11.2RC1 - Error: attempt to write a readonly database

[BigHarddrive]

Just upgraded to 11.2 from 11, the upgrade took eternity and after it was done I am seeing db and python errors (after getting a message that MIDDLEWARED failed to start) during boot-up which makes me very uneasy...

 

[dlavigne]

Looks like the boot device died. Does installing to a fresh boot device and restoring your config resolve the issue?

 

[BigHarddrive]

What is interesting is that these issues occur every second boot.. I will place an order for a new USB stick tomorrow (I hear Patriot Supersonic Rage 2 is a way to go) and make a new boot device and test.

 

[LostInIgnorance]

I'm having the exact same issue, is there an easy way to find out which USB it is as I have them mirrored.

 

[jsalas424]

I did a fresh install of 11.2-U4.1 and am having the "attempt to right read-only" error as well.

Hardware:
Late 2011 13" Macbook Pro
2 x 500GB SATA striped SSD (I replaced the optical drive)
2x8GB ram
2 x Kingston Digital DataTraveler SE9 16GB USB 2.0 - Mirrored boot

In addition it fails to import the ZFS volumes. Middlewared boots normal. The network configuration does not configure properly upon boot and I need to manually configure from console. I was also having intermittent crashing during SFTP transfer of Ubuntu installation iso to the root directory.

 

[dlavigne]

I did a fresh install of 11.2-U4.1 and am having the "attempt to right read-only" error as well.

Hardware:
Late 2011 13" Macbook Pro
2 x 500GB SATA striped SSD (I replaced the optical drive)
2x8GB ram
2 x Kingston Digital DataTraveler SE9 16GB USB 2.0 - Mirrored boot

In addition it fails to import the ZFS volumes. Middlewared boots normal. The network configuration does not configure properly upon boot and I need to manually configure from console. I was also having intermittent crashing during SFTP transfer of Ubuntu installation iso to the root directory.

Does installing to a fresh boot device and restoring your config resolve the issue?

 

[jsalas424]

Does installing to a fresh boot device and restoring your config resolve the issue?

No

 

[dlavigne]

As an experiment, does a fresh install to a different brand of USB stick (non-mirrored) give the same error?

 

[mrblue2001]

After upgrading to 11.2 I had exactly the same problem. "Attempt to mount the root file system" lasted very long. Then I got all these "attempt to write to a read-only database" errors. The system finally booted but it took forever. After booting my LACP link aggregation of two Intel gigabit NICSs did not work. I had to delete and recreate it. Then I could finally reach the web gui and everything seemed to be okay. When I rebooted all the described problems occured again.

Rolling back to 11.1 solved the issues. Booting and link aggregation now work flawlessly again without any changes in the hardware.

I am using a Supermicro socket 1155 board with a Xeon E3-1220v2 processor and 24 gigs of ECC ram. It boots from two mirrored Intenso USB 2.0 flash drives (8 gigs each).

 

[push]

I confirm that we see the same problem. With multiple USB devices. We replaced multiple times thinking it was sign of boot hardware failure as well. It isn't. It looks like something has crept into the stable branch causing this. Reverting to a previous version. Changing the drive, and rebooting appears to resolve the issue. So I wondering if it is something that varies to cause the issue in 11.2 and not 11.0-11.1.

Edit: After several reboots, it seems that it works OK. It seem to have the issues just at the discovery of the uuid of the boot disk. I can't be sure, but if this is a bug, moving the usb to another port seems to 'force it' to fix it. but perhaps I am wrong. Curious to see if others experiencing this as I have other ZFS boxen running this branch

push

 

[Realistic]

Hi, new user here with version 11.2-U5. Fresh Install on new usb key. I am also getting it error when booting, but only occasionally. When it happens my network configuration fails to load and as i have dhcp disabled i cannot connect. The problem can be fixed by recunfiguring network. Additionaly i noticed the system dataset (logging) configuration is lost and log files are gone when it happens.
Hardware:
Gigabyte AX370M-Gaming3
Ryzen 3 2200g
16 GB ram
3x Toshiba high reliability 6TB
Kingston DT106/32GB USB drive

 

[gcinini]

I am having the same problem. Thought it was a USB flash-drive problem and bought a new one, did a fresh install of 11.2-U5. Install went fine (except for a loong time stuck in the "Trying to mount root from zfs:freenas-boot (etc)", but it eventually got thru and finished the install.

Now, on the first rebook, I got the 'attempt to write a readonly database' during a long boot time (almost 15 minutes for the complete boot), and the network configuration is lost.
I manually updated the network configuration (setting IP address/netmask/default gateway thru the console), and then I could get to the WebGUI.
Rebooted the system again (this time taking 18 minutes for a boot!) and the network configuration was lost again.

I have given up and moved back to 11.1 U7 - and it works like a charm!

There is something broken in 11.2 U5!

my system:
HP Proliant Microserver N36L
8GB RAM
3x 1.5TB Samsung HDDs
USB Boot (brand new) Kingston Datatraveller SE9 - 16GB

 

[gcinini]

Update - I saw Push's success with changing the USB flash drive port on the server and now have the system stable in 11.2. Rebooted a couple of times and working now.

Will try rebooting a couple more times and see if it stays up.

I am having the same problem. Thought it was a USB flash-drive problem and bought a new one, did a fresh install of 11.2-U5. Install went fine (except for a loong time stuck in the "Trying to mount root from zfs:freenas-boot (etc)", but it eventually got thru and finished the install.

Now, on the first rebook, I got the 'attempt to write a readonly database' during a long boot time (almost 15 minutes for the complete boot), and the network configuration is lost.
I manually updated the network configuration (setting IP address/netmask/default gateway thru the console), and then I could get to the WebGUI.
Rebooted the system again (this time taking 18 minutes for a boot!) and the network configuration was lost again.

I have given up and moved back to 11.1 U7 - and it works like a charm!

There is something broken in 11.2 U5!

my system:
HP Proliant Microserver N36L
8GB RAM
3x 1.5TB Samsung HDDs
USB Boot (brand new) Kingston Datatraveller SE9 - 16GB

 

[gcinini]

New update - I have a working system on 11.2 U5, but boot is slow - 8min 26seconds boot. Everything is working - even a jail with a Plex plugin.

One thing that does not work is mDNS - get an error while booting -
mDNSResponder: mDNS_AddDNSServer: Lock not held! mDNS_busy (0) mDNS_reentrancy (0)
mDNSResponder: mDNS_AddDNSServer: Lock not held! mDNS_busy (0) mDNS_reentrancy (0)
mDNSResponder: mDNSResponder (Engineering Build) (Mar 9 2014 11:41:38) stopping

Update - I saw Push's success with changing the USB flash drive port on the server and now have the system stable in 11.2. Rebooted a couple of times and working now.

Will try rebooting a couple more times and see if it stays up.

 

[DenS]

I am having the same problem. Was running 11.2 U5 with mirrored usb drives when one started to fail. Have been struggling ever since. Mirroring a new USB took forever and never completed. I imaged a new U5 from a CD and that takes forever to boot. I installed the config file and everything looks correct.
Same issues as above::: stalls on 'Trying to mount root...' then 'Error: attempt to write a readonly database.' I was getting errors that it could not load 'middlwared' but eventually did further down the boot sequence., now that seems cleared up.
Eventually it boots without the network configured. It does remember my IP address in the Network configuration wizard but not the mask. Once configured everything looks OK.
Changing USB ports did not help. I've rebooted three times now. Very frustrating, this used to be a simple process.

 

[gcinini]

I am having the same problem. Was running 11.2 U5 with mirrored usb drives when one started to fail. Have been struggling ever since. Mirroring a new USB took forever and never completed. I imaged a new U5 from a CD and that takes forever to boot. I installed the config file and everything looks correct.
Same issues as above::: stalls on 'Trying to mount root...' then 'Error: attempt to write a readonly database.' I was getting errors that it could not load 'middlwared' but eventually did further down the boot sequence., now that seems cleared up.
Eventually it boots without the network configured. It does remember my IP address in the Network configuration wizard but not the mask. Once configured everything looks OK.
Changing USB ports did not help. I've rebooted three times now. Very frustrating, this used to be a simple process.

Try importing your ZFS pool (or creating a new one if you do not one yet) and changing your system dataset to it:
In WebGUI got to <SYSTEM> - <SYSTEM DATASET> - change SYSTEM DATASET POOL to your ZFS Pool:
https://www.ixsystems.com/documentation/freenas/11.2-U5/system.html#system-dataset

This was one of the steps into making my system stable (I moved my boot USB flash drives to different ports after doing this).

 

[malibata]

Booting from USB is obviously broken in 11.2. I am using FreeNAS for years and never had problems like this...
No matter the brand of USB flash or system it doesn't work for most people, and if someone was lucky enough to magically make it boot it takes forever compared to minute or so in previous versions and that is just not acceptable ...
Developers should have tested this more thoroughly, as USB boot is how most people are using FreeNAS and it is a recommended way, and there should have been a warning that if you upgrade or planning a new install of FreeNAS 11.2 USB boot will not work anymore …

 

[DenS]

Ditto
Wish I never upgraded to 11.2-U5... what was a very nice system is now a nightmare. I can get it to boot via a USB thumbdrive but it takes forever. This need to be fixed or someone to come up with a way to go back a version or two. Reliability is the primary concern.
Based on this obviously untested version, I am now looking at a different NAS for my house.

 

[malibata]

Well I finally pulled the switch, reinstalled FreeNAS-11.1-U7, and uploaded the configs I saved before 11.2 and everything is forking perfectly again...
So until FreeNAS reverts to Grub (maybe upgrading to latest 2.04 version) instead of this defunct FreBSD loader I will not upgrade...

 

[malibata]

By the way does anybody know why 11.1-U8 version has never been released publicly when it has been finished sometimes ago https://redmine.ixsystems.com/versions/851?
With 11.2 being broken for most people continuing 11.1 development should have been the right thing to do ...