install: systemctl preset-all does not work with --root= option

[wblaszcz]

systemd version the issue has been seen with
242

Used distribution
LFS

Expected behaviour you didn't see
After booting system the login prompt should come up

Unexpected behaviour you saw
Boot process stops at
Starting Update UTMP about System Runlevel Changes...

Steps to reproduce the problem
build and install from tarball systemd-242.tar.gz, then boot system.
Same build process for version 241 works with no issue.

Further info
Looks like nothing is created under /etc/systemd/system except for two empty directories, getty.target.wants and multi-user.target.wants .

Creating the following symlink fixes the immediate issue.

ln -s /lib/systemd/system/getty@.service /etc/systemd/system/getty.target.wants/getty@tty1.service

[yuwata]

From v242, you need to run systemctl preset-all or enable services by hand. See the relevant news entry:

systemd/NEWS

Lines 223 to 230 in 1e5d2d6

	* During package installation (with `ninja install`), we would create
	symlinks for systemd-networkd.service, systemd-networkd.socket,
	systemd-resolved.service, remote-cryptsetup.target, remote-fs.target,
	systemd-networkd-wait-online.service, and systemd-timesyncd.service
	in /etc, as if `systemctl enable` was called for those units, to make
	the system usable immediately after installation. Now this is not
	done anymore, and instead calling `systemctl preset-all` is
	recommended after the first installation of systemd.

.

[wblaszcz]

systemctl preset-all does not work in my case.
I build and install systemd as a non-root user to a non standard prefix, /tools.
systemctl --root=/ preset-all not only creates symlinks for unit files that are under /tools, but also from the main host system which I do not want.
systemctl --root=/tools preset-all does something strange in that not only does it try to create links under /tools/tools/.. but returns with some kind of failures like
Failed to preset unit, file /tools/tools/etc/systemd/system/ctrl-alt-del.target already exists and is a symlink to /lib/systemd/system/poweroff.target.
The above was done from a clean /tool directory.
BTW, /tools is a symlink to /home/lfs/tools.
systemctl --root=/home/lfs/tools preset-all doesn't come back with any failures but still tries to create things under tools/tools/....
I just don't get it as far as what the --root= option should be doing.
How do I get unit files that are under /tools linked from /tools/etc/systemd/system?

Thanks.

[yuwata]

Maybe, a workaround for this is chroot to /tool and run systemctl preset-all without --root= option.

[wblaszcz]

Please ignore my previous comment. There were two factors involved, 1) PATH and 2) the assumption that --root was the same as --prefix.
The PATH affected which systemctl was being used, the system one or the just built one.
--prefix is relative to --root. --prefix was set to /tools.
So my final systemctl command looks like this:
/tools/bin/systemctl --root=/home/lfs preset-all where /tools is a symlink to /home/lfs/tools
which pretty much gives me what I want.

However I still think there is a bug in that above command which still produces errors.

/tools/bin/systemctl --root=/home/lfs preset-all
Created symlink /home/lfs/tools/etc/systemd/system/sysinit.target.wants/debug-shell.service → /tools/lib/systemd/system/debug-shell.service.
Created symlink /home/lfs/tools/etc/systemd/system/network-online.target.wants/systemd-networkd-wait-online.service → /tools/lib/systemd/system/systemd-networkd-wait-online.service.
Created symlink /home/lfs/tools/etc/systemd/system/ctrl-alt-del.target → /tools/lib/systemd/system/poweroff.target.
Created symlink /home/lfs/tools/etc/systemd/system/dbus-org.freedesktop.resolve1.service → /tools/lib/systemd/system/systemd-resolved.service.
Created symlink /home/lfs/tools/etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/systemd-resolved.service → /tools/lib/systemd/system/systemd-resolved.service.
Created symlink /home/lfs/tools/etc/systemd/system/dbus-org.freedesktop.timesync1.service → /tools/lib/systemd/system/systemd-timesyncd.service.
Created symlink /home/lfs/tools/etc/systemd/system/sysinit.target.wants/systemd-timesyncd.service → /tools/lib/systemd/system/systemd-timesyncd.service.
Created symlink /home/lfs/tools/etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/remote-fs.target → /tools/lib/systemd/system/remote-fs.target.
Created symlink /home/lfs/tools/etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/machines.target → /tools/lib/systemd/system/machines.target.
Failed to preset unit, file /home/lfs/tools/etc/systemd/system/ctrl-alt-del.target already exists and is a symlink to /tools/lib/systemd/system/poweroff.target.
Created symlink /home/lfs/tools/etc/systemd/system/getty.target.wants/getty@tty1.service → /tools/lib/systemd/system/getty@.service.
Failed to preset unit, file /home/lfs/tools/etc/systemd/system/ctrl-alt-del.target already exists and is a symlink to /tools/lib/systemd/system/poweroff.target.
Failed to preset unit, file /home/lfs/tools/etc/systemd/system/ctrl-alt-del.target already exists and is a symlink to /tools/lib/systemd/system/poweroff.target.
Created symlink /home/lfs/tools/etc/systemd/system/boot-complete.target.requires/systemd-boot-check-no-failures.service → /tools/lib/systemd/system/systemd-boot-check-no-failures.service.
Created symlink /home/lfs/tools/etc/systemd/system/getty.target.wants/console-getty.service → /tools/lib/systemd/system/console-getty.service.
Created symlink /home/lfs/tools/etc/systemd/system/sockets.target.wants/systemd-networkd.socket → /tools/lib/systemd/system/systemd-networkd.socket.
Created symlink /home/lfs/tools/etc/systemd/system/dbus-org.freedesktop.network1.service → /tools/lib/systemd/system/systemd-networkd.service.
Created symlink /home/lfs/tools/etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/systemd-networkd.service → /tools/lib/systemd/system/systemd-networkd.service.
Created symlink /home/lfs/tools/etc/systemd/system/sysinit.target.wants/systemd-time-wait-sync.service → /tools/lib/systemd/system/systemd-time-wait-sync.service.
Failed to preset unit, file /home/lfs/tools/etc/systemd/system/ctrl-alt-del.target already exists and is a symlink to /tools/lib/systemd/system/poweroff.target.

The Failed to preset unit error does not make sense. It implies that the ctrl-alt-del.target is created 5 times?

[poettering]

It's not supported to set the prefix to anything other than /usr. This is documented explicitly in README.

systemd is not an app you can install at arbitrary places, it's a core part of the OS, hence we make stricter requirements there.

Sorry.