Re: Weird yum/kernel problem

"Brian Long (brilong)" <[email protected]> Fri, 12 Dec 2014 13:11:26 +0000
Newsgroups gmane.linux.rpm.yum
Message-ID <[email protected]>
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Bob,
Some questions & recommendations:
Why not use a supported RAID controller for a production server?

Have you tried using DKMS?  I found a guide for Ubuntu and a lot of what it=
 says applies to Fedora:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RocketRaid

If I were the sysadmin of your box and it needed to be online as much as po=
ssible, I would use a LSI RAID controller.  There are others out there whic=
h work, but I=92m most familiar with LSI.  Many vendors integrate their RAI=
D controllers into their own RAID cards (Dell PERC, for example).  I would =
most definitely stay away from RAID controllers where the driver is not int=
egrated into the mainstream kernel.

Just my 2 cents.

/Brian/
--
       Brian Long                             |       |
       Research Triangle Park, NC         . | | | . | | | .
                                              '       '
                                              C I S C O

On Dec 11, 2014, at 11:03 PM, Bob McKay <[email protected]<mailto:rimsnuc=
[email protected]>> wrote:

I=92m not sure whether the problem I=92m about to describe is a yum problem=
, or a problem with the way the kernel packages are set up in our Fedora 20=
 server. If this is the wrong place to ask, I=92d really appreciate a point=
er to the right one (the Fedora mechanism for yum kernel updates seems to b=
e particularly complex, and I haven=92t properly understood it yet, which i=
s why I=92m not sure where the real problem lies).

I have some RAID hardware that requires a driver module to be built after e=
very kernel update (all updates are performed with yum, not package-manager=
). My process is to disable the hardware, boot to the newly-updated kernel,=
 build and install the module, then re-enable the harware and reboot. Since=
 about mid year, I have been having repeated problems building the module. =
When I build it, the build appears to succeed, but install fails, saying th=
at the module wasn=92t built against the running kernel. This seems to be c=
orrect - when I manually check the magic of the built module, it shows the =
preceding kernel (i.e. at the moment, 3.17.2), although it  was built under=
 a running 3.17.3 kernel, and is installed in the correct location for 3.17=
.3 modules.

By the way, I have no clear idea how I got to a working 3.17.2 kernel - the=
 problem originally occurred at 3.16.3, and I was stuck in that kernel for =
a long while. Fortunately I had some free time on the server a few weeks ag=
o. Somehow something in a complex sequence of grub2-install, grub2-mkconfig=
 , removals and reinstallations of the corresponding kernel and kernel-deve=
l, and module rebuilds changed something, and I managed to get the 3.17.2 u=
pdate working. But I haven=92t been able to figure out what it was, or to r=
eproduce it since.

Why it looks like it should build correctly: at the time of building, all k=
ernel components have been fully updated. For example, at the moment, I hav=
e kernel, kernel-devel, kernel-modules-extra and kernel devel all at 3.17.3=
 (but of course, I also have earlier versions of kernel, kernel-headers and=
 kernel-modules-extra installed as well - in this case, including 3.17.2). =
When I try to do the build and install, it is booted in 3.17.3. So I don=92=
t understand why it builds a 3.17.2 module.

It seems that at the time it is building the module, the system is somehow =
defaulting to building for 3.17.2. That suggests that a necessary flag reco=
rding the current kernel version isn=92t being updated when the kernel is u=
pdated or booted - I haven=92t been able to figure out how the system decid=
es what the current kernel is, so I don=92t know where this flag might be. =
Any suggestions on how this is done (and why it might be failing, or how to=
 check it) would be really appreciated.

There is more detail on the problem at:
http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=3D300863
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=3D1167222
but unfortunately no responses in either place yet (possibly because there =
isn=92t sufficient detail - but I have no idea what else to supply).

The system is a production server; it=92s currently running stably with 3.1=
7.2, and I can=92t reboot very often, so any suggestions that would help me=
 to diagnose this problem without rebooting would be particularly appreciat=
ed.
_______________________________________________
Yum mailing list
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
http://lists.baseurl.org/mailman/listinfo/yum


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252">
</head>
<body style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-lin=
e-break: after-white-space;">
Bob,
<div>Some questions &amp; recommendations:</div>
<div>Why not use a supported RAID controller for a production server?</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Have you tried using DKMS? &nbsp;I found a guide for Ubuntu and a lot =
of what it says applies to Fedora:</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><a href=3D"https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RocketRaid">https://help.=
ubuntu.com/community/RocketRaid</a></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>If I were the sysadmin of your box and it needed to be online as much =
as possible, I would use a LSI RAID controller. &nbsp;There are others out =
there which work, but I=92m most familiar with LSI. &nbsp;Many vendors inte=
grate their RAID controllers into their own
 RAID cards (Dell PERC, for example). &nbsp;I would most definitely stay aw=
ay from RAID controllers where the driver is not integrated into the mainst=
ream kernel.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Just my 2 cents.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>/Brian/<br>
<div apple-content-edited=3D"true">
<div style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;  font-style: nor=
mal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; lin=
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bkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: bre=
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>
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bkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: bre=
ak-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "=
>
<div style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;  font-style: nor=
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bkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: bre=
ak-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "=
>
<div style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: no=
rmal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-inden=
t: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing:=
 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-=
wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white=
-space; ">
<div><font face=3D"Courier New">--&nbsp;</font></div>
<div><font face=3D"Courier New">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Brian Long &nbsp=
; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nb=
sp; &nbsp; &nbsp; | &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; |</font></div>
<div><font face=3D"Courier New">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Research Triangl=
e Park, NC &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; . | | | . | | | .</font></div>
<div><font face=3D"Courier New">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &=
nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;=
 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; ' &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; '</font><=
/div>
<div><font face=3D"Courier New">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &=
nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;=
 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; C I S C O</font></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<div>
<div>On Dec 11, 2014, at 11:03 PM, Bob McKay &lt;<a href=3D"mailto:rimsnucs=
[email protected]">[email protected]</a>&gt; wrote:</div>
<br class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline">
<blockquote type=3D"cite">
<div style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line=
-break: after-white-space;">
I=92m not sure whether the problem I=92m about to describe is a yum problem=
, or a problem with the way the kernel packages are set up in our Fedora 20=
 server. If this is the wrong place to ask, I=92d really appreciate a point=
er to the right one (the Fedora mechanism
 for yum kernel updates seems to be particularly complex, and I haven=92t p=
roperly understood it yet, which is why I=92m not sure where the real probl=
em lies).&nbsp;
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I have some RAID hardware that requires a driver module to be built af=
ter every kernel update (all updates are performed with yum, not package-ma=
nager). My process is to disable the hardware, boot to the newly-updated ke=
rnel, build and install the module,
 then re-enable the harware and reboot. Since about mid year, I have been h=
aving repeated problems building the module. When I build it, the build app=
ears to succeed, but install fails, saying that the module wasn=92t built a=
gainst the running kernel. This seems
 to be correct - when I manually check the magic of the built module, it sh=
ows the preceding kernel (i.e. at the moment, 3.17.2), although it &nbsp;wa=
s built under a running 3.17.3 kernel, and is installed in the correct loca=
tion for 3.17.3 modules.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>By the way, I have no clear idea how I got to a working 3.17.2&nbsp;ke=
rnel&nbsp;- the problem originally occurred at 3.16.3, and I was stuck in t=
hat kernel for a long while. Fortunately I had some free time on the server=
 a few weeks ago. Somehow something in a complex
 sequence of grub2-install, grub2-mkconfig , removals and reinstallations o=
f the corresponding kernel and kernel-devel, and module rebuilds changed so=
mething, and I managed to get the 3.17.2 update working. But I haven=92t be=
en able to figure out what it was,
 or to reproduce it since.</div>
<div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Why it looks like it should build correctly: at the time of building, =
all kernel components have been fully updated. For example, at the moment, =
I have kernel, kernel-devel, kernel-modules-extra and kernel devel all at 3=
.17.3 (but of course, I also have
 earlier versions of kernel, kernel-headers and kernel-modules-extra instal=
led as well - in this case, including 3.17.2). When I try to do the build a=
nd install, it is booted in 3.17.3. So I don=92t understand why it builds a=
 3.17.2 module.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>It seems that at the time it is building the module, the system is som=
ehow defaulting to building for 3.17.2. That suggests that a necessary flag=
 recording the current kernel version isn=92t being updated when the kernel=
 is updated or booted - I haven=92t
 been able to figure out how the system decides what the current kernel is,=
 so I don=92t know where this flag might be. Any suggestions on how this is=
 done (and why it might be failing, or how to check it) would be really app=
reciated.</div>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>There is more detail on the problem at:</div>
<div><a href=3D"http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=3D300863">ht=
tp://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=3D300863</a></div>
<div><a href=3D"https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=3D1167222">http=
s://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=3D1167222</a></div>
<div>but unfortunately no responses in either place yet (possibly because t=
here isn=92t sufficient detail - but I have no idea what else to supply).&n=
bsp;</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>The system is a production server; it=92s currently running stably wit=
h 3.17.2, and I can=92t reboot very often, so any suggestions that would he=
lp me to diagnose this problem without rebooting would be particularly appr=
eciated.</div>
</div>
_______________________________________________<br>
Yum mailing list<br>
<a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a><br>
http://lists.baseurl.org/mailman/listinfo/yum<br>
</blockquote>
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[email protected]
http://lists.baseurl.org/mailman/listinfo/yum

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