Troubleshooting and Resolving vxvm Service Startup Issues in RHEL 9

Problem

In RHEL 9, the chkconfig  package, which is used to manage legacy SysV init scripts, is not installed by default. This causes issues with  services like Veritas Volume Manager (vxvm) that rely on SysV init scripts for startup. Additionally, the /usr/lib/systemd/systemd-sysv-install script , required for enabling SysV services using systemctl, is missing, leading to service startup failures.

Environment:

Operating System : Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9  
Service: Veritas Volume Manager (vxvm)  
Key  Services: vxvm-boot, vxvm-recover, blk-availability 

Error Message

When attempting to enable vxvm-boot:
Failed to execute /usr/lib/systemd/systemd-sysv-install: No such file or  directory

When attempting to install chkconfig:

yum install chkconfig failed as /etc/init.d folder exists.

During  installer -start:

vxconfigd failed to start.

Cause

1. Dependency Issues:  

The vxvm-boot service fails to start automatically  during boot on RHEL 9.  
Attempts to enable the service using systemctl enable vxvm-boot result in an error because the /usr/lib/systemd/systemd-sysv-install script is missing. This script is required for managing legacy SysV init scripts.

2. Missing chkconfig Package:  

The chkconfig package, which is required for managing SysV init scripts, is not installed by default in RHEL 9 .  
Attempts to enable vxvm-boot using  systemctl fail due to the absence of the /usr/lib/systemd/systemd-sysv-install script.

3. Conflict with /etc/init.d Directory:  

The installation  of the chkconfig package fails because the /etc/init.d directory already exists, causing a conflict.

Solution

A patch (CPI Patch) is now available for this issue in the current version ( InfoScale 8.0.2) of the product mentioned. Also, The Product Engineering team currently plans to address this issue through a patch or hotfix in the previous software version ( InfoScale 8.0).Refer to the link under Related Articles to obtain the patch needed to resolve the issue.

Workaround

Step 1: Install the  chkconfig Package

Check if chkconfig is Installed:Run the following command to verify if chkconfig is already installed:  

# rpm -qa | grep chkconfig

Install chkconfig:If not installed, use the following command to install it:  

# yum install  chkconfig

Resolve Installation Issues:If the installation fails due to a conflict with the /etc/init.d directory:  

Move the  existing /etc/init.d directory to a temporary location:  mv /etc/init.d /var/tmp/init.d

Install the chkconfig package :  yum install chkconfig or install it via rpm commands by dowloading from redhat portal. 

Restore the contents of /var/tmp/init.d back to /etc/init.d:  mv /var /tmp/init.d/* /etc/init.d/

Step 2 : Post installing chkconfig, Run "vxinstall" to reconfigure VxVM

# vxinstall

Step 3: Enable and Start  vxvm Services

Verify vxvm services are enabled during boot

# systemctl is-enabled vxvm-boot

# systemctl is-enabled vxvm-recover

If not Enabled, Enable the vxvm services to start at  boot:  

# systemctl enable vxvm-boot
# systemctl enable vxvm-recover

Start the vxvm services manually:

# systemctl start vxvm-boot
# systemctl start vxvm-recover

Verify the services are running:  

# systemctl status vxvm-boot

# systemctl status vxvm-recover

Step 4: Perform a Reboot to test the Service Status.

Additional Notes:

The chkconfig package is not installed by default in RHEL 9 because Red Hat  has deprecated SysV init scripts in favor of system d.  
The /usr/lib/systemd/systemd-sysv-install script is also missing in RHEL 9, which prevents  systemctl from enabling SysV services.  
 

References:

https://access.redhat.com/solutions/6837271 

Outcome:

After performing the above steps:

The vxvm services (vxvm-boot and vxvm-recover) were successfully configured to start  automatically on boot.  
Dependency issues with blk-availability were resolved.  
The chkconfig package was installed to manage legacy SysV  init scripts.  
A system reboot confirmed that all vxvm services came online without manual intervention.