Ubuntu

ubuntu-23.10-preinstalled-server-arm64+raspi.img contains pre-seeded machine-id

Asked by @AT

Ubuntu mantic-server-daily and 23.10 server Raspberry Pi preinstalled image has some issue that breaks some deployments. Image contains pre-seeded "/etc/machine-id" and /var/lib/dbus/machine-id files. This means all instances deployed from this image will have the same machine-id and all randomly generated attributes based on machine-id.
Related to https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man5/machine-id.5.html, machine-id file must be empty, or contain string "uninitialized" at first boot to generate unique machine-id, or /etc/machine-id should be empty in case of network boot.

In my case, all systems deployed using 23.10 image generate the same MAC addresses for network bridges with the same names, making them inaccessible due to MAC address conflicts.

I suggest to update image building process to seed /etc/machine-id file with "uninitialized\n" string and remove /var/lib/dbus/machine-id from the image.

P.S.
ubuntu-22.04.3-preinstalled-server-arm64+raspi.img has /etc/machine-id file with empty content.

Question information

Language:
English Edit question
Status:
Answered
For:
Ubuntu Edit question
Assignee:
No assignee Edit question
Last query:
Last reply:
Revision history for this message
vin partyrentals (vinpartyrentals) said : 		#1

The "ubuntu-23.10-preinstalled-server-arm64+raspi.img" file you mentioned is an installation image for the Ubuntu Server 23.10 release designed for Raspberry Pi. The presence of a pre-seeded machine-id means that the image includes a specific machine identifier.

The machine-id is a unique identifier for a particular installation or instance of an operating system. It is typically generated during the initial setup of an OS and is used to help distinguish one system from another.

Having a pre-seeded machine-id in the image can be useful for a couple of reasons:

Consistency: It ensures that each system created from the same image will have a unique machine identifier. This can help avoid conflicts and confusion when managing multiple instances.

Predictability: When you create new instances from the image, you can expect the machine-id to be consistent, making it easier to manage and identify those instances.

If you have specific use cases or concerns related to the machine-id, it's a good practice to change it if needed when deploying new instances. You can do this manually after the installation or use configuration management tools to automate the process, ensuring that each system gets a unique identifier as required for your setup.
for mor informatin:
https://www.vinpartyrentals.com

Revision history for this message
Manfred Hampl (m-hampl) said : 		#2

1. Ignore comment #1. That is spam.

2. As far as I know, the daily images are not meant to serve as the basis of a wide-scale deployment.
In any case, I suggest that you create a bug report, I assume that https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu-cdimage/+filebug is the best address for doing that.

Revision history for this message
@AT (tregubovav-dev) said : 		#3

Thank you Manfred for your comment.
Bug #2039364 created.

Can you help with this problem?

Provide an answer of your own, or ask @AT for more information if necessary.

To post a message you must log in.