[ale] Strange kernel issue after update - RHEL3 ES

[Joe Steele]

Ryan Fish wrote:
>
> I am seeing a very strange issue and two boxes after recently 
> installing the latest kernel released for RHEL 3 via up2date.
>
> Box 1: The kernel in use isn?t even listed in /boot and cannot be 
> found anywhere on the server (see below)
>
It might help to review what kernel-related packages are installed:

rpm -qa | grep kernel

Also, you can verify the rpms to assure that no files have been 
accidentally deleted:

rpm -V $(rpm -qa | grep kernel)

> Box 2: The kernel in use is still installed on the box but the latest 
> one isn?t being chosen by default when the box is rebooted.
>
Check what kernels are shown in /boot/grub/grub.conf, and check which 
kernel is selected as the default (menu items are numbered beginning 
with 0). The contents of grub.conf should get updated automatically each 
time a kernel rpm is installed or removed. The scripts that rpm uses to 
update grub.conf can be viewed, e.g.:

rpm -q kernel-2.4.21-4.EL --scripts

A newly installed kernel package will automatically become the default 
for booting if "UPDATEDEFAULT=yes" is defined in /etc/sysconfig/kernel. 
Otherwise, the default kernel for booting will remain unchanged.

> Any thoughts? Also, what is the correct way to clean up /boot when it 
> gets full?
>
You can use rpm to remove unwanted kernel packages. Since there are 
multiple versions installed, you must specify the specific version that 
you want to erase, e.g.:

rpm -e kernel-2.4.21-4.EL

Creating a boot disk beforehand is always a good idea.


--Joe