Re: Dist-upgrade on remote server fails;
On Thu, Feb 13, 2014 at 02:23:46PM -0600, John Foster wrote:
> > > I have a question regarding upgrading a remotely hosted VPN server. was
> > > running Debian 6; I did a few upgrades to clear the way for a
> > > dist-upgrade. I normally do this by getting the libc6 stuff and the
> > > kernel image done first then the rest of my apps. I've had very few
> > > issues with this in the past. However this is my first time to do it via
> > > all command line interface on a remotely hosted VPN server. On this
> > > server there is no kernel image or at least nothing in the /boot
> > > directory & nothing shows to be installed as a kernel image in dselect.
> > > the issue at hand is this message when I try to install the new libc6
> > > parts:
> >
> > I suspect you are using a VPS, not a VPN: a virtual server. And
> > I also suspect that your provider is supplying the kernel for
> > the server from outside the mounted environment.
> Sorry about the terminology, & yes it is a virtual server called OpenVZ
Right. OpenVZ provides containerization, not full
virtualization. What's the difference? All the containers on a
given server share the same kernel.
> > This could be something that's easy to change (your provider
> > will offer you a tool) or something that's impossible to change
> > (you are not running in a full virtualized environment, but in a
> > container or zone arrangement where your kernel is shared with
> > the hosting machine).
> >
> > In either case, talk to tech support at your VPS provider and
> > get the facts.
> >
> > -dsr-
> >
> I did and their response is below:
>
> > After discussion with another member of the technical team we do not
> > appear to have any custom OpenVZ configurations that would cause such
> > an issue. Also could you please expand as to what you mean by "I
> > noticed that there is NO linux kernel image installed on this
> > server".
> Nothing in /boot I.E. no kernel.
What they mean is that OpenVZ containers all share one kernel on
a given hardware box. You cannot do what you want.
https://wiki.debian.org/OpenVz
https://wiki.debian.org/SystemVirtualization
http://wiki.openvz.org/Introduction_to_virtualization
You should read all three, I think.
> I 'THINK' the libC issues are in fact related to the location of the
> actual kernel they are providing. I'm fairly sure they have a kernel
> with its own LIBC supplied from elsewhere & that they have provided the
> libC locations as deemed proper by their tech staff. Issue is the OS
> Debian 6 "minimal" does NOT actually provide all the tools I need to run
> the REQUIRED software for my site. At least not if I keep it all
> upgraded. An example: I need to upgrade ocaml to a more recent version
> in order to compile the Texvc system for the mathematics of my mediawiki
> installation. There are many other similar instances. I can't get the
> currect stable version of ocaml to install since I can't get the
> dependencies satisfied due to the outdated libc6 items.
Right. You should look for another provider, who either supports
Wheezy or does full virtualization, via Xen or KVM or VMWare.
-dsr-
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