Why did firmware upgrade break extroot with pivot-overlay?

benthenchelys

My power dock arrived today (yay!) so I plugged in and powered up. When I logged into the web admin I noticed there was a new firmware update available. So I upgraded.

The last time I SSH'd into the Omega, I configured extroot with pivot-overlay as per this article: https://wiki.onion.io/Tutorials/Using-USB-Storage-as-Rootfs but when I logged in after the firmware update, the overlay is not auto-mounted.

According to https://wiki.onion.io/Tutorials/Updating-the-Omega (emphasis mine):

"Upgrading the firmware will delete/overwrite all of the files that are not in /etc or /usr"

So, why have my changes to /etc/config/fstab been lost? After firmware upgrade:

config 'global'
	option	anon_swap	'0'
	option	anon_mount	'0'
	option	auto_swap	'1'
	option	auto_mount	'1'
	option	delay_root	'5'
	option	check_fs	'0'

whereas block detect returns:

config 'global'
	option	anon_swap	'0'
	option	anon_mount	'0'
	option	auto_swap	'1'
	option	auto_mount	'1'
	option	delay_root	'5'
	option	check_fs	'0'

config 'mount'
	option	target	'/mnt/sda1'
	option	uuid	'0679c6db-1e8f-473c-93f2-8e82c871bac8'
	option	enabled	'0'

I distinctly remember overwriting fstab, and making the necessary changes to target and enabled

So, did I do something dumb, or is this expected behaviour? Where is it safe to create files that won't be lost after an upgrade. Seems /etc is not entirely safe...

On a happier note, I love the power dock - can finally play with my expansions!
Sadly, I also snapped the power button off the mini-dock when I unplugged

Lazar Demin

@benthenchelys Yes, unfortunately, performing a firmware upgrade will undo pivot overlay. You will have to redo the procedure after the firmware upgrade.

So, when running the OS from the Omega's built-in flash storage, changes made in /etc and /root will be preserved. However, when you are running the OS from the USB (using pivot-overlay/pivot-root), the firmware upgrade process isn't smart enough to check if changes have been made to /etc/ and /root on the USB drive, so it will basically install a fresh firmware on the Omega.

Hope the explanation helps.
Expect better storage solutions with the upcoming Omega2!

benthenchelys

Thanks Lazar. Makes sense that the upgrade wouldn't necessarily check folders on the USB.

Will the Omega2 be compatible with existing docks and expansions?

Lazar Demin

@benthenchelys said

Will the Omega2 be compatible with existing docks and expansions?

Absolutely!