XEN: Cannot find vmlinuz-xenpae and initrd-xenpae on SLES10 SP3 media
This document (7005079) is provided subject to the disclaimer at the end of this document.
Environment
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 Service Pack 3
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11
Situation
or
Upgrading an OES2 VM guest to OES2 SP2
Novell documentation indicates that when preforming a down-server upgrade the proper kernel type and initrd must be copied from the /boot directory on the SLES 10 SP3 media to a temporary directory. In the case of a 32-bit VM this would bevmlinuz-xenpae and initrd-xenpae.
Unfortunately these were omitted from the media.
Resolution
CRITICAL: Always take the time to back-up the image/image file prior to an upgrade! Failure to do so can result in a re-install of the VM should problems occur during the upgrade. A back-up of the image insures a speedy recovery!
1- Use the online update that is available on a fully patched SLES 10 SP2 / OES2 SP1 VM.
2- If the XEN Host is SLES 10 SP3, issue vm-install --upgrade as the root user from a terminal on the XEN host. This will launch vm-install in an "English Only" mode.
- Note: Point to the SLES 10 SP3 media after the gui launches and the upgrade option is selected....then select the oes2 sp2 media as the "add-on" product after the upgrade starts.
3- If the XEN Host is SLES 11, contact Novell Technical Support for the "English only" updates that will allow the vm-install --upgrade option.
4- Finally, the missing modules can be downloaded from:
https://you.novell.com/update/i386/update/SUSE-SLES/10/PTF/f2cf38b50ed714a8409693060195b235/20100108
Additional Information
The simple issue here is that the xenpae kernel and installation initrd are missing from the SP3 media. This is used only at install time of a paravirtualized SLES 10 SP3 guest. But if it's not there, the "hidden"
vm-install --upgrade option will generate them from the kernel-xen-pae rpm.
The --upgrade option was added to vm-install during the SP3 development cycle in response to an enhancement request. It was well tested but was "hidden/not included" as localization was not completed when SLES 10 SP3 shipped. Caveat: The vm-install screens are English language only.
The option has been ported to SLES 11 but at this time is available in English language only.
The --upgrade option is fully supported.
Disclaimer
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- Document ID:7005079
- Creation Date: 23-Dec-2009
- Modified Date:03-Mar-2020
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- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
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