Parallels

Resolution

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Synopsis:          New Parallels Virtuozzo Containers 4.0 kernel provides
                   a number of important stability fixes.
Issue date:        2008-03-12
Product:           Parallels Virtuozzo Containers 4.0
Keywords:          stability fixes
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This document provides information on the new Virtuozzo Containers 4.0 kernel,
version 2.6.18-028stab053.10.

(c) Parallels, 2008. All rights reserved.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. About This Release
2. Updates Description
3. Bugs Fixed
4. Obtaining New Kernel
5. Installing New Kernel
6. Required RPMs
7. Reference List

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1. ABOUT THIS RELEASE

The current update for the Virtuozzo Containers 4.0 kernel provides a new kernel
that includes a number of important stability fixes.

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2. UPDATES DESCRIPTION

The updated Virtuozzo Containers 4.0 kernel includes the following improvements:

  - The SNAT and DNAT targets are not registered inside Containers if the
    ip_conntrack_disable_ve0 module option is set, which results in the
    impossibility of using the Network Address Translation functionality inside
    Containers.

  - The 3ware 7000 and 8000 series controllers may corrupt data on Intel 64-bit
    EM64T systems having 4 GB or more of system RAM installed.

  - The performance of some workload types on AMD servers with the NUMA support
    has been significantly improved.

We highly recommend that all Parallels Virtuozzo Containers 4.0 users update
their kernel to the latest version.

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3. BUGS FIXED

The following bugs from the previous release have been fixed in the new
Virtuozzo Containers 4.0 kernel:

- #99761: SNAT and DNAT targets do not work inside Containers if
  ip_conntrack_disable_ve0 option is set

- #99172: [x86_64] data corruption may occur on Intel 64-bit EM64T systems with
  4 GB or more of system RAM and 3ware 7000 and 8000 series controllers

- #98868: improved performance of some workload types on NUMA AMD servers

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4. OBTAINING NEW KERNEL

You can get this kernel update in one of the following ways:

- You can download the update from ftp://downloads.swsoft.com.
  If you do not have an ftp account, please contact pavel@parallels.com.

- You can download and install the update by using the vzup2date utility
  included in the Parallels Virtuozzo Containers 4.0 distribution set.

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5. INSTALLING NEW KERNEL

To install the update, you should perform the following operations:

I. Use the "rpm -ihv" command to install the new kernel and Virtuozzo modules.

# rpm -ivh vzkernel-2.6.18-028stab053.10.i686.rpm \
vzmodules-2.6.18-028stab053.10.i686.rpm
Preparing...                ################################# [100%]
    1:vzkernel              ################################# [50%]
    2:vzmodules             ################################# [100%]

    Please DO NOT USE the "rpm -Uhv" command to install the kernel. Otherwise,
    all the kernels previously installed on your system may be removed from
    the Hardware Node.

II. You can adjust your boot loader configuration file to have the new kernel
    loaded by default. If you use the LILO bootloader, please do not forget to
    execute the 'lilo' command to write the changes to the boot sector:

     # lilo
     Added Virtuozzo2 *
     Added Virtuozzo1
     Added linux
     Added linux-up

III. Reboot your computer with the "shutdown -r now" command to boot the new
     kernel.

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6. REQUIRED RPMS

Depending on the kind of processor installed on your Hardware Node, the
following RPM packages are included in the kernel update:

x86 kernels:

- SMP:
   vzkernel-2.6.18-028stab053.10.i686.rpm
   vzmodules-2.6.18-028stab053.10.i686.rpm

- Enterprise:
   vzkernel-ent-2.6.18-028stab053.10.i686.rpm
   vzmodules-ent-2.6.18-028stab053.10.i686.rpm

- Enterprise with the 4GB split feature disabled:
   vzkernel-PAE-2.6.18-028stab053.10.i686.rpm
   vzmodules-PAE-2.6.18-028stab053.10.i686.rpm


x86_64 kernels:

- SMP:
   vzkernel-2.6.18-028stab053.10.x86_64.rpm
   vzmodules-2.6.18-028stab053.10.x86_64.rpm

ia64 kernel:
   vzkernel-2.6.18-028stab053.10.ia64.rpm
   vzmodules-2.6.18-028stab053.10.ia64.rpm

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7. REFERENCE LIST

The following references have been used in this document:

- http://www.3ware.com/KB/article.aspx?id=15243&cNode=6I1C6S