoke-rc.d: initscript ssh, action "start" failed.
● ssh.service - OpenBSD Secure Shell server
   Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/ssh.service; enabled; vendor preset: 
enabled)
   Active: inactive (dead)
     Docs: man:sshd(8)
           man:sshd_config(5)
dpkg: error processing package openssh-server (--configure):
 installed openssh-server package post-installation script subprocess returned 
error exit status 1
Processing triggers for man-db (2.8.5-2) ...
Processing triggers for systemd (241-7~deb10u4) ...
Errors were encountered while processing:
 openssh-server
Error: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.systemd1.UnitMasked: Unit -.mount is 
masked.
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)
</quote>

After shutting down gparted, I ran apt-get install openssh-server again, and 
did not get the message about _.mount being masked, and openssh-server is now 
running.  (With a slight problem which I'll look into (I can't ssh in as root 
-- but I assume I can find that problem -- I suspect something is preventing 
remote logins by root -- I know I've seen an option or such to do that, so I 
think I just have to find it again).)

Hmm, I wrote enough here that I might as well try to finish the story, with 
what I might have written to Greg and/or Johnathan, which is basically the 
following:

It's peachy that the problem is gone, but I really don't understand anything 
about what the problem was or why shutting down gparted solved it.

I may (or may not) spend a little time digging into it (starting with finding 
out what a unit is in systemd, and does that somehow relate to a mount point, 
maybe in root, or if not, what specifically does -.mount refer to, and why it 
has to use a - (in fact, a double -) instead of a /).  And I will rant, just a 
little bit ;-)

Slight rant (something to ignore): I mean, it is frustrating that I now have 
to learn something new to do the same things I used to be able to do without 
learning that new thing.  (The new thing being systemd.  I might consider 
switching to a distro that does not use systemd, but I suppose that is just 
burying my head in the sand.)





> 
> On Wed, Jul 22, 2020 at 2:06 AM rhkramer <rhkramer.s32@gmail.com> wrote:
> > I get this error when trying to apt-get install openssh-server on my (up
> > to
> > date) Buster system:
> > 
> > Error: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.systemd1.UnitMasked: Unit -.mount is
> > masked.
> > 
> > I tried (based on the reference below):
> > 
> > root@s32:/# systemctl unmask org.freedesktop.systemd1.UnitMasked
> > Unit org.freedesktop.systemd1.UnitMasked.service does not exist,
> > proceeding
> > anyway.
> > 
> > I don't really have a clue.  One googled page suggests
> > 
> > <quote>
> > Situation
> > 
> > Checking the status of a service shows it is masked.
> > 
> > Running systemctl unmask <unit file> doesn't change the status.
> > 
> > 
> > Resolution
> > The systemd unit file is empty.  Replace it in /usr/lib/systemd/system by
> > reinstalling the package in which the unit file was contained.
> > </quote>

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#225132 — Re: Resolved (without understanding ;-) (was: Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster)

On Wed, Jul 22, 2020 at 02:23:48PM -0400, rhkramer wrote:
> The basic solution involved stopping gparted (I don't know why, but google 
> found a page that described the same problem I had and the page said it 
> occurred with gparted running and went away with gparted stopped.

Fascinating.

<http://bugs.debian.org/948739> was my first Google result when I looked
for the key words from your explanation.

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#225140 — Re: Resolved (without understanding ;-) (was: Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster)

On Wednesday, July 22, 2020 02:54:27 PM Greg Wooledge wrote:
> On Wed, Jul 22, 2020 at 02:23:48PM -0400, rhkramer wrote:
> > The basic solution involved stopping gparted (I don't know why, but
> > google found a page that described the same problem I had and the page
> > said it occurred with gparted running and went away with gparted
> > stopped.
> 
> Fascinating.
> 
> <http://bugs.debian.org/948739> was my first Google result when I looked
> for the key words from your explanation.

Thanks, yes, fascinating -- my googling turned up a different link, without as 
much discussion / explanation.

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#225136 — Re: Resolved (without understanding ; -) (was: Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster)

On Wed 22 Jul 2020 at 14:23:48 (-0400), rhkramer wrote:
> On Wednesday, July 22, 2020 7:08:40 AM EDT Andrew Cater wrote:
> > It should "just work" - if you can "ssh localhost" - the server is running.
> 
> Thanks for the reply.  The problem is solved, and I'll mention the solution 
> here with maybe more details in replies to Greg Wooledge and/or  Jonathan 
> Dowland.  
> 
> The basic solution involved stopping gparted (I don't know why, but google 
> found a page that described the same problem I had and the page said it 
> occurred with gparted running and went away with gparted stopped.

AIUI gparted locks up the disks when you run it. Perhaps it's
something to do with its ability to move and resize partitions.
I certainly wouldn't try to carry out other administration tasks
while I was running a partitioner, particular one that doesn't focus
on a particular device.

> Anyway, what I wanted to say here is that it did not "just work" while I had 
> that _.mount error, but I probably should have quoted a little more of the 
> output from apt-get install before I stopped gparted.

Yes. Obviously.

> Here it is
> 
> <quote>
> Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/ssh.service → /
> lib/systemd/system/ssh.service.
> rescue-ssh.target is a disabled or a static unit, not starting it.
> Failed to start ssh.service: Unit -.mount is masked.
> invoke-rc.d: initscript ssh, action "start" failed.
> ● ssh.service - OpenBSD Secure Shell server
>    Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/ssh.service; enabled; vendor preset: 
> enabled)
>    Active: inactive (dead)
>      Docs: man:sshd(8)
>            man:sshd_config(5)
> dpkg: error processing package openssh-server (--configure):
>  installed openssh-server package post-installation script subprocess returned 
> error exit status 1
> Processing triggers for man-db (2.8.5-2) ...
> Processing triggers for systemd (241-7~deb10u4) ...
> Errors were encountered while processing:
>  openssh-server
> Error: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.systemd1.UnitMasked: Unit -.mount is 
> masked.
> E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)
> </quote>
> 
> After shutting down gparted, I ran apt-get install openssh-server again, and 
> did not get the message about _.mount being masked, and openssh-server is now 
> running.  (With a slight problem which I'll look into (I can't ssh in as root 
> -- but I assume I can find that problem -- I suspect something is preventing 
> remote logins by root -- I know I've seen an option or such to do that, so I 
> think I just have to find it again).)
> 
> Hmm, I wrote enough here that I might as well try to finish the story, with 
> what I might have written to Greg and/or Johnathan, which is basically the 
> following:
> 
> It's peachy that the problem is gone, but I really don't understand anything 
> about what the problem was or why shutting down gparted solved it.
> 
> I may (or may not) spend a little time digging into it (starting with finding 
> out what a unit is in systemd, and does that somehow relate to a mount point, 
> maybe in root, or if not, what specifically does -.mount refer to, and why it 
> has to use a - (in fact, a double -) instead of a /).  And I will rant, just a 
> little bit ;-)
> 
> Slight rant (something to ignore): I mean, it is frustrating that I now have 
> to learn something new to do the same things I used to be able to do without 
> learning that new thing.  (The new thing being systemd.  I might consider 
> switching to a distro that does not use systemd, but I suppose that is just 
> burying my head in the sand.)

Yes, normally you can't login as root remotely. The usual way round
this is to exchange ssh keys so you can use passwordless login.
How you exchange said keys is left as an exercise to think about
for a while.

> > On Wed, Jul 22, 2020 at 2:06 AM rhkramer <rhkramer.s32@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > I get this error when trying to apt-get install openssh-server on my (up
> > > to
> > > date) Buster system:
> > > 
> > > Error: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.systemd1.UnitMasked: Unit -.mount is
> > > masked.
> > > 
> > > I tried (based on the reference below):
> > > 
> > > root@s32:/# systemctl unmask org.freedesktop.systemd1.UnitMasked
> > > Unit org.freedesktop.systemd1.UnitMasked.service does not exist,
> > > proceeding
> > > anyway.
> > > 
> > > I don't really have a clue.  One googled page suggests
> > > 
> > > <quote>
> > > Situation
> > > 
> > > Checking the status of a service shows it is masked.
> > > 
> > > Running systemctl unmask <unit file> doesn't change the status.
> > > 
> > > 
> > > Resolution
> > > The systemd unit file is empty.  Replace it in /usr/lib/systemd/system by
> > > reinstalling the package in which the unit file was contained.
> > > </quote>

Cheers,
David.

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#225160 — Re: Resolved (without understanding ; -) (was: Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster)

[Multipart message — attachments visible in raw view] — view raw

On Wed, Jul 22, 2020 at 02:22:32PM -0500, David Wright wrote:
> On Wed 22 Jul 2020 at 14:23:48 (-0400), rhkramer wrote:

[...]

> > The basic solution involved stopping gparted [...]

> AIUI gparted locks up the disks when you run it [...]

Whatever "locking up the disks" means, in this context.

Not criticising you, don't get me wrong. Just pointing out what
kind of Rube Goldbergian dystopia we are heading to. There are
many layers involved, and each one has a different notion of
what a "disk" is and what "locking up" means. Under some moon
phases, some of the layers mix.

Hours of fun :-)

Cheers
-- t

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#225171 — Re: Resolved (without understanding ; -) (was: Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster)

On Thu 23 Jul 2020 at 10:12:09 (+0200), tomas@tuxteam.de wrote:
> On Wed, Jul 22, 2020 at 02:22:32PM -0500, David Wright wrote:
> > On Wed 22 Jul 2020 at 14:23:48 (-0400), rhkramer wrote:
> 
> [...]
> 
> > > The basic solution involved stopping gparted [...]
> 
> > AIUI gparted locks up the disks when you run it [...]
> 
> Whatever "locking up the disks" means, in this context.
> 
> Not criticising you, don't get me wrong. Just pointing out what
> kind of Rube Goldbergian dystopia we are heading to. There are
> many layers involved, and each one has a different notion of
> what a "disk" is and what "locking up" means. Under some moon
> phases, some of the layers mix.
> 
> Hours of fun :-)

Sure, I agree. But they're hours I don't really have. That's one
reason why I don't run a DE: I just don't understand what's going on
behind my back, and I don't enjoy that.

To start at the beginning; I looked up   man gparted   (it's installed,
but I don't use it) and saw that, unlike {f,g}disk, the device argument
is optional. I assumed that it would be unset when the program is run
from an icon. And assuming the OP was still running, IIRC, KDE, I put
two and two together.

Further down the page, it says "You can help to reduce the risk of
data loss by not mounting or unmounting partitions outside of the
gparted application while gparted is running." I assumed that KDE
might take it upon itself to prevent that happening.

I then searched for "lock" in gparted's Changes file. It mentions
that hal-lock is now used instead of fdi-policy. So I looked up
man hal-lock   and it says "hal-lock can be used to acquire a lock
on a given interface either on a given device or globally." So that
gave a mechanism.

I don't think it's a bad idea: it seems better to have people posting
"Where's my stick?" when their newly plugged-in USB stick fails to get
automounted, rather than "Where's the partition with all my data on it?"
But I prefer, as a sysadmin, to take such responsibilities on myself.

I did wonder about  apt-get install  and mount, but as I don't have
anything to install at the moment, I left on the side. Perhaps I'll
wrap the command in strace next time I use it.

Of course, you can always read my "AIUI" to mean I don't understand it
very well.

Cheers,
David.

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#225179 — Re: Resolved (without understanding ; -) (was: Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster)

[Multipart message — attachments visible in raw view] — view raw

On Thu, Jul 23, 2020 at 06:48:10PM -0500, David Wright wrote:
> On Thu 23 Jul 2020 at 10:12:09 (+0200), tomas@tuxteam.de wrote:

[...]

> > Hours of fun :-)
> 
> Sure, I agree. But they're hours I don't really have. That's one
> reason why I don't run a DE: I just don't understand what's going on
> behind my back, and I don't enjoy that.

Same here. Actually, even the DBus daemon is banned from my box,
which, as a (welcome) side effect keeps miscellaneous other stuff
at a safe distance ;-)

> To start at the beginning; I looked up [...]

Good analysis.

> I don't think it's a bad idea: it seems better to have people posting
> "Where's my stick?" when their newly plugged-in USB stick fails to get
> automounted, rather than "Where's the partition with all my data on it?"

Definitely, yes.

What miffs me most about those DEs is, that they fall into that antipattern
of "reinventing the world" instead of trying the slower path and negotiate
with what's there. Kind of xkcd 927 over and over again.

It's as if they were copying the disruptive antipatterns of proprietary
software companies. But we don't need those antipatterns in the free
software context, do we?

Cheers
-- t

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#225180 — Re: Resolved (without understanding ; -) (was: Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster)

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On Vi, 24 iul 20, 10:58:24, tomas@tuxteam.de wrote:
> 
> It's as if they were copying the disruptive antipatterns of proprietary
> software companies. But we don't need those antipatterns in the free
> software context, do we?

One person's bug is another's feature.

Kind regards,
Andrei
-- 
http://wiki.debian.org/FAQsFromDebianUser

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#225182 — Antipatterns and Handcuffs [was: Re: Resolved (without understanding ...]

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On Fri, Jul 24, 2020 at 12:01:21PM +0300, Andrei POPESCU wrote:
> On Vi, 24 iul 20, 10:58:24, tomas@tuxteam.de wrote:
> > 
> > It's as if they were copying the disruptive antipatterns of proprietary
> > software companies. But we don't need those antipatterns in the free
> > software context, do we?
> 
> One person's bug is another's feature.

It took me a while to understand. Until I got it, I think.

I think was too cryptic. I wasn't talking about antipatterns in the
UI design (although in a way, they are part of it) but about a more
abstract level: building on a "lower layer" (say, file system abstraction,
for example) and, when something seems missing, slap some quick design
on top (to continue the example: gvfs, for the Gnome case). Either
it sticks, then continue Rube-Goldberging on top of it, or it doesn't,
then leave it, moribund, on the wayside, along with the poor sods who
dared to make use of it [1].

In a commercial context, where a captive user base is the main goal,
it makes sense to establish a "mind frame" through which your users
see the world. Your competitors will have to copy you, because their
potential customers, having been primed by you, will expect the same
treatment there, chains and handcuffs included.

This is the kind of antipattern I was referring to.

Cheers

[1] Who of you is using the Gnome emblems and other "file metadata"?
   Have you ever tried migrating one disk with that stuff?
   I've got a couple of quick-n-dirty Perl+C thingies for my main
   customer for that case. I *definitely know* why I steer clear
   of that stuff myself!

-- t

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#225123

On Tue, Jul 21, 2020 at 09:48:22PM -0400, rhkramer wrote:
> I get this error when trying to apt-get install openssh-server on my (up to 
> date) Buster system:
> 
> Error: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.systemd1.UnitMasked: Unit -.mount is 
> masked.
> 
> I tried (based on the reference below):
> 
> root@s32:/# systemctl unmask org.freedesktop.systemd1.UnitMasked
> Unit org.freedesktop.systemd1.UnitMasked.service does not exist, proceeding 
> anyway.

Read the error again.  It's saying that the unit "-.mount" is masked.


unicorn:~$ systemctl status -.mount
systemctl: invalid option -- '.'
Hint: to specify units starting with a dash, use "--":
      systemctl [OPTIONS...] {COMMAND} -- -.mount ...
unicorn:~$ systemctl status -- -.mount
● -.mount - /
   Loaded: loaded (/etc/fstab; generated)
   Active: active (mounted) since Sun 2020-07-19 22:05:16 EDT; 2 days ago
    Where: /
     What: /dev/sda7
     Docs: man:fstab(5)
           man:systemd-fstab-generator(8)


Apparently this unit refers to the root file system.  I have no idea
why it's masked for you, but that's where I'd start looking.

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#225129

On Wed, Jul 22, 2020 at 07:38:54AM -0400, Greg Wooledge wrote:
>Apparently this unit refers to the root file system.  I have no idea
>why it's masked for you, but that's where I'd start looking.

Yes. Unfortunately Systemd decided to forbid '/' in unit names, and also
to map all mounts to units. '/' gets remapped to '-', which is otherwise
forbidden. You therefore end up with abominations like this,

    /dev/disk/by-uuid/e0eed9b6-03f1-41ed-80a4-c7cc4ff013c3 =>
    dev-disk-by\x2duuid-e0eed9b6\x2d03f1\x2d41ed\x2d80a4\x2dc7cc4ff013c3.device


-- 
Please do not CC me, I am subscribed to the list.

👱🏻	Jonathan Dowland
✎	 jmtd@debian.org
🔗	https://jmtd.net

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#225162

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On Mi, 22 iul 20, 16:26:24, Jonathan Dowland wrote:
> On Wed, Jul 22, 2020 at 07:38:54AM -0400, Greg Wooledge wrote:
> > Apparently this unit refers to the root file system.  I have no idea
> > why it's masked for you, but that's where I'd start looking.
> 
> Yes. Unfortunately Systemd decided to forbid '/' in unit names,

Seriously? Could you please show me how would I create a file on *nix 
containing '/' in the name?

> and also to map all mounts to units.

What's wrong with that?

> '/' gets remapped to '-', which is otherwise
> forbidden.

Using '-' to mean '/' allows mount units to have friendly names like 
media-data.mount (the mount unit must be named according to the mount 
point).

> You therefore end up with abominations like this,
> 
>    /dev/disk/by-uuid/e0eed9b6-03f1-41ed-80a4-c7cc4ff013c3 =>
>    dev-disk-by\x2duuid-e0eed9b6\x2d03f1\x2d41ed\x2d80a4\x2dc7cc4ff013c3.device

I will argue that UUIDs are not really meant for human consumption 
anyway, so the damage done is reduced. There is also 'systemd-escape' to 
help with conversions.

Kind regards,
Andrei
-- 
http://wiki.debian.org/FAQsFromDebianUser

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#225169 — slashes in filenames [was Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster]

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On 2020-07-23 at 06:26, Andrei POPESCU wrote:

> On Mi, 22 iul 20, 16:26:24, Jonathan Dowland wrote:
> 
>> On Wed, Jul 22, 2020 at 07:38:54AM -0400, Greg Wooledge wrote:
>> 
>>> Apparently this unit refers to the root file system.  I have no
>>> idea why it's masked for you, but that's where I'd start
>>> looking.
>> 
>> Yes. Unfortunately Systemd decided to forbid '/' in unit names,
> 
> Seriously? Could you please show me how would I create a file on *nix
> containing '/' in the name?

It's theoretically possible, but AFAIK basically nothing would support
it or work properly with it.

The only ways I can think of to do it that I wouldn't expect to be
prohibited by the intermediary layers involved (such as the C standard
library) would be A: direct file I/O not involving a library (which I'd
guess would probably need to be written in architecture-specific ASM),
and B: opening the device underlying the filesystem in a hex editor or
similar and modifying the stored data in the inode.

The latter is relatively straightforward to do with a tiny filesystem
which is backed not by a physical device but by a file created for the
purpose, and in fact I've just done it:

$ dd if=/dev/zero of=/tmp/testfs bs=1K count=100
$ /sbin/mke2fs /tmp/testfs
[as root:] mount -o loop /tmp/testfs /mnt/loop/
[as root:] touch /mnt/loop/filename-without-slashes
[as root:] umount /mnt/loop/
$ vbindiff /tmp/testfs
 f
 t
 slash
 [left arrow]
 e
 [right arrow]
 f
 [Enter]
 [Esc]
 y
 q
[as root:] mount -o loop /tmp/testfs /mnt/loop/
$ ls /mnt/loop/

(Commands paraphrased slightly, but the effect should be identical,
barring typos on my part. I've made no effort to identify any checksums,
hashes, or other validity data that may exist, never mind update them.)

The result, unsurprisingly enough, is:

ls: reading directory '/mnt/loop/': Input/output error

because neither ls nor basically anything in the stack it sits on
supports this, at least not with an ext2 filesystem.


In principle it would be possible to design the underlying parts of the
system to apply escaping to slashes in filenames, and require escaping
to be applied in order to reference files with such. But apparently this
has never been done, and I have a vague impression that it might be
prohibited by some relevant spec (and, probably, RFC) or another.


All of that said: the only reason I can see for any of this to be
relevant to systemd's prohibiting / in unit names is if systemd is
designed so that there must be a file whose name matches that of the
unit, without variations. There are reasons to make that design
decision, but it's not an inherent requirement, so this can from a
certain perspective be seen as the result of a design decision on the
part of the systemd project.

-- 
   The Wanderer

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all
progress depends on the unreasonable man.         -- George Bernard Shaw

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#225170 — Re: slashes in filenames [was Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster]

>>> Yes. Unfortunately Systemd decided to forbid '/' in unit names,

You can probably work around that by using '⁄', for example ;-)


        Stefan

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#225184 — Re: slashes in filenames [was Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster]

On Thu, Jul 23, 2020 at 07:16:06PM -0400, The Wanderer wrote:
> On 2020-07-23 at 06:26, Andrei POPESCU wrote:
> > Seriously? Could you please show me how would I create a file on *nix
> > containing '/' in the name?
> 
> It's theoretically possible, but AFAIK basically nothing would support
> it or work properly with it.
> 
> The only ways I can think of to do it that I wouldn't expect to be
> prohibited by the intermediary layers involved (such as the C standard
> library) would be A: direct file I/O not involving a library (which I'd
> guess would probably need to be written in architecture-specific ASM),
> and B: opening the device underlying the filesystem in a hex editor or
> similar and modifying the stored data in the inode.

The main way that one gets a filename containing a '/' character in
real life is by discovering a bug somewhere.

I've personally seen it once, on an old HP-UX system that was acting
as an NFS server for some Mac clients (long before Mac OS X).  Apparently
the NFS server allowed the clients to create filenames with slashes in
them, since that's legal on Mac OS 9 and earlier.  Once such a file was
created on the server, you couldn't do *anything* to it.  You couldn't
delete it, or rename it, or open it.  The only thing you could do was
move out all of the other files in the same directory, then rename the
directory that it's in to something like "xxx_radioactive_waste".  Then
recreate the original directory, and move all the other files back into
it.

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#225185 — Re: slashes in filenames [was Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster]

On Fri, Jul 24, 2020 at 07:49:26AM -0400, The Wanderer wrote:
> Sounds like a case where directly editing the underlying device, to
> modify inode-or-equivalent contents such that the slash is no longer
> there, might even be *advisable*.

Yeah, some sort of direct hex-edit on the unmounted file system's
device might be the only way to rename the file.  But I was not going
to attempt that, back then... I was just a consultant, not even an
employee.  And I wouldn't have known where to look for a disk-hex-editor
for HP-UX 9 or whatever it was at the time.  There certainly wouldn't
have been one included with the OS.

Not to mention, you'd have to take the file system offline, and since it's
a shared NFS file system, that means potentially a *lot* of work being
disrupted.

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#225187 — Re: slashes in filenames [was Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster]

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On Fri, Jul 24, 2020 at 07:54:27AM -0400, Greg Wooledge wrote:
> On Fri, Jul 24, 2020 at 07:49:26AM -0400, The Wanderer wrote:
> > Sounds like a case where directly editing the underlying device, to
> > modify inode-or-equivalent contents such that the slash is no longer
           ^^^^^

Nitpick: the directory entry is the one carrying the name.

> > there, might even be *advisable*.
> 
> Yeah, some sort of direct hex-edit on the unmounted file system's
> device might be the only way to rename the file.

If you have ext<n> (for n>=2), you're lucky (actually, aren't we all,
with so many high-quality file systems to choose from?).

The file system check utility seems to take care of it (at least, the
source code [1] suggests that).

Cheers
[1] https://sources.debian.org/src/e2fsprogs/1.45.6-1/e2fsck/pass2.c/?hl=494:503#L494
-- t

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#225189 — Re: slashes in filenames [was Re: Error while trying to install openssh-server on Buster]

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On 2020-07-24 at 09:22, tomas@tuxteam.de wrote:

> On Fri, Jul 24, 2020 at 07:54:27AM -0400, Greg Wooledge wrote:
> 
>> On Fri, Jul 24, 2020 at 07:49:26AM -0400, The Wanderer wrote:
>> 
>>> Sounds like a case where directly editing the underlying device,
>>> to modify inode-or-equivalent contents such that the slash is no
>>> longer
>             ^^^^^
> Nitpick: the directory entry is the one carrying the name.

I had the impression that even a directory is stored in/as something
that is at least analogous to an inode. Is there a different term that's
more appropriate for the on-disk structure which holds a directory, vs.
'inode' for the one that holds a file?

>>> there, might even be *advisable*.
>> 
>> Yeah, some sort of direct hex-edit on the unmounted file system's 
>> device might be the only way to rename the file.
> 
> If you have ext<n> (for n>=2), you're lucky (actually, aren't we
> all, with so many high-quality file systems to choose from?).
> 
> The file system check utility seems to take care of it (at least,
> the source code [1] suggests that).

> [1] https://sources.debian.org/src/e2fsprogs/1.45.6-1/e2fsck/pass2.c/?hl=494:503#L494

It does seem to suggest that, but when I run

$ /sbin/e2fsck /tmp/testfs

on the tiny filesystem created as in my previous mail, it doesn't report
finding any problems and seem to change anything.

-- 
   The Wanderer

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all
progress depends on the unreasonable man.         -- George Bernard Shaw

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