I can now verify that this is correct.  I am running Excalibur and
usrmerge, and my /usr directory tree is still on a separate partition,
as it has been for many years.

Marc

On 8/1/24 2:43 PM, Ralph Ronnquist via Dng wrote:
> On Thu, Aug 01, 2024 at 04:33:23PM +0200, Lorenz via Dng wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> Il giorno gio 1 ago 2024 alle ore 04:06 Marc Shapiro via Dng
>> <dng@???> ha scritto:
>>> What, exactly does the usrmerge package do?
>> it turns /bin, /lib, /lib64 , /sbin into symlinks to their /usr/
>> counterparts; it also takes care of
>> moving the content of such directories.
>> The replacement is not atomic, so I suggest to do the move alone, separated
>> from other dpkg operations.
>>
>>> If /usr is already in root, and not mounted from elsewhere, is the usrmerge package still required?
>> unfortunately, yes; usrmerge is not merging usr into root if they are
>> separate partitions,
>> althought I think the layout with a separate usr will be no longer possible
>> after te merge..
> "Not possible" is all too strong.
>
> Most system boot via an initrd (which includes its own filesystem) and
> in fact, if /etc/fstab of the target filesystem has a entry for /usr,
> then that will be mounted. (You'll see that in
> /usr/share/initramfs-tools/init which is the early bootup script,
> prior to whatever the "init system" is doing).
>
> In other words, you may well have /usr on a separate partition
> (whether or not having the usrmerge silly-links) but you must then
> make sure to include an /etc/fstab entry for it so it gets mounted
> duuring the early, pre-pivot boot stage.
>
> Ralph.
>
>> Lorenzo
>>
>>>
>>> From the Devuan announcement on usrmerge:
>>>
>>> Navigating the merged usr transition
>>>
>>> Daedalus/stable is the final Devuan release that will function without merged usr.
>>> The safest way to migrate from Daedalus/stable to Excalibur/testing is to first ensure there is sufficient disk space to accommodate the merge, and that you have made backups before proceeding.
>>> Only then install the usrmerge package before proceeding with the normal dist-upgrade steps.
>>> This document will be updated to reflect future changes as needed.
>>>
>>>
>>> Does #2, above mean to make sure there is enough space in / to copy in all of an externally mounted /usr?
>>>
>>>
>>> I am just trying to clarify what is actually going to happen before it is suddenly upon me.
>>>
>>>
>>> Marc
>>>
>>>
>>>
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