Zentyal Forum, Linux Small Business Server

Zentyal Server => Installation and Upgrades => Topic started by: Labomba on June 06, 2013, 11:49:57 am

Title: /boot partition full
Post by: Labomba on June 06, 2013, 11:49:57 am: hello Folks,

Last week there was a Kernel update for Zentyal 3.0.21, but unable to install this one.
I noticed that the /boot partition is used for 100%, so I have have to remove some kernels but it keeps telling me about dependencies linked to the used kernel.
Can somebody tell me how to remove these older kernel versions and create some free space?

Thnx in advance!
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: christian on June 06, 2013, 12:01:12 pm: Removing kernel, I can't really help. :-[

Regarding disk space, I doubt removing kernels will solve your issue at least on long term.
Tell us a bit more about your storage topology.
- Is everything installed on one single disk, including /var ?
- if you disk(s) is already full, there is no option aside clean-up but if space is used because of applications and components, clean-up will never be efficient enough.

Thus I suggest you look first at log files.
What's the result of:
Code: [Select]
sudo find /var -name *.gz | wc -l
This will tell you how many log files are there, as a very high level first step
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: Labomba on June 06, 2013, 12:59:16 pm: Hard drives:
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/mapper/INETSRV-root 736G 24G 675G 4% /
udev 4.9G 4.0K 4.9G 1% /dev
tmpfs 2.0G 392K 2.0G 1% /run
none 50M 0 50M 0% /run/lock
none 4.9G 0 4.9G 0% /run/shm
/dev/cciss/c0d0p1 228M 228M 0 100% /boot
result of root@INETSRV:~# find /var -name *.gz | wc -l
377

There are older kernels in the /boot, can't they be removed?
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: christian on June 06, 2013, 01:16:01 pm: logs in /var/ do not really matter as /boot is on another disk.

Just curious, is this server installed using Zentyal installation ? partitioning is very different from a "standard" one.
What's the reason for having /boot on so small dedicated partition ?
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: robb on June 06, 2013, 01:24:04 pm: This looks like a manual install with softraid (mdadm)
But still I am puzzled why /boot is chosen on a separate disk and why so small?
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: Gilberto Ferreira on June 06, 2013, 05:11:58 pm: Hi

Try remove old kernels...

Cheers
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: christian on June 06, 2013, 05:24:50 pm: Quote from: Gilberto Ferreira on June 06, 2013, 05:11:58 pm
Try remove old kernels...

In case you didn't notice, his question is exactly this one ;D

Quote
noticed that the /boot partition is used for 100%, so I have have to remove some kernels but it keeps telling me about dependencies linked to the used kernel.

I suppose as a warning when running
Code: [Select]
sudo apt-get purge linux-image-x.x.x-x-server
If you can help with this, you're very welcome ;)

@Labomba:
what's the result of
Code: [Select]
uname -rand
Code: [Select]
dpkg --list | grep linux-image
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: UdoB on June 06, 2013, 05:40:15 pm: Quote from: robb on June 06, 2013, 01:24:04 pm
This looks like a manual install with softraid (mdadm)
But still I am puzzled why /boot is chosen on a separate disk and why so small?

As a sidenote: I've set up several systems with LVM2 on a Raid1/Mirror. It is not very long ago that Grub2/Grub/Lilo was not able to boot from a logical volume. The usual workaround was to prepare a small /boot Partition either standalone or a small, second Raid1for this purpose...
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: UdoB on June 06, 2013, 05:46:37 pm: Quote from: christian on June 06, 2013, 05:24:50 pm
I suppose as a warning when running
Code: [Select]
sudo apt-get purge linux-image-x.x.x-x-server
If you can help with this, you're very welcome ;)

When apt-get fails removing packages I fall back do dpkg: sudo dpkg -P linux-image-x.x.x-x-server
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: robb on June 06, 2013, 06:20:43 pm: Quote from: UdoB on June 06, 2013, 05:40:15 pm

As a sidenote: I've set up several systems with LVM2 on a Raid1/Mirror. It is not very long ago that Grub2/Grub/Lilo was not able to boot from a logical volume. The usual workaround was to prepare a small /boot Partition either standalone or a small, second Raid1for this purpose...

Then still the question: why such a small partition. Only 280MB.... ???
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: UdoB on June 06, 2013, 09:45:22 pm: Quote from: robb on June 06, 2013, 06:20:43 pm
Then still the question: why such a small partition. Only 280MB.... ???

*grin* - for me this looks oversized, probably because I am getting old ???. My current Ubuntu workstation has three Kernels installed. All three together do occupy 79 MB. So why should one want to waste more space for a dedicated /boot-Partition? (If you have a reason to have one in the first place.)

Being off-topic here I hope my hint regarding "dpkg" helps Labomba...
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: jase on June 06, 2013, 09:53:16 pm: good evening
I don't wish to hijack Lambomba's thread, what is the etiquete here as I've got exactly the same issue and have been meaning to investigate further then saw this thread today?

robb: I also only have a 228mb boot partition, suspect this is a default or we both chose poorly
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/mapper/zentyal-root 456G 6.4G 426G 2% /
udev 1.4G 8.0K 1.4G 1% /dev
tmpfs 577M 340K 577M 1% /run
none 50M 0 50M 0% /run/lock
none 1.5G 4.0K 1.5G 1% /run/shm
/dev/sda1 228M 224M 0 100% /boot

christian:
I have 261 log files is this a high value?

this is just a test machine, I was going to duplicayte the disk then experiment with resizing tools, any advice appreciated.
thanks
jase
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: christian on June 06, 2013, 10:30:53 pm: If you boot with Ubuntu LiveCD, I don't wee yet why you could not resize
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: EddieA on June 07, 2013, 07:21:14 am: Quote from: robb on June 06, 2013, 06:20:43 pm
Then still the question: why such a small partition. Only 280MB.... ???
2 or 3 people have asked this question.

The answer is, that's what Zentyal allocates if you tell it to use the whole disk and let Zentyal do the allocations. ;D

But I'm also with UdoB here. My 240M /boot partition is less than half full with 4 kernel images.

Also a quick Google with "ubuntu remove old kernel" will tell you all about "apt-get purge" to clean up. Just remember to leave the latest 2 images intact.

***Update***
After a quick "sudo dpkg --get-selections | grep image" followed by 2 x "sudo apt-get purge linux-image-3.5.0-<nn>-generic" commands, my boot is now only a quarter full.

Cheers.
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: christian on June 07, 2013, 07:37:22 am: Do you mean that if you let Zentyal using the whole disk, it will create dedicated /boot partition?

I'm surprised I don't have any on my 2.2 machine (but I built this one manually if I'm not wrong) neither on my 3.0 -> 3.1 mahine and this one was deployed, as far as I remember, using "default" Zentyal installation.

Anyway, yes storing only 2 kernels is very tight, especially if there is no process performing automatic clean-up when kernel is not used anymore. It's like for log files: there is a process to rotate logs, so far so good but none to clean-up old archives ::)
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: EddieA on June 07, 2013, 07:40:32 am: Quote from: christian on June 07, 2013, 07:37:22 am
Do you mean that if you let Zentyal using the whole disk, it will create dedicated /boot partition?
Yes, and the rest of the disk as LVM, where it creates 2 logical drives. One for / (root) and the other a swap partition.

I saw this on both a 2.2 and a 3.0 install to a clean disk.

Cheers.
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: christian on June 07, 2013, 07:47:25 am: Clear. So perhaps this is the right time to ask Zentyal for slightly larger partition ;)
On the other hand, where is the "right" limit ? 3, 4, 5 kernels ? (well, even 4 will need only half a giga ;D)
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: Labomba on June 07, 2013, 12:16:44 pm: Installation disk zentyal 3.0 has been used with the use entire disk option, never adjusted the /boot partition?
Results of:
Uname -r: 2.6.32-5-amd64

dpkg --list | grep linux-image:
ii linux-image-2.6-amd64 2.6.32+29 Linux 2.6 for 64-bit PCs (meta-package)
ii linux-image-2.6.32-5-amd64 2.6.32-48squeeze3 Linux

greetzzz

Quote from: christian on June 06, 2013, 05:24:50 pm
Quote from: Gilberto Ferreira on June 06, 2013, 05:11:58 pm
Try remove old kernels...

In case you didn't notice, his question is exactly this one ;D

Quote
noticed that the /boot partition is used for 100%, so I have have to remove some kernels but it keeps telling me about dependencies linked to the used kernel.

I suppose as a warning when running
Code: [Select]
sudo apt-get purge linux-image-x.x.x-x-server
If you can help with this, you're very welcome ;)

@Labomba:
what's the result of
Code: [Select]
uname -rand
Code: [Select]
dpkg --list | grep linux-image
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: Labomba on June 07, 2013, 12:24:29 pm: Hello Christian,

Tried it with the gparted boot-cd, but no go.
Maybe i'll give it a try with the Ubuntu LiveCD.....
greetzz

Quote from: christian on June 06, 2013, 10:30:53 pm
If you boot with Ubuntu LiveCD, I don't wee yet why you could not resize
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: EddieA on June 08, 2013, 01:02:14 am: Quote from: Labomba on June 07, 2013, 12:16:44 pm
Installation disk zentyal 3.0 has been used with the use entire disk option, never adjusted the /boot partition?
Results of:
Uname -r: 2.6.32-5-amd64

dpkg --list | grep linux-image:
ii linux-image-2.6-amd64 2.6.32+29 Linux 2.6 for 64-bit PCs (meta-package)
ii linux-image-2.6.32-5-amd64 2.6.32-48squeeze3 Linux
I'm not sure what's going on there. Zentyal 3 uses precise, not squeeze and the kernel version is 3.5, not 2.6.

Exactly what is in /boot

Cheers.
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: half_life on June 08, 2013, 01:51:27 am: First, 228M is the default for Ubuntu to assign to /boot and has been for quite some time.
Second, this is a normal problem with linux especially if you upgrade in place over many versions.
Third, it is straight forward to recover from.
Open a terminal window on the desktop and type in

Code: [Select]
sudo apt-get install synaptic
supplying the password when prompted

Next type in
Code: [Select]
sudo synaptic
supplying your password when prompted.

At the top and near the center of the window that pops up you see Quick Filter.

Type in linux-image.

Along the right side select Installed

In the main window you will now see several entries like:

linux-image-3.2.40-generic

find the lowest version number and right click it at the left side of its entry over the box.

Select remove and click apply.

Verify that the boot partition is becoming less full by typing in

Code: [Select]
df -h
at a command prompt/terminal window.

Repeat until you have enough free room to install the updated kernel making sure to leave two prior versions in place.
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: Sam Graf on June 08, 2013, 04:46:31 am: Quote from: half_life on June 08, 2013, 01:51:27 am
Second, this is a normal problem with linux especially if you upgrade in place over many versions.
Third, it is straight forward to recover from.

That still leaves unanswered the interesting point made by EddieA. The presence of a Debian kernel on a Zentyal machine moves the machine's history outside simple in-place upgrades.
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: half_life on June 08, 2013, 05:35:43 am: My guess would be prior install. Think about it for a second. Default behavior would not be to remove the previous kernel image because the "new" one might be broken. If not removed during the actual package upgrade, where would the trigger come from?

I am kiting this idea but it makes sense, if you were the distribution maintainer and you found a previous /boot partition would you?

A: format it --- there is no other operating system here
B: leave it alone and just add your bits to it --- I don't know what other operating systems are here
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: half_life on June 08, 2013, 06:00:51 am: Quote from: EddieA on June 08, 2013, 01:02:14 am
Quote from: Labomba on June 07, 2013, 12:16:44 pm
Installation disk zentyal 3.0 has been used with the use entire disk option, never adjusted the /boot partition?
Results of:
Uname -r: 2.6.32-5-amd64

dpkg --list | grep linux-image:
ii linux-image-2.6-amd64 2.6.32+29 Linux 2.6 for 64-bit PCs (meta-package)
ii linux-image-2.6.32-5-amd64 2.6.32-48squeeze3 Linux
I'm not sure what's going on there. Zentyal 3 uses precise, not squeeze and the kernel version is 3.5, not 2.6.

Exactly what is in /boot

Cheers.

The grub boot loader will own this partition. It contains the grub boot loader and configuration files. It also will have all of the kernels that system can boot to. There will be modules to handle things like ext3/4 file systems and hypervisor bits that need to be loaded early in the boot process (think xen).

If memory serves grub began to replace the LILO boot loader around 2000 or 2001. See my other comments for my thinking on why you would have a debian kernel image on your boot partition.
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: half_life on June 08, 2013, 06:19:12 am: Maybe I shouldn't answer questions late at night. I see now that you are saying that there is an available debian kernel package being listed by dpkg. Do you have any debian.org references in your /etc/apt/sources.list ?
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: half_life on June 08, 2013, 06:23:05 am: The kernel version is in sync with what you would find on a 2.2 system except the squeeze kernel. Is he running under Xen perhaps?
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: Labomba on June 10, 2013, 02:58:28 pm: Hello,
The strange thing about this all is that prior OS installation never was a Debian/Ubuntu....

no debian.org in /etc/apt/sources.list
Code: [Select]
root@INETSRV:/etc/apt# vi sources.list # # deb cdrom:[Ubuntu-Server 12.04.1 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release amd64 (20120817.3)]/ dists/precise/main/binary-i386/ # deb cdrom:[Ubuntu-Server 12.04.1 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release amd64 (20120817.3)]/ dists/precise/restricted/binary-i386/ # deb cdrom:[Ubuntu-Server 12.04.1 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release amd64 (20120817.3)]/ precise extras main restricted #deb cdrom:[Ubuntu-Server 12.04.1 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release amd64 (20120817.3)]/ dists/precise/main/binary-i386/ #deb cdrom:[Ubuntu-Server 12.04.1 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release amd64 (20120817.3)]/ dists/precise/restricted/binary-i386/ #deb cdrom:[Ubuntu-Server 12.04.1 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release amd64 (20120817.3)]/ precise extras main restricted # See http://help.ubuntu.com/community/UpgradeNotes for how to upgrade to # newer versions of the distribution. deb http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise main restricted deb-src http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise main restricted ## Major bug fix updates produced after the final release of the ## distribution. deb http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates main restricted deb-src http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates main restricted ## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu ## team. Also, please note that software in universe WILL NOT receive any ## review or updates from the Ubuntu security team. deb http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise universe deb-src http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise universe deb http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates universe deb-src http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates universe ## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu ## team, and may not be under a free licence. Please satisfy yourself as to ## your rights to use the software. Also, please note that software in ## multiverse WILL NOT receive any review or updates from the Ubuntu ## security team. deb http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise multiverse deb-src http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise multiverse deb http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates multiverse deb-src http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates multiverse ## N.B. software from this repository may not have been tested as ## extensively as that contained in the main release, although it includes ## newer versions of some applications which may provide useful features. ## Also, please note that software in backports WILL NOT receive any review ## or updates from the Ubuntu security team. deb http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-backports main restricted universe multiverse deb-src http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-backports main restricted universe multiverse deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/zentyal/3.0/ubuntu precise main deb http://archive.zentyal.org/zentyal 3.0 main extra deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security main restricted deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security main restricted deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security universe deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security universe deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security multiverse deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security multiverse ## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from Canonical's ## 'partner' repository. ## This software is not part of Ubuntu, but is offered by Canonical and the ## respective vendors as a service to Ubuntu users.
Quote from: half_life on June 08, 2013, 06:23:05 am
The kernel version is in sync with what you would find on a 2.2 system except the squeeze kernel. Is he running under Xen perhaps?
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: Labomba on June 10, 2013, 03:12:02 pm: Previously this server was installed with a older version of Zentyal indeed ;D

Quote from: Labomba on June 10, 2013, 02:58:28 pm
Hello,
The strange thing about this all is that prior OS installation never was a Debian/Ubuntu....

no debian.org in /etc/apt/sources.list
Code: [Select]
root@INETSRV:/etc/apt# vi sources.list # # deb cdrom:[Ubuntu-Server 12.04.1 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release amd64 (20120817.3)]/ dists/precise/main/binary-i386/ # deb cdrom:[Ubuntu-Server 12.04.1 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release amd64 (20120817.3)]/ dists/precise/restricted/binary-i386/ # deb cdrom:[Ubuntu-Server 12.04.1 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release amd64 (20120817.3)]/ precise extras main restricted #deb cdrom:[Ubuntu-Server 12.04.1 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release amd64 (20120817.3)]/ dists/precise/main/binary-i386/ #deb cdrom:[Ubuntu-Server 12.04.1 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release amd64 (20120817.3)]/ dists/precise/restricted/binary-i386/ #deb cdrom:[Ubuntu-Server 12.04.1 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release amd64 (20120817.3)]/ precise extras main restricted # See http://help.ubuntu.com/community/UpgradeNotes for how to upgrade to # newer versions of the distribution. deb http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise main restricted deb-src http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise main restricted ## Major bug fix updates produced after the final release of the ## distribution. deb http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates main restricted deb-src http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates main restricted ## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu ## team. Also, please note that software in universe WILL NOT receive any ## review or updates from the Ubuntu security team. deb http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise universe deb-src http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise universe deb http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates universe deb-src http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates universe ## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu ## team, and may not be under a free licence. Please satisfy yourself as to ## your rights to use the software. Also, please note that software in ## multiverse WILL NOT receive any review or updates from the Ubuntu ## security team. deb http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise multiverse deb-src http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise multiverse deb http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates multiverse deb-src http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates multiverse ## N.B. software from this repository may not have been tested as ## extensively as that contained in the main release, although it includes ## newer versions of some applications which may provide useful features. ## Also, please note that software in backports WILL NOT receive any review ## or updates from the Ubuntu security team. deb http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-backports main restricted universe multiverse deb-src http://be.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-backports main restricted universe multiverse deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/zentyal/3.0/ubuntu precise main deb http://archive.zentyal.org/zentyal 3.0 main extra deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security main restricted deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security main restricted deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security universe deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security universe deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security multiverse deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security multiverse ## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from Canonical's ## 'partner' repository. ## This software is not part of Ubuntu, but is offered by Canonical and the ## respective vendors as a service to Ubuntu users.
Quote from: half_life on June 08, 2013, 06:23:05 am
The kernel version is in sync with what you would find on a 2.2 system except the squeeze kernel. Is he running under Xen perhaps?
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: Sam Graf on June 10, 2013, 05:19:32 pm: Quote from: Labomba on June 10, 2013, 02:58:28 pm
The strange thing about this all is that prior OS installation never was a Debian/Ubuntu....

Very strange. This impacts your problem (it seems to me) by making the state of the system less than certain. You've mentioned dependency problems, etc. It seems short term that you have to go down the route of increasing the partition size, let things update, then take another look at cleaning up.
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: Labomba on June 11, 2013, 07:27:14 am: I will probably re-install the system, just waiting for the new 3.2 installation disk arriving next week...
Can you guys confirm me what is the best way to partition the system?
I shore am not going to select use whole disk option :-X
Normally I create a swap and ext4 partition, should I do this o r something else?

I hope that they update this problem in the releases to come.....
Title: Re: /boot partition full
Post by: christian on June 11, 2013, 08:04:15 am: I would say there is no perfect neither totally wrong partitioning. No magic scheme but partitioning fitting - or not what your needs and goal.
Which mean that you have to define first what you want to achieve.

So I don't have any magic but can tell you what I did for my own installation and why.

/ on SSD
swap on SSD to but I've plenty of memory thus swap is not really used.
/var on RAID 1 (2*HDD) (ext4)
/home on RAID 1 (ext4)
/var/log on dedicated HDD, single spindle, etx2 (I can't see the benefit of ext4 here)

No done on my side but however perhaps nice to have depending on how you deploy, /srv/www could benefit from RAID 1 (I'm not using it as all my data is on /var/www)