Oracle Linux 6.2 Release Notes
Updated December 2011
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Introduction
This document covers the following topics regarding Oracle Linux 6.
* Packages added by the upstream release
* Changes from the upstream release
* Packages modified from upstream release
* Packages removed from upstream release
* New packages added by Oracle
* Kernel
* Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel
* Introduction
* Driver Updates
* Features
* Known Issues
* Technology Preview Features
* Unbreakable Linux Network
For the latest updates please refer to the online version of release notes
available at:
http://oss.oracle.com/ol6/docs/
NOTE: An upgrade of Oracle Linux from a beta release is not supported.
Further, an in-place upgrade between major versions of Oracle Linux is not
supported. Oracle does not recommend an upgrade from earlier major
versions of Oracle Linux even though anaconda provides an option to do
this upgrade.A fresh installation is strongly recommended rather than a
system upgrade between major versions. Customers who want to use new
features in Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel can do so without upgrading to
Oracle Linux 6 as Oracle Linux 5.6 already includes Unbreakable Enterprise
Kernel.
Packages added by the Upstream Release
The following packages have been added to the upstream release:
* btparser
* compat-openmpi
* compat-opensm-libs
* fcoe-target-utils
* libreport
* libunistring
* libvirt-qmf
* libvirt-snmp
* mesa-libGLw
* openslp
* python-configshell
* python-ipaddr
* python-rtslib
* python-simpleparse
* python-suds
* python-urwid
* sgabios
* spice-gtk
* tboot
* vios-proxy
* virt-who
* wdaemon
Changes from the Upstream Release
Packages modified from upstream release
The following packages are modified from the upstream release. All changes
are trademark and look/feel related unless otherwise noted below under the
specific package.
* abrt
* anaconda
* basesystem
* boost
* compat-glibc
* device-mapper-multipath
* dracut
* efax
* firefox
* firstaidkit
* firstboot
* gdm
* git
* gnome-desktop
* grubby
* gstreamer
* httpd
* initscripts
* iscsi-initiator-utils
* kabi-whitelists
* kabi-yum-plugins
* kdeadmin
* kdebase-workspace
* kexec-tools
* libreport
* libvirt
* libxml2
* libxslt
* luci
* mkbootdisk
* mod_auth_kerb
* nmap
* nss
* OpenIPMI
* openoffice.org
* openssl098e
* PackageKit
* pilot-link
* piranha
* plymouth
* publican
* python-virtinst
* qpid-cpp
* qpid-qmf
* redhat-bookmarks
* redhat-indexhtml
* redhat-lsb
* report
* rhn-client-tools - updated for Unbreakable Linux Network (ULN) support
* rhnlib
* rhnsd
* selinux-policy
* setroubleshoot
* setroubleshoot-plugins
* sos
* system-config-date
* system-config-date-docs
* system-config-kickstart
* system-config-network
* system-config-services
* system-config-services-docs
* system-config-users-docs
* system-icon-theme
* systemtap
* thunderbird
* tog-pegasus
* wireshark - OCFS2-related fix
* xsane
* xulrunner
* yum
* yum-rhn-plugin - updated for Unbreakable Linux Network (ULN) support
Packages removed from upstream release
The following packages have been removed.
* python-rhsm
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-as-IN
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-bn-IN
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-de-DE
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-en-US
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-es-ES
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-fr-FR
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-gu-IN
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-hi-IN
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-it-IT
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-ja-JP
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-kn-IN
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-ko-KR
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-ml-IN
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-mr-IN
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-or-IN
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-pa-IN
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-pt-BR
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-ru-RU
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-si-LK
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-ta-IN
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-te-IN
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-zh-CN
* Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux-Release_Notes-6-zh-TW
* redhat-logos
* redhat-release
* subscription-manager
* virt-who
New Packages added by Oracle
The following packages have been added to the base release
* kernel-uek
* mlnx_en
* ocfs2-tools
* ofa-2.6.32-300.3.1.el6uek
* oracle-logos
* oracleasm-support
* oraclelinux-release
* oraclelinux-release-notes
Kernel
Oracle Linux 6 ships with two sets of kernel packages:
* Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel [kernel-uek-2.6.32-300.3.1.el6uek]
* Installed and booted by default
* Red Hat compatible Kernel [kernel-2.6.32-220.el6]
* Installed by default
Note:Oracle Linux 6.2 includes both a 32 bit and a 64 bit Unbreakable
Enterprise Kernel. By default, both the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel and
the Red Hat Compatible Kernel are installed, and the system boots the
Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel by default. If needed, /etc/grub.conf can be
modified to make the system boot with the Red Hat Compatible Kernel by
default.
Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel
The Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel is based on the upstream kernel
2.6.32-46 stable source tree with additional performance improvements,
including:
* improved IRQ balancing
* reduced lock contention across the kernel
* improved network I/O via receive packet steering and RDS improvements
* improved virtual memory performance
Oracle Linux 6.2 includes both a 32 bit and a 64 bit Unbreakable
Enterprise Kernel. The Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel is the default kernel
after installation.
Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Driver Updates from Update 1
Network Drivers updates
* Updated igb to version 3.0.6-k
* Updated be2net to version 4.0.160r
* Updated bna to version 3.0.2.2
* Updated bnx2 to version 2.1.11
* Updated bnx2x to version 1.70.00-0
* Updated cnic to version 2.5.7
* Updated e1000e to version 1.4.4-k
* Updated enic to version 2.1.1.24
* Updated igbvf to version 2.0.0-k
* Updated ixgbe to version 3.4.24-NAPI
* Updated ixgbevfto version 2.1.0-k
* Updated netxen_nic to version 4.0.76
* Updated qlcnic to version 5.0.24
* Updated qlge to version v1.00.00.29.00.00-01
* Updated s2io to version 2.0.26.28
* Updated tg3 to version 3.119
Storage Drivers updates
* Updated arcmsr to version 1.20.00.15.el6u2 2010/08/05
* Updated be2iscsi to version 4.1.239.0
* Updated bfa 2.3.2.3 to version 3.0.2.2
* Updated bnx2fc to version 1.0.8
* Updated bnx2i to version 2.7.0.3
* Updated iscsi_ibft to version 0.5.0
* Updated lpfc to version 8.3.5.45.4p
* Updated megaraid_sas to version 00.00.05.40-rc1
* Updated mpt2sas to version 09.101.00.00
* Updated qla2xxx to version 8.03.07.08.32.1-k
* Updated qla4xxx to version 5.02.14.00.32.01-c0
* Updated scsi_debug to version 1.82
Other
* Updated hpwdt to version 1.3.0
* Updated mptbase to version 3.04.19
* Updated mptctl to version 3.04.19
* Updated mptfc to version 3.04.19
* Updated mptlan to version 3.04.19
* Updated mptsas to version 3.04.19
* Updated mptscsih to version 3.04.19
* Updated mptspi to version 3.04.19
Features
* OpenFabrics Enterprise Distribution (OFED) 1.5.1
OFED implements Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) and kernel bypass
mechanisms to deliver high-efficiency computing, wire-speed
messaging, ultra-low microsecond latencies and fast I/O for servers,
block storage and file systems.
* OCFS2 1.6
The Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel includes the OCFS2 1.6 kernel
module. New features include:
* JBD2 support
* Extended attributes
* POSIX ACLs
* Security attributes
* Metadata checksums
* Indexed directories
* REFLINKs
For more details, see the OCFS2 1.6 User's Guide
* DIF/DIX support
The Linux data integrity framework (DIF) enables applications or
kernel subsystems to attach metadata to I/O operations, allowing
devices that support DIF to verify the integrity before passing them
further down the stack and physically committing them to disk. Data
Integrity Extensions or DIX is a hardware feature that enables
exchange of protection metadata between host operating system and
HBA.
* Tickless kernel
The Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel is tickless. In the tickless
kernel, timer interrupts are performed on demand rather than at a
predetermined frequency. This allows CPUs to stay in a low power
state when the system is idle, reducing overall power consumption
* Task Control Groups (TCG)
TCG can track and group processes into user-defined cgroups so that
the operating system can treat them as whole and perform scheduling,
accounting, and resourceallocation accordingly. For example, using
TCG, you can associate a set of CPU cores and memory nodes to a
group of processes that makeup an application or a group of
applications. This enables subsetting larger systems, more fine
grained control over CPU and memory, and isolation of applications.
* Performance Counters for Linux (PCL)
The performance counter subsystem keeps track of hardware and
software events without affecting performance and enables you to do
tracing and performance analysis. Included is a tool called perf for
analysis.
* SSD Detection
The kernel block layer will detect devices that claim to be
fast,solid state storage and tune itself accordingly. The result of
this detection can be found in:
/sys/block/xxx/queue/rotational
Where xxx is the block device. Echoing a 0 or a 1 into this file
will force the value to off or on. When assuming a device is an SSD,
the block layer will try harder to immediately dispatch the IO to
the device.
* IO affinity
IO affinity ensures processing of a completed IO is handled by the
same CPU that initiated the IO. It can have a fairly large impact on
performance, especially on large NUMA machines. IO affinity is
turned on by default, but it can be controlled via the tunable in
/sys/block/xxx/queue/rq_affinity. For example, the following will
turn IO affinity on:
echo 1> /sys/block/sda/queue/rq_affinity
* Receive packet steering (RPS)
RPS distributes the load of received packet processing across
multiple CPUs. This solution allows protocol processing (e.g. IP and
TCP) to be performed on packets in parallel. This removes a
bottleneck when a single core is saturated processing network
interrupts. To enable receive packet steering for the interface xxx,
place a CPU mask into
/sys/class/net/xxx/queues/rx-0/rps_cpus
The cpu mask takes the same form as the masks for the taskset
command. For example:
echo 0x55> /sys/class/net/eth0/queues/rx-0/rps_cpus
* fallocate()
fallocate() is a new system call which will allow applications to
preallocate space to any file(s) in a file system. Applications can
get a guarantee of space for particular file(s) - even if later the
system becomes full. Using this method of allocation can
dramatically speed up the creation of large files such as those used
for virtual machine images.
Known Issues
1. Hardware virtualized with Paravirtualized Drivers (PVHVM) guests crash
during Oracle Database install
This can occur if the guest is set with a maximum memory (maxmem)
parameter greater than the amount set at boot (memory). To avoid
this issue, please ensure the maxmem and memory parameters are
equal.
2. Post-install Anaconda Errors
In certain cases, after successfully completing installation and
rebooting the system, it is possible that the following error stack
appears:
Error in sys.excepthook:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/lib/python2.6/site-packages/meh/handler.py", line 161, in
(lambda)
File "/usr/lib/anaconda/exception.py", line 44, in handleException
File "/usr/lib/python2.6/site-packages/meh/handler.py", line 106, in
handleException
File "/usr/lib/anaconda/gui.py", line 1169, in mainExceptionWindow
ImportError: No module named ui.gui
Or:
14:05:55 CRITICAL: anaconda 11.5.0.47 exception report
Traceback (most recent call first):
File "/usr/lib64/python2.6/site-packages/gtk-2.0/gtk/_lazyutils.py", line 32,
in __
getattr__
File "/usr/lib/anaconda/gui.py", line 1453, in keyRelease
if ((event.keyval == gtk.keysyms.KP_Delete
ImportError: No module named keysyms
These errors would also be logged in anaconda.log in /root after
installation. These errors can safely be ignored.
3. Cannot start FCoE Target service with Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel
The upstream release has added support for FCoE target service. This
is not supported with the current release of the Unbreakable
Enterprise Kernel (2.6.32-300.3.1). Customers wishing to use this
service must boot into the Red Hat Compatible Kernel. Support for
this service will be included in a future release of the Unbreakable
Enterprise Kernel.
4. Cannot start CGroups Config service with Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel
This service is not supported with the current release of the
Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (2.6.32-300.3.1). Customers wishing to
use this service must boot into the Red Hat Compatible Kernel.
Support for this service will be included in a future release of the
Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel.
5. mlx4_core conflicts between mlnx_en and ofa packages
Both the new mlnx_en and ofa packages contain mlx4_core. Only one of
the two packages should be installed. Attempts to install both
packages on a single server will result in a package conflict error.
To determine which package to use, if you have a Mellanox Ethernet
Controller, please use mlnx_en. If you have a Mellanox Infiniband
Controller, please use ofa. If you have both, please use ofa as it
supports both Ethernet and Infiniband controllers.
6. kdump service fails to start with Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel
When configuring the crash kernel for the UEK, only standard crash
kernel settings, e.g. crashkernel=128@64M, are supported. The new
setting used by the RHCK, i.e. crashkernel=auto, is not supported
and will cause the kdump service to fail to start.
In some scenerios of kickstart install crashkernel=auto is set in
kernel entry in /boot/grub/grub.conf file. Please change this setting
as suggested above.
7. "iTCO_wdt: failed to reset NO_REBOOT flag, reboot disabled by
hardware" error in dmesg when running the Unbreakable Enterprise
Kernel
To get rid of this error at boot time, add the line "blacklist
iTCO_wdt" to /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-watchdog
8. Hardware virtualized (HVM) guests with Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel
always use paravirtualized (PV) drivers
The Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel adds support for paravirtualized
drivers in a HVM guest on Oracle VM. The default is to present only
paravirtualized drivers when running in a hardware virtualized
guest. To run kernel-uek --including the drivers-- fully hardware
virtualized, an additional kernel boot parameter
"xen_emul_unplug=never" must be added to the boot parameters in
/etc/grub.conf:
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.32-300.3.1.el6uek ro root=/dev/VolGroup00/LogVol00 xen_emul_unplug=never
Adding this kernel boot parameter makes the kernel also present the
emulated drivers as it did before (e.g. the 8139cp network driver).
9. Incorrect package count (11684244)
Selecting all packages in certain groups during installation might
not show the correct count.
10. Default reverse path filtering mode affects certain Oracle products
(10649976)
Oracle Linux 6 defaults to strict reverse path filtering. Some
Oracle products and network storage devices work more reliably when
using loose reverse path filtering. To enable loose mode reverse
path filtering, issue the following command (assuming you are
changing settings for the network interface called eth1). The
default setting is 1.
sysctl net.ipv4.conf.eth1.rp_filter=2
11. Spurious udev messages during restore of a failed path (11682171)
When failed paths are restored in a multipath configuration, you may
see udevd-work error messages in /var/log/messages. The failed paths
do get restored despite these messages.
12. Default NFS v4 mount options
The default NFS mount option has changed to NFS v4. To mount an NFS
volume using NFS v3 (the default in Oracle Linux 5), use the
following mount options:
-o vers=3,mountproto=tcp
13. Setting serial console in a hardware virtualized (HVM) guest
To set the serial console a hardware virtualized (HVM) guest use
following settings in the guest:
* On the kernel boot line in grub.conf, add:
console=tty0 console=ttyS0,57600n8
* add the following to /etc/securetty
ttyS0
14. Unbreakable Linux Network
After an install of Oracle Linux 6, the screens after the first
reboot will guide you to register your system to the Unbreakable
Linux Network (ULN). If you did not configure your network during
the initial installation, the registration process to ULN will not
succeed. In this case, you should configure your network by running
NetworkManager first (as root). Then restart the ULN registration by
running uln_register (as root).
15. Console appears to hang while booting on certain systems (10094052 & 13485328)
On some hardware, the console may appear to hang during the boot
process after starting udev. But the system does boot up properly
and is accessible. A workaround to this problem is to add nomodeset
as a kernel boot parameter in /etc/grub.conf:
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.32-300.3.1.el6uek.x86_64 ro root=/dev/sd0 nomodeset
16. Default IO scheduler
For the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel, the default IO scheduler is
the 'deadline' scheduler.
For the Red Hat Compatible Kernel, the default IO scheduler is the
'cfq' scheduler.
17. sched_yield() settings for CFS
For the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel, kernel.sched_compat_yield=1
by default.
For the Red Hat Compatible Kernel, kernel.sched_compat_yield=0 by
default.
18. Warning message when kdump starts
When kdump starts, you may see the following warning message:
WARNING: No modules scsi_mod found for kernel 2.6.32-300.3.1.el6uek.x86_64, continuing anyway
This warning can be ignored. The kdump service does get started and
a vmcore does get generated.
19. Upgrading x86_64 system
Please remove following packages if installed before upgarding x86_64 system to Oracle Linux 6 Update 2
* tog-pegasus.i686
* sblim-cmpi-dns.i686
* sblim-cmpi-samba.i686
* mvapich2.i686
* report.i686
20. Installing xguest package.
Enable selinux (selinux=enforcing) before installing xguest package. xguest package installation
will fail on a system with selinux disabled with following error:
Running Transaction
Error in PREIN scriptlet in rpm package xguest-1.0.9-2.el6.noarch
error: %pre(xguest-1.0.9-2.el6.noarch) scriptlet failed, exit status 1
error: install: %pre scriptlet failed (2), skipping xguest-1.0.9-2.el6
21. Ignorable message in the kernel log files
You may see a message similar to this one in the kernel log files:
virbr0: starting userspace STP failed, starting kernel STP
This message indicates that the kernel tried to start a Spanning Tree
Protocol helper program that is not yet part of Oracle Linux. The message
indicates that the kernel is using its own STP helper instead.
22. Paravirtualized guest hang during save/restore or live migration (13492670)
Paravirtualized guest may hang during save/restore or live migration when microcode module
is loaded. Please remove the microcode module before save/restore or live migrate operation.
23. Error inserting cxgb3i module (13493043)
iscsi offload via cxgb3i on a server with Chelsio T3 Network Controller will fail
with following error if ofa kernel package is installed
fatal: error inserting cxgb3i - unknown symbol t3_l2e_free
Use following workaround steps to fix the issue:
* Remove cxgb3i dependent module from memory if any loaded , i.e
# rmmod libcxgbi cxgb3
* Uninstall ofa package,
# rpm -e ofa-2.6.32-300.3.1.el6uek-1.5.1-4.0.47.x86_64
* Load cxgb3i module
# modprobe cxgb3i
Technology Preview Features
The following Technology Preview features are currently not supported
under Oracle Linux 6 and may not be functionally complete:
* Open multicast ping (Omping)
* Matahari
* System Information Gatherer and Reporter (SIGAR)
* fsfreeze
* DIF/DIX support
* File system in user space (FUSE)
* btrfs
* LVM Application Programming Interface (API)
* LVM RAID support
* FS-Cache
* vios-proxy
* IPv6 support in IPVS
* Trusted boot
* TPM
The following Technology Preview features are only available when running
the Red Hat Compatible Kernel (RHCK):
* Parallel NFS
* Brocade BFA driver
* SR-IOV on the be2net driver
* Support for Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) target mode
* Kernel Media support
* Remote audit logging
* Linux (NameSpace) Container [LXC]
* Error Detection And Correction (EDAC) driver interface
* Diagnostic pulse for the fence_ipmilan agent
* System monitoring via SNMP
* Wire speed requirement in KVM network drivers
* KVM Live Snapshots
These features are not suitable for production use. However, these
features are included to provide the feature with wider exposure.
Unbreakable Linux Network
Oracle Linux 6 no longer contains up2date for access to Unbreakable Linux
Network. Instead packages are managed using Yum. To register with ULN, use
the following command:
# uln_register
To access Linux updates via Unbreakable Linux Network, you must purchase a
Linux support subscription. For more information please visit
http://linux.oracle.com