Bug 77988

Summary: rpm-4.1-9 lockup problem found, fix within?
Product: [Retired] Red Hat Linux Reporter: Warren Togami <wtogami>
Component: rpmAssignee: Jeff Johnson <jbj>
Status: CLOSED WORKSFORME QA Contact:
Severity: high Docs Contact:
Priority: high    
Version: 8.0CC: milan.kerslager
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OS: Linux   
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Last Closed: 2002-11-16 21:34:15 UTC Type: ---
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Description Warren Togami 2002-11-16 21:34:08 UTC
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Description of problem:
rpm-4.1-1.06 was initially broken with some race condition that would cause
lockups very often (with and without apt-get.)  Since then rpm-4.1-9 was
released as test packages.  The reports of rpm-4.1-9 locking up may have been
this bug in rpm that Conectiva fixed a few months ago.  Those people who were
using apt-get but aborted left behind __db* files which blocked rpm from working
properly.  Please check out these links:

http://lists.freshrpms.net/pipermail/rpm-list/2002-November/002126.html
http://bugzilla.conectiva.com/show_bug.cgi?id=4823
http://bugzilla.conectiva.com/show_bug.cgi?id=4688

The fix mentioned in the above links have subsequently been tested on Red Hat
and SuSE, although I'm not exactly sure why it works since rpm itself (without
apt-get) leaves behind __db* files after normal use.  Could someone please
explain how this works?

Most of Conectiva's Bugzilla is in Portuguese so I cannot read their solution to
this problem.

Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable):
Red Hat 8.0

How reproducible:
Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Use 3rd party apt-get.
2. CTRL-C abort before it finishes.

Actual Results:  
rpm fails.

Expected Results:  
rpm should be able to handle this situation.

Comment 1 Jeff Johnson 2002-11-16 22:05:33 UTC
The important part of the configuration change
is "private", the rest just (more or less) duplicates
what is compiled/configured by default in rpm.

The effect of "private" is to use an internal, malloc'd
environment, essentially eliminating the possibility
of concurrent access with record locks, running the
(minor but real IMHO) risk of 2 rpmdb writers clobbering
everything.

Hmmm, so all these hangs are coming from apt users. You
might get someone with a clue about Conectiva apt to talk
to me so that a real solution can be figgered.

AFAIAC the "real" solution is to use NPTL on /dev/futex,
almost there.

Comment 2 Milan Kerslager 2003-01-10 22:49:26 UTC
I see many lockups on RH 8.0 system, minimal install, in the class with my
students when trying to heavily install various packages.

Hope NTPL will give it away.

Comment 3 dkaplan 2003-04-17 00:36:17 UTC
This bug continues on Redhat 9.0 with the newest version of apt from freshrpms.
 I have since added the lines to /etc/rpm/macros.  Too early to tell if that helps.

I thought 9.0 was supposed to have the famous NTPL?