[Bug 211884] IPKVM cannot reliably enter text under 11.0-RC2

bugzilla-noreply at freebsd.org bugzilla-noreply at freebsd.org
Mon Aug 15 22:45:06 UTC 2016


https://bugs.freebsd.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=211884

            Bug ID: 211884
           Summary: IPKVM cannot reliably enter text under 11.0-RC2
           Product: Base System
           Version: 11.0-RC1
          Hardware: amd64
                OS: Any
            Status: New
          Severity: Affects Some People
          Priority: ---
         Component: kern
          Assignee: freebsd-bugs at FreeBSD.org
          Reporter: karl at denninger.net
                CC: freebsd-amd64 at FreeBSD.org
                CC: freebsd-amd64 at FreeBSD.org

Updated from 11.0-ALPHA to 11.0-RC2 this afternoon on a test machine and ran
into a really odd problem.

The system in question has an encrypted root ZFS pool, which results in a
prompt for the GELI password during the boot and before the root filesystem
mounts.  This has been trouble-free for a long time.

This afternoon, however, it suddenly turned into a huge problem.  After the
kernel loads and the prompt comes up the keyboard was not recognized over the
IPMI interface; only one of every handful of keystrokes went through.  This
meant if you pounded the enter key a few times you'd eventually get one
through, but the keys you typed in the meantime (containing the GELI password!)
were of course lost - or some of them were anyway.

A locally-attached PS/2 keyboard (at the physical machine) works, but a
USB-attached keyboard *also* had intermittent problems, often NOT registering
the CAPS and NUMLOCK keys reliably.

The IPMI keyboard is recognized properly at the BIOS level (before the loader
gets control) and works fine there.

This is likely to be extremely serious for anyone who attempts to update a
system with encrypted disks over a remote link using a built-in IPKVM; the
machine in question has a SuperMicro board in it, but given that I *also* had
trouble with a USB plugged keyboard on the same machine (but not a PS/2
keyboard!) it appears that this is something in the kernel level and *not*
strictly an IPKVM interaction issue.

Reverting to the previous ALPHA kernel resolved the problem immediately.  In
addition if I change the mouse mode on the web interface (which forces a
detach/reattach for the keyboard, which I can see on the KVM console) it will
*sometimes* permit me to type the password.

IMHO this needs to be investigated as if RELEASE goes out with this problem
present it is likely to screw a large number of people who are doing the
upgrade remotely, possibly forcing a trip to the site with a physical keyboard
to get beyond the prompt.

I do not know if this was a problem on RC1 as I didn't run it but it was NOT an
issue in the ALPHA series of releases.

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