Latest revision as of 16:22, 8 December 2021

Relocate RPM/DNF databases to /usr

Summary

Currently, the RPM and DNF databases are located in /var. Let's move them to /usr.

Owner

Name: Chris Murphy
Email: chrismurphy@fedoraproject.org
Name: Michel Alexandre Salim
Email: salimma@fedoraproject.org

Current status

Targeted release: Fedora Linux 36
Last updated: 2021-12-08
FESCo issue: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>
Tracker bug: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>
Release notes tracker: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>

Detailed Description

Current location

/var/lib/rpm 
/var/lib/dnf

New location

/usr/lib/sysimage/rpm 
/usr/lib/sysimage/dnf

Feedback

Benefit to Fedora

The RPM and DNF databases describe the state of (primarily) /usr. Storing these databases in /usr will more easily facilitate OS rollback, without affecting /var.

Helps align Fedora variants with each other
- rpm-ostree based systems (including CoreOS, IoT, Silverblue, Kinoite) already use /usr/lib/sysimage for rpmdb.

Consistency with another RPM-based distro, (open)SUSE has made this change

Scope

Proposal owners:
- changes in rpm and dnf-data packages
  - create the new path instead of old
  - create symlinks for the old path to new path

Other developers:
- changes in SElinux policy

Release engineering: #Releng issue 10441
Policies and guidelines: N/A (not needed for this Change)

Trademark approval: N/A (not needed for this Change)

Alignment with Objectives:

Upgrade/compatibility impact

Change will be applied on upgrades to Fedora 36.

How To Test

Clean install or upgrade an existing Fedora system
Note the changed database paths (new location) and symlinks in the old location
Check that rpm and dnf commands work as expected, e.g.

dnf history  
rpm -qa

User Experience

Users will notice:

symlinks in the old locations for the databases, pointing to the new locations;
paths existing in the new locations.

Otherwise, the change should be invisible to users.

Dependencies

rpm-ostree probably should make /usr/share/rpm a symlink to /usr/lib/sysimage/rpm, rather than the reverse as it is currently.
PackageKit might use inotify on /var/lib/rpm need to check if it does and whether it should be changed or add the additional path

Contingency Plan

Contingency mechanism: Revert the change, try again the next Fedora release.
Contingency deadline: Beta freeze
Blocks release? Yes

Documentation

Release Notes

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{admon/important | Comments and Explanations | The page source contains comments providing guidance to fill out each section. They are invisible when viewing this page. To read it, choose the "view source" link.<br/> '''Copy the source to a ''new page'' before making changes!  DO NOT EDIT THIS TEMPLATE FOR YOUR CHANGE PROPOSAL.'''}}
+= Relocate RPM/DNF databases to /usr =
-{{admon/tip | Guidance | For details on how to fill out this form, see the [https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/program_management/changes_guide/ documentation].}}
-<!-- The actual name of your proposed change page should look something like: Changes/Your_Change_Proposal_Name.  This keeps all change proposals in the same namespace -->
-= Change Proposal Name =
-<!-- The name of your change proposal -->
 == Summary ==
-<!-- A sentence or two summarizing what this change is and what it will do. This information is used for the overall changeset summary page for each release. Note that motivation for the change should be in the Benefit to Fedora section below, and this part should answer the question "What?" rather than "Why?". -->
+Currently, the RPM and DNF databases are located in `/var`. Let's move them to `/usr`.
 == Owner ==
@@ Line 16: / Line 10: @@
 This should link to your home wiki page so we know who you are.
 -->
-* Name: [[User:FASAcountName| Your Name]]
+* Name: [[User:chrismurphy| Chris Murphy]]
 <!-- Include you email address that you can be reached should people want to contact you about helping with your change, status is requested, or technical issues need to be resolved. If the change proposal is owned by a SIG, please also add a primary contact person. -->
-* Email: <your email address so we can contact you, invite you to meetings, etc. Please provide your Bugzilla email address if it is different from your email in FAS>
+* Email: chrismurphy@fedoraproject.org
+* Name: [[User:Salimma|Michel Alexandre Salim]]
+* Email: salimma@fedoraproject.org
 <!--- UNCOMMENT only for Changes with assigned Shepherd (by FESCo)
 * FESCo shepherd: [[User:FASAccountName| Shehperd name]] <email address>
@@ Line 32: / Line 28: @@
 <!-- Select proper category, default is Self Contained Change -->
-[[Category:SelfContainedChange]]
+<!-- [[Category:SelfContainedChange]] -->
-<!-- [[Category:SystemWideChange]] -->
+[[Category:SystemWideChange]]
-* Targeted release: [[Releases/<number> | Fedora Linux <number> ]]
+* Targeted release: [[Releases/36 | Fedora Linux 36 ]]
 * Last updated: <!-- this is an automatic macro — you don't need to change this line -->  {{REVISIONYEAR}}-{{REVISIONMONTH}}-{{REVISIONDAY2}}
 <!-- After the change proposal is accepted by FESCo, tracking bug is created in Bugzilla and linked to this page
@@ Line 48: / Line 44: @@
 == Detailed Description ==
-<!-- Expand on the summary, if appropriate.  A couple sentences suffices to explain the goal, but the more details you can provide the better. -->
+=== Current location ===
+<pre>/var/lib/rpm
+/var/lib/dnf</pre>
+=== New location ===
+<pre>/usr/lib/sysimage/rpm
+/usr/lib/sysimage/dnf</pre>
 == Feedback ==
-<!-- Summarize the feedback from the community and address why you chose not to accept proposed alternatives. This section is optional for all change proposals but is strongly suggested. Incorporating feedback here as it is raised gives FESCo a clearer view of your proposal and leaves a good record for the future. If you get no feedback, that is useful to note in this section as well. For innovative or possibly controversial ideas, consider collecting feedback before you file the change proposal. -->
 == Benefit to Fedora ==
-<!-- What is the benefit to the distribution?  Will the software we generate be improved? How will the process of creating Fedora releases be improved?
-      Be sure to include the following areas if relevant:
-      If this is a major capability update, what has changed?
-           For example: This change introduces Python 5 that runs without the Global Interpreter Lock and is fully multithreaded.
-      If this is a new functionality, what capabilities does it bring?
-           For example: This change allows package upgrades to be performed automatically and rolled-back at will.
-      Does this improve some specific package or set of packages?
-           For example: This change modifies a package to use a different language stack that reduces install size by removing dependencies.
-      Does this improve specific Spins or Editions?
-           For example: This change modifies the default install of Fedora Workstation to be more in line with the base install of Fedora Server.
-      Does this make the distribution more efficient?
-           For example: This change replaces thousands of individual %post scriptlets in packages with one script that runs at the end.
-      Is this an improvement to maintainer processes?
-           For example: Gating Fedora packages on automatic QA tests will make rawhide more stable and allow changes to be implemented more smoothly.
-      Is this an improvement targeted as specific contributors?
-           For example: Ensuring that a minimal set of tools required for contribution to Fedora are installed by default eases the onboarding of new contributors.
-     When a Change has multiple benefits, it's better to list them all.
+* The RPM and DNF databases describe the state of (primarily) `/usr`. Storing these databases in `/usr` will more easily facilitate OS rollback, without affecting `/var`.
-     Consider these Change pages from previous editions as inspiration:
+* Helps align Fedora variants with each other
-     https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/Annobin (low-level and technical, invisible to users)
+** rpm-ostree based systems (including CoreOS, IoT, Silverblue, Kinoite) already use `/usr/lib/sysimage` for rpmdb.
-     https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/ParallelInstallableDebuginfo (low-level, but visible to advanced users)
-     https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/VirtualBox_Guest_Integration (primarily a UX change)
+* Consistency with another RPM-based distro, (open)SUSE has made this change
-     https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/NoMoreAlpha (an improvement to distro processes)
-     https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/perl5.26 (major upgrade to a popular software stack, visible to users of that stack)
--->
 == Scope ==
 * Proposal owners:
+** changes in rpm and dnf-data packages
+*** create the new path instead of old
+*** create symlinks for the old path to new path
 <!-- What work do the feature owners have to accomplish to complete the feature in time for release?  Is it a large change affecting many parts of the distribution or is it a very isolated change? What are those changes?-->
 * Other developers: <!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
 <!-- What work do other developers have to accomplish to complete the feature in time for release?  Is it a large change affecting many parts of the distribution or is it a very isolated change? What are those changes?-->
+** changes in SElinux policy
-* Release engineering: [https://pagure.io/releng/issues #Releng issue number] <!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
+* Release engineering: [https://pagure.io/releng/issue/10441 #Releng issue 10441]
-<!-- Does this feature require coordination with release engineering (e.g. changes to installer image generation or update package delivery)?  Is a mass rebuild required?  include a link to the releng issue.
-The issue is required to be filed prior to feature submission, to ensure that someone is on board to do any process development work and testing and that all changes make it into the pipeline; a bullet point in a change is not sufficient communication -->
 * Policies and guidelines: N/A (not needed for this Change) <!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
 <!-- Do the packaging guidelines or other documents need to be updated for this feature?  If so, does it need to happen before or after the implementation is done?  If a FPC ticket exists, add a link here. Please submit a pull request with the proposed changes before submitting your Change proposal. -->
@@ Line 99: / Line 83: @@
 <!-- If your Change may require trademark approval (for example, if it is a new Spin), file a ticket ( https://pagure.io/Fedora-Council/tickets/issues ) requesting trademark approval from the Fedora Council. This approval will be done via the Council's consensus-based process. -->
 * Alignment with Objectives:
-<!-- Does your proposal align with the current Fedora Objectives: https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/project/objectives/ ? It's okay if it doesn't, but it's something to consider -->
 == Upgrade/compatibility impact ==
 <!-- What happens to systems that have had a previous versions of Fedora installed and are updated to the version containing this change? Will anything require manual configuration or data migration? Will any existing functionality be no longer supported? -->
+Change will be applied on upgrades to Fedora 36.
 <!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
@@ Line 122: / Line 106: @@
 . What are the expected results of those actions?
 -->
+* Clean install or upgrade an existing Fedora system
+* Note the changed database paths (new location) and symlinks in the old location
+* Check that `rpm` and `dnf` commands work as expected, e.g.
+<pre>dnf history
+rpm -qa</pre>
 <!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
 == User Experience ==
@@ Line 137: / Line 125: @@
   - Green has been scientifically proven to be the most relaxing color. The move to a default background color of green with green text will result in Fedora users being the most relaxed users of any operating system.
 -->
+Users will notice:
+* symlinks in the old locations for the databases, pointing to the new locations;
+* paths existing in the new locations.
+Otherwise, the change should be invisible to users.
 == Dependencies ==
 <!-- What other packages (RPMs) depend on this package?  Are there changes outside the developers' control on which completion of this change depends?  In other words, completion of another change owned by someone else and might cause you to not be able to finish on time or that you would need to coordinate?  Other upstream projects like the kernel (if this is not a kernel change)? -->
+* `rpm-ostree` probably should make `/usr/share/rpm` a symlink to `/usr/lib/sysimage/rpm`, rather than the reverse as it is currently.
+* `PackageKit` might use inotify on `/var/lib/rpm` need to check if it does and whether it should be changed or add the additional path
 <!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
 == Contingency Plan ==
 <!-- If you cannot complete your feature by the final development freeze, what is the backup plan?  This might be as simple as "Revert the shipped configuration".  Or it might not (e.g. rebuilding a number of dependent packages).  If you feature is not completed in time we want to assure others that other parts of Fedora will not be in jeopardy.  -->
-* Contingency mechanism: (What to do?  Who will do it?) N/A (not a System Wide Change)  <!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
+* Contingency mechanism: Revert the change, try again the next Fedora release. <!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
 <!-- When is the last time the contingency mechanism can be put in place?  This will typically be the beta freeze. -->
-* Contingency deadline: N/A (not a System Wide Change)  <!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
+* Contingency deadline: Beta freeze  <!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
 <!-- Does finishing this feature block the release, or can we ship with the feature in incomplete state? -->
-* Blocks release? N/A (not a System Wide Change), Yes/No <!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
+* Blocks release? Yes <!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
 == Documentation ==
@@ Line 158: / Line 152: @@
 <!-- REQUIRED FOR SYSTEM WIDE CHANGES -->
-N/A (not a System Wide Change)
 == Release Notes ==

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