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are the linux-image-3.x replacement for bubba3-kernel?

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misty soul
Posts: 12
Joined: 06 Oct 2013, 07:45

are the linux-image-3.x replacement for bubba3-kernel?

Post by misty soul »

Hi,

I have a Bubba3 with almost vanilla Debian install. It first ran Wheezy and then Jessie for several months without any problem. As the kernel was announced to include some bubba specific modifications, and as I am also not experienced in the u-boot stuff, I didn't mess with it and kept the venerable bubba3-kernel which install 2.6.36.4-11.

I am now having some problems as regular debian packages like rsyslog really need a 3.x kernel. There are no dependencies registered at package level, so when upgrading the packages the new rsyslog 7.4.x with x >= 2 are installed, but they fail to start with an error message and as a consequence most system logs were not working anymore. I had to reinstall manually rsyslog 7.4.0 and put it in "hold" state to prevent its automatic upgrade with "aptitude hold rsyslog".

This is not satisfying and I would like to upgrade my kernel to a more recent version.

I have seen some threads like this one: forum.excito.net/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=4464 (sorry, as new user it seems I cannot put any full URL in this post) telling that vanilla kernels should now work with bubba3. I have also seen in b3.update.excito.org/pool/main/l/linux/ that some packages named linux-image-3.x were available. So I am confused. Can I install one of these kernels directly? Shoul I use one from excito as per the link above or should I try one from a Debian mirror? Is it possible to have several kernels on the machine at once and how is boot preference set on a machine without a console? If something goes wrong with a new kernel, how can I recover from boot failures and revert to the older kernel?

Any hints and pointers to relevant documentation would be greatly appreciated.
Gordon
Posts: 1461
Joined: 10 Aug 2011, 03:18

Re: are the linux-image-3.x replacement for bubba3-kernel?

Post by Gordon »

MouettE wrote a Wiki on building a custom kernel. This is however based on the same kernel source Excito uses. As he stated on the forum he had also experimented with running 3.x kernels, but he only ever got 3.0.86 to run on the B3. What he also stated is that the patches that Excito apply on the kernel are far from arbitrary and that running higher versions of the kernel will require one to redevelop those patches so that they can be applied on that 3.x kernel. The big issue in this case is that since it is a headless machine you cannot actually see or troubleshoot what keeps the machine from booting completely.

Obviously the method described in that Wiki is a very neat one, creating a package to conform to the original Excito standard. If you are experimenting with kernels it should be sufficient to create an image in the correct format and replace the one that is in /boot. If it doesn't work you can use the rescuestick to move the original kernel back in
misty soul
Posts: 12
Joined: 06 Oct 2013, 07:45

Re: are the linux-image-3.x replacement for bubba3-kernel?

Post by misty soul »

Thanks for the pointers.

So aren't the linux-image-3.x packages available at b3.update.excito.org the results of similar compilations with the Excito patches included?
Gordon
Posts: 1461
Joined: 10 Aug 2011, 03:18

Re: are the linux-image-3.x replacement for bubba3-kernel?

Post by Gordon »

I don't think so. They're most likely part of the official repository and mirrored by Excito. But if you're willing to experiment you can of course try them. Also: don't forget the modules directory.
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