[khul]

Updatd instructions for Kubuntu on current 4.4.6 version of ixgbe

Quick and dirty howto for generic kernel for UBUNTU (worked on Ubuntu 14.04 / 15.04 / 15.15)

apt-get install -y linux-image-generic linux-headers-generic
mv /etc/grub.d/06_OVHkernel /etc/grub.d/25_OVHkernel
update-grub
apt-get install -y make gcc
BUILD_KERNEL=$(sed -n -e '/vmlinuz-.*-generic/p' /boot/grub/grub.cfg | sed -e 's/.*vmlinuz-\(.*-generic\) .*/\1/' | head -n 1)
cd /usr/local/src
wget https://downloadmirror.intel.com/146...e-4.4.6.tar.gz
tar xzvf ixgbe-4.4.6.tar.gz
cd ixgbe-4.4.6/src
make CFLAGS_EXTRA="-DIXGBE_NO_LRO" BUILD_KERNEL="$BUILD_KERNEL" install
update-initramfs -tuk $BUILD_KERNEL
reboot

Link updated: https://downloadmirror.intel.com/146...e-4.4.6.tar.gz

[keyjey]

Whay about CentOS ?

[Felix@OVH]

However I put the standard kernel on a fresh install (there's an option for it from the OVH manager now), and everything seems to be working fine... but am I asking for trouble by doing this? (I'm on an MG-256 btw)

No known issue with this combination.

You wouldn't be able to use this kernel on a server of the recent "Hosting" range for example, because of an unsupported network card.

Generally speaking, please bear in mind we can't test every kernel version of every distribution release on every OVH server hardware - only the OVH kernel benefits from this amount of testing.

Felix

[alvaroag]

Hardware compatibility problems are more likely to appears just installing. If the NIC is not supported by the OS, you would probably never get network connection on the server, so, if that's working, maybe the stock kernel now supports that NIC. Nobody can guarantee it will work perfectly, but, considering Ubuntu is somehow stable, and the NIC may be supported now, it's probable your server will keep going with no problem.

[mohamedhafez]

I was told by OVH support that using the generic kernel would have some incompatibilities with hardware, specifically network cards, and that I would be on my own trying modify it to work.

However I put the standard kernel on a fresh install (there's an option for it from the OVH manager now), and everything seems to be working fine... but am I asking for trouble by doing this? (I'm on an MG-256 btw)

All I really want is a kernel that will be compatible with Ubuntu 14.04 for the long term AND receive security patches when necessary. I see that OVH is using the same custom kernel for 12.04, 14.04, and 16.04, which honestly makes me worry how well they tested its compatibility with *all* the Ubuntu versions... anybody have thoughts on this?

[AlbaHost]

Can anyone "convert" the above to the instructions required for Centos 7.2 please?

I have tried substituting the following:

yum install -y kernel kernel-headers
mv /etc/grub.d/06_OVHkernel /etc/grub.d/25_OVHkernel
grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg
yum install -y make gcc
BUILD_KERNEL=$(sed -n -e '/vmlinuz-.*/p' /boot/grub/grub.cfg | sed -e 's/.*vmlinuz-\(.*\) .*/\1/' | head -n 1)
cd /usr/local/src
wget https://downloadmirror.intel.com/146...-4.3.13.tar.gz
tar xzvf ixgbe-4.3.13.tar.gz
cd ixgbe-4.3.13/src
make CFLAGS_EXTRA="-DIXGBE_NO_LRO" BUILD_KERNEL="$BUILD_KERNEL" install

but at this point it starts going wrong with warnings and then the following line just doesn't work at all

update-initramfs -tuk $BUILD_KERNEL

My ultimate goal in all this is to be able to install server backup software from R1Soft which requires their loadable module to be compiled against the current kernel. I have tried using the OVH kernel, OVH config, downloading the headers and sources from kernel.org and building against this but the module build fails and even R1Soft are unable to build it agains this configuration so I thought I would approach it from the opposite direction and use the standard CentOS kernel and add the ixgbe drivers in to that.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Steve

As per newer versions of linux OS ixgb driver seems to be installed, exactly in CentOS 7.2, here is how did it worked to us:

First:

mv /etc/grub.d/06_OVHkernel /etc/grub.d/25_OVHkernel

Then:

yum install -y kernel kernel-headers

You will get some grubby errors just ignore them

Then:

grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg

Reboot your server, and from the IPMI/KVM login to your server and just do:

systemctl restart network

Wait about 30 sec and the network will be online and you will be able to ssh your server.

[Lasblo]

The link has chanced again, here is the new one: https://goo.gl/8Qv6yV

Or simply paste in this to your terminal:

apt-get install -y linux-image-generic linux-headers-generic && mv /etc/grub.d/06_OVHkernel /etc/grub.d/25_OVHkernel && update-grub && apt-get install -y make gcc && BUILD_KERNEL=$(sed -n -e '/vmlinuz-.*-generic/p' /boot/grub/grub.cfg | sed -e 's/.*vmlinuz-\(.*-generic\) .*/\1/' | head -n 1) && cd /usr/local/src && wget https://downloadmirror.intel.com/14687/eng/ixgbe-4.3.15.tar.gz && tar xzvf ixgbe-4.3.15.tar.gz && cd ixgbe-4.3.15/src && make CFLAGS_EXTRA="-DIXGBE_NO_LRO" BUILD_KERNEL="$BUILD_KERNEL" install && update-initramfs -tuk $BUILD_KERNEL && echo DONE! && reboot

[Jan1]

Thank you so much! Been busting my head against the wall on this for a while now!

I also would like to thank to nlienard I could have saved several hours given I found this solution earlier.

Since there is cut on that download link for Intel Ethernet NIC here is short URL: https://wiki.sh/hx6

[mobdoc]

Can anyone "convert" the above to the instructions required for Centos 7.2 please?

I have tried substituting the following:

yum install -y kernel kernel-headers
mv /etc/grub.d/06_OVHkernel /etc/grub.d/25_OVHkernel
grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg
yum install -y make gcc
BUILD_KERNEL=$(sed -n -e '/vmlinuz-.*/p' /boot/grub/grub.cfg | sed -e 's/.*vmlinuz-\(.*\) .*/\1/' | head -n 1)
cd /usr/local/src
wget https://downloadmirror.intel.com/146...-4.3.13.tar.gz
tar xzvf ixgbe-4.3.13.tar.gz
cd ixgbe-4.3.13/src
make CFLAGS_EXTRA="-DIXGBE_NO_LRO" BUILD_KERNEL="$BUILD_KERNEL" install

but at this point it starts going wrong with warnings and then the following line just doesn't work at all

update-initramfs -tuk $BUILD_KERNEL

My ultimate goal in all this is to be able to install server backup software from R1Soft which requires their loadable module to be compiled against the current kernel. I have tried using the OVH kernel, OVH config, downloading the headers and sources from kernel.org and building against this but the module build fails and even R1Soft are unable to build it agains this configuration so I thought I would approach it from the opposite direction and use the standard CentOS kernel and add the ixgbe drivers in to that.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Steve

[zachary]

Quick and dirty howto for generic kernel for UBUNTU (worked on Ubuntu 14.04 / 15.04 / 15.15)

apt-get install -y linux-image-generic linux-headers-generic
mv /etc/grub.d/06_OVHkernel /etc/grub.d/25_OVHkernel
update-grub
apt-get install -y make gcc
BUILD_KERNEL=$(sed -n -e '/vmlinuz-.*-generic/p' /boot/grub/grub.cfg | sed -e 's/.*vmlinuz-\(.*-generic\) .*/\1/' | head -n 1)
cd /usr/local/src
wget https://downloadmirror.intel.com/146...-4.3.13.tar.gz
tar xzvf ixgbe-4.3.13.tar.gz
cd ixgbe-4.3.13/src
make CFLAGS_EXTRA="-DIXGBE_NO_LRO" BUILD_KERNEL="$BUILD_KERNEL" install
update-initramfs -tuk $BUILD_KERNEL
reboot

Thank you so much! Been busting my head against the wall on this for a while now!

[nlienard]

Quick and dirty howto for generic kernel for UBUNTU (worked on Ubuntu 14.04 / 15.04 / 15.15)

apt-get install -y linux-image-generic linux-headers-generic
mv /etc/grub.d/06_OVHkernel /etc/grub.d/25_OVHkernel
update-grub
apt-get install -y make gcc
BUILD_KERNEL=$(sed -n -e '/vmlinuz-.*-generic/p' /boot/grub/grub.cfg | sed -e 's/.*vmlinuz-\(.*-generic\) .*/\1/' | head -n 1)
cd /usr/local/src
wget https://downloadmirror.intel.com/146...-4.3.13.tar.gz
tar xzvf ixgbe-4.3.13.tar.gz
cd ixgbe-4.3.13/src
make CFLAGS_EXTRA="-DIXGBE_NO_LRO" BUILD_KERNEL="$BUILD_KERNEL" install
update-initramfs -tuk $BUILD_KERNEL
reboot

[Felix@OVH]

I'm not Felix (neither from OVH), but I can answer that. You can install a custom kernel, but you have to compile and install the "ixgbe" module after the kernel installation, and ensure it is loaded on the next boot. If something goes wrong, you will have to access the server via KVM.

I second that. (Thanks!)

[alvaroag]

Hi Felix,

so it is not possible to easily change kernel in any HOST server ?

I'm not Felix (neither from OVH), but I can answer that. You can install a custom kernel, but you have to compile and install the "ixgbe" module after the kernel installation, and ensure it is loaded on the next boot. If something goes wrong, you will have to access the server via KVM.

[PetrCBR]

Hi Felix,

so it is not possible to easily change kernel in any HOST server ?

[Felix@OVH]

Hi,

The servers of the HOST range have a very recent network interface that is, as of now, not supported by any distribution kernel.
If you want to use it, you will need to compile the "ixgbe" module for the NIC manually and replace centos' module with it.

Felix

[keyjey]

I just got a new server and I'm looking for a prcedure that works, I already tried but didn't work.

OS Centos 6.6, server, the server is this one (https://www.ovh.co.uk/dedicated_servers/hosting/)

Any idea ? thanks

[johnrdorazio]

Following these indications I was able to successfully install and load the linux-image-server kernel (I also followed nodokodo's suggestion before update-grub'ing).
However I had some kind of DNS problems after that, I could no longer ping successfully. So I could not install or update any packages. As soon as I reverted to the OVH kernel (using nodokodo's suggestion), I again had DNS connectivity. Any ideas as to what might have happened there?

I am now attempting to compile the OVH kernel's from source following the instructions given by nowwhat, I'll see how that goes (it's my first time compiling a kernel so I'll soon find out if I have succeeded).

[rizuk]

i would need a standard kernel to update my nic drivers?

PCI devices

-8086:0158 Intel Corporation Unknown device: 0158
-8086:0151 Intel Corporation Unknown device: 0151
-8086:016a Intel Corporation Unknown device: 016a
-8086:1e31 Intel Corporation Unknown device: 1e31
-8086:1e3a Intel Corporation Unknown device: 1e3a
-8086:1e2d Intel Corporation Unknown device: 1e2d
-8086:1e10 Intel Corporation Unknown device: 1e10
-8086:1e18 Intel Corporation Unknown device: 1e18
-8086:244e Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge
-8086:1e26 Intel Corporation Unknown device: 1e26
-8086:1e4a Intel Corporation Unknown device: 1e4a
-8086:1e02 Intel Corporation Unknown device: 1e02
-8086:1e22 Intel Corporation Unknown device: 1e22
-10ec:8168 Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller
-1b21:1080 Unknown vendor: 1b21 Unknown device: 1080


all these uknown ;/

my nic seems to be crashing over 100mbps speeds I'm sure its a driver issue

[Myatu]

It all depends on your level of paranoia

If you're using it for general purposes, then personally, I don't see an issue - kernel hardening is only as effective as securing the rest of the server.

But if you're talking about sensitive data, say for example bank details or patient data, then you might want to consider patching it as well as implementing other security measures.

OVH has provided the full kernel config files here: ftp://ftp.ovh.net/made-in-ovh - so it makes it easy to re-compile the kernel with your own customizations, such as support for dynamic modules.

But that's a personal opinion of course.

[bupkis]

Some of those, like hiding kernel processes, were part of the grsecurity patch that OVH uses on its kernels. See http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Grsecur...ration_Options for a full list of features.

Looking at that grsecurity patch and what it does makes me feel, uh, insecure. Is running a generic kernel that insecure? Should I be worrying about this?

[streaky]

One thing I've noticed is that "ps ax" and "htop" are now populated with a great many processes that I never saw under the OVH kernel: a dozen or so apache processes, a number of processes in brackets and several /sbin/getty processes. It seems to be showing me a lot of processes that were somehow masked when using the OVH kernel, which was more useful, frankly.

What do I have to do in order to show only the "salient" (for want of a better term) processes that were shown under the OVH kernel?

In newer kernels (3.2+ IIRC) you can restrict access to proc for non-root users to their own processes which has this effect without a vanilla kernel. http://www.linux-dev.org/2012/09/hid...r-other-users/

[Myatu]

Some of those, like hiding kernel processes, were part of the grsecurity patch that OVH uses on its kernels. See http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Grsecur...ration_Options for a full list of features.

[bupkis]

I've installed a generic server kernel on my kimsufi running Ubuntu 12.04 LTS using a somewhat different method. After a "sudo su -", I did the following:

apt-get install linux-image-server

to get the generic kernel.

Then I moved the OVH kernel from /etc/grub.d to a new directory:

mkdir ~/ovh.d
mv /etc/grub.d/06_OVHkernel ~/ovh.d

Then I ran

update-grub

and rebooted.

Everything worked fine and the new kernel is loaded.

One thing I've noticed is that "ps ax" and "htop" are now populated with a great many processes that I never saw under the OVH kernel: a dozen or so apache processes, a number of processes in brackets and several /sbin/getty processes. It seems to be showing me a lot of processes that were somehow masked when using the OVH kernel, which was more useful, frankly.

What do I have to do in order to show only the "salient" (for want of a better term) processes that were shown under the OVH kernel?

[Myatu]

Although saying that I noticed that it has finally changed! Am I right in thinking this is the generic kernel?

Linux ksXXXXXXX.kimsufi.com 3.5.0-17-generic #28-Ubuntu SMP Tue Oct 9 19:31:23 UTC 2012 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Yes, that's a generic kernel - not the one supplied by OVH (which has the xxxx in it). So looks like you're back in business!

[martzuk]

Although saying that I noticed that it has finally changed! Am I right in thinking this is the generic kernel?

Linux ksXXXXXXX.kimsufi.com 3.5.0-17-generic #28-Ubuntu SMP Tue Oct 9 19:31:23 UTC 2012 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

[martzuk]

Well, I've been emailing Neil who has been quite helpful sorting these errors out, however I still can't get the generic kernel to boot. On a better note, and the reason I was trying to switch kernel was I've managed to get pptpd to work again.

Looking through the syslog I found that the ppp kernel module seemed to be missing, so I did some googling. When I re-read the syslog I found that it actually gave me the solution!

mknod /dev/ppp c 108 0

To my surprise and elation this seemed to fix the problem! Probably the most helpful error log ever. I'm guessing the upgrade to 12.10 may have removed the kernel module? Is there any reason to carry on trying to switch to the generic kernel?

[martzuk]

It seems to have completed ok, I tried changing the default but may have selected the wrong one, am I right in thinking I need to set it to 2?

root@XXXXXXX:/boot/grub# fgrep default= /boot/grub/grub.cfg
set default="0"
root@ksXXXXXXX:/boot/grub# fgrep menuentry /boot/grub/grub.cfg
if [ x"${feature_menuentry_id}" = xy ]; then
  menuentry_id_option="--id"
  menuentry_id_option=""
export menuentry_id_option
menuentry 'Ubuntu' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-simple-7b3baca0-a11a-48db-be56-c1e1f4f773cd' {
submenu 'Advanced options for Ubuntu' $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-advanced-7b3baca0-a11a-48db-be56-c1e1f4f773cd' {
	menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 3.5.0-17-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-3.5.0-17-generic-advanced-7b3baca0-a11a-48db-be56-c1e1f4f773cd' {
	menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 3.5.0-17-generic (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-3.5.0-17-generic-recovery-7b3baca0-a11a-48db-be56-c1e1f4f773cd' {
root@ks3097745:/boot/grub#

[Myatu]

Did the update complete without any fatal errors? What does fgrep default= /boot/grub/grub.cfg and fgrep menuentry /boot/grub/grub.cfg give?

[martzuk]

I got the ovh guys to fix the issue with the fdisk being unable to find any drives, they did this:

for fdisk: simply don't use fdisk, but pinstead use parted
parted /dev/sd print
parted /dev/sda print
(/usr/lib/grub/update-grub_lib: No such file or directory
sed -i "s/update-grub_lib/grub-mkconfig_lib/g" /etc/grub.d/21_OVHkernel
the file is called differently now :-/
root@ksXXXXXXX:~# ls -lah /dev/sda
ls: cannot access /dev/sda: No such file or directory
root@ksXXXXXXX:~# ls -lah /dev/sda*
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 8, 1 Oct 24 09:12 /dev/sda1
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 8, 2 Oct 24 09:12 /dev/sda2
brw-rw---- 1 root disk 8, 3 May 19 13:15 /dev/sda3
Without that file fdisk can't read the partition table3
root@ksXXXXXXX:~# cd /dev
root@ksXXXXXXX:/dev#  mknod sda b 8 0
root@ksXXXXXXX:/dev# fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sda: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders, total 1953525168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000a3f77
  Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
(much better now :-)
/dev/sda1   *        4096    20975616    10485760+  83  Linux
/dev/sda2        20975617  1952468992   965746688   83  Linux
/dev/sda3      1952468993  1953520064      525536   82  Linux swap / Solaris
root@ksXXXXXXX:/dev# 
hmm, a couple lines seem to be missing:
/dev/sda1   *        4096    20975616    10485760+  83  Linux
/dev/sda2        20975617  1952468992   965746688   83  Linux
/dev/sda3      1952468993  1953520064      525536   82  Linux swap / Solaris
root@ksXXXXXXX:~# cd /dev
root@ksXXXXXXX:/dev#  mknod sda b 8 0
re-created the /dev/sd file

I then moved the file you suggested and re-ran grub update but it still boots into the ovh kernel Linux ks3097745.kimsufi.com 3.2.13-xxxx-std-ipv6-64 #1 SMP Wed Mar 28 11:20:17 UTC 2012 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

[Myatu]

/etc/grub.d/21_OVHkernel: line 6: /usr/lib/grub/update-grub_lib: No such file or directory

Move /etc/grub.d/21_OVHkernel completely out of that directory, ie., place it in /opt/ for the time being (as a backup), and run it again.

[martzuk]

I've done the steps above and tried both making default=1 and changing the number of the ovhkernel to 21 in /etc/grub.d but no matter what it still loads up as

Linux ks3097745.kimsufi.com 3.2.13-xxxx-std-ipv6-64 #1 SMP Wed Mar 28 11:20:17 UTC 2012 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Whenever I run update-grub or update-grub2 I get:

Generating grub.cfg ...
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-3.5.0-17-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-3.5.0-17-generic
/usr/sbin/grub-probe: warning: disk does not exist, so falling back to partition device /dev/sda1.
/usr/sbin/grub-probe: error: cannot find a GRUB drive for /dev/sda1. Check your device.map.
/usr/sbin/grub-probe: warning: disk does not exist, so falling back to partition device /dev/sda1.
/usr/sbin/grub-probe: error: cannot find a GRUB drive for /dev/sda1. Check your device.map.
/usr/sbin/grub-probe: warning: disk does not exist, so falling back to partition device /dev/sda1.
/usr/sbin/grub-probe: error: cannot find a GRUB drive for /dev/sda1. Check your device.map.
/etc/grub.d/21_OVHkernel: line 6: /usr/lib/grub/update-grub_lib: No such file or directory

And fdisk -l doesn't return anything.

This all stemmed from updating to 12.10 without realising OVH screws with the kernel, I've installed the kernel ok but just can't make it boot into it, I need to switch to the generic kernel as the ovh one for 12.04 seems to have broken my pptpd service.

[gregoryfenton]

Thanks Myatu.

As they say in Mortal Kombat:
Flawless victory.

[JustJason]

Thanks very much for this. It saved me a lot of trouble.
I needed LKMs and didn't have time to fsck around.
FWIW I tried it on a vanilla md raid 1 OVH 10.04 box and it's still ticking along and the standard Ubuntu Server kernel worked fine with the existing md config.

[Phixion]

Oh I see... cheers!

[Kacotet]

Can anyone tell me the benefits of doing this?

Some applications & services require a modular kernel.

[K.Kode]

LKM's

[Phixion]

Can anyone tell me the benefits of doing this?

[mrchrister]

thanks so much for the explination, this is sooo much easier then self compiling

I used your instructions on 2 ovh servers now, works flawlessly!

[nodokodo]

Just an FYI, but you do NOT have to (and really shouldn't) edit /etc/default/grub.

Instead cd in to /etc/grub.d and if you ls you will see a bunch of scripts prefixed by numbers; the numbers are the boot ordering—change these numbers and you alter the order.

For example, on my Ubuntu 11.04, the OVH kernel is prefixed 06 (to slip in ahead of 10):

-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 6658 2011-04-21 14:31 00_header
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 5522 2011-04-21 14:19 05_debian_theme
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  959 2010-10-11 12:31 06_OVHkernel
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 6304 2011-04-21 14:31 10_linux
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 5233 2011-04-21 14:31 20_linux_xen
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 7119 2011-04-21 14:31 30_os-prober
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  214 2011-04-21 14:31 40_custom
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   95 2011-04-21 14:31 41_custom
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  483 2011-04-21 14:31 README

I altered that to 25 (to slip it in after the other kernels):

-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 6658 2011-04-21 14:31 00_header
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 5522 2011-04-21 14:19 05_debian_theme
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 6304 2011-04-21 14:31 10_linux
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 5233 2011-04-21 14:31 20_linux_xen
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  959 2010-10-11 12:31 25_OVHkernel
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 7119 2011-04-21 14:31 30_os-prober
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  214 2011-04-21 14:31 40_custom
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   95 2011-04-21 14:31 41_custom
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  483 2011-04-21 14:31 README

Run:

update-grub

and the default becomes 10_linux (whatever kernel you've just installed after following Myatu).

I'm pretty positive you can just remove it (06_OVHkernel) altogether, but if it aint broke… redundancy never killed anyone (well maybe a few coal miners but that's another story). HTH

[Winit]

Thank you Myatu.

[jonlewi5]

I can confirm this works perfectly, got vmware setup and working alongside GNS3,

thanks very very much myatu!

[Iray]

Myatu .. Thanks dude! You need some man love... *Hug*

I'll try this out once I get my new shiny server. Hopefully this is a step by step process for us fellow noobs.

[jonlewi5]

haha it really was, managed to vmware server to half install, still failing but i know its something im doing an its too late to be messing with it

[Myatu]

Good stuff I was updating an OVH server with a standard kernel when I saw your post, so good timing!

[jonlewi5]

Seems to have worked perfectly!
Cheers myatu

[Myatu]

I've seen a couple threads that ask if its possible to use the standard kernel - one that can load kernel modules - instead of OVH's kernels. With Ubuntu and Debian this is an easy task, that does not require compiling:

Step 1: ensure your server has the GRUB-2 boot loader.

Most newer servers from OVH do, as do all VPS/Cloud installations. You can have a quick look to see if the file /etc/default/grub exists, or whether this command give a valid output:

# update-grub -v
grub-mkconfig (GRUB) 1.99~rc1-13ubuntu3

Step 2: install a kernel

First make sure you have the most recent data from the repositories:

apt-get update

And check what kernels are available to you with:

apt-cache search linux-image

An example output:

# apt-cache search linux-image
linux-image-2.6.38-8-generic - Linux kernel image for version 2.6.38 on x86/x86_64
linux-image-2.6.38-8-generic-pae - Linux kernel image for version 2.6.38 on x86
linux-image-2.6.38-8-virtual - Linux kernel image for version 2.6.38 on x86/x86_64
linux-image-generic - Generic Linux kernel image
linux-image-generic-pae - Generic Linux kernel image
linux-image-server - Linux kernel image on Server Equipment.
linux-image-virtual - Linux kernel image for virtual machines
linux-image-2.6.32-25-generic-pae - Linux kernel image for version 2.6.32 on x86
linux-image-2.6.32-31-generic-pae - Linux kernel image for version 2.6.32 on x86
linux-image-2.6.32-29-generic-pae - Linux kernel image for version 2.6.32 on x86

The kernels that do not have a specific version, such as linux-image-generic, are meta packages that automatically select the most recent kernel.

The "generic" kernels are best suitable for desktop systems, "servers" for, well, servers, and so on.

Once you have decided on a kernel, install it with:

apt-get install linux-image-[your selection]

Step 3: Load a kernel

Debian and Ubuntu should already have issued a update-grub command when it installed the kernel you've selected in step 2. But it will not yet be loaded, reason being is that you don't see the "boot screen" of the server (except in vKVM mode or the ipKVM option) and so can't make a selection during boot time.

First determine the order the kernels are listed by GRUB, which can easily be done with fgrep or cat | grep:

# fgrep menuentry /boot/grub/grub.cfg 
menuentry "Ubuntu 10.10, OVH kernel 2.6.38.2-xxxx-grs-ipv6-64" {
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.38-8-server' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.38-8-server (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {

The text between the quotes will give you an idea what's-what. Do keep in mind you need to start counting from zero, so the first entry is 0, the second is 1, etc.

Now you need to edit the file /etc/default/grub and change the the GRUB_DEFAULT=0 entry according to which boot option/kernel you wish to use.

So using the previous sample output, we want to load "Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.38-8-server", and therefore need to change the zero (0) to a one (1) in /etc/default/grub:

GRUB_DEFAULT=1

Now re-update the GRUB configuration (and this is important) with:

update-grub

Now reboot your server and cross your fingers. Once the server is back up, you can verify the correct kernel has loaded with uname, ie:

# uname -a
Linux my-super-duper-server 2.6.38-8-server #42-Ubuntu SMP Mon Apr 11 03:49:04 UTC 2011 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux