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WARNING: Avoid Ubuntu 11.10 (mainly for providers).
Known bug in Ubuntu 11.10 causes the init process to max out the available CPU until the VPS is shutdown. We disabled the template in SolusVM but some clients have been manually upgrading causing us to keep an eye on top. Just a heads up.
PID USER PR NI VIRT RES SHR S %CPU %MEM TIME+ COMMAND 1 root 25 0 2880 1488 1240 R 99.9 0.6 2:17.71 init
More info:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/upstart/+bug/880049
Comments
Thanks for the heads-up.
@KuJoe and what you're doing if someone upgrades?
I've read somewhere (maybe here?) About this issue. And there is a workaround already.
We ended up patching init to get around this little issue. It's possible to just pass RW access to /dev/console to fix the issue as well
Francisco
So... Ubuntu SUCKS!
Debian fanboy here xDDDD (again)
We shutdown the VPS and open a ticket.
From what I've read the workaround is not recommended by the Ubuntu devs. If a client wants to do this they may but we won't be offering 11.10 until it's patched.
You're letting it happen? You make it sound like that.
wats up with people using ubuntu for servers? whats so great about it? why not just use debian?
I share that opinion. However from a providers point of view, a client is a client, as long as they're not abusing etc. they can use Ubuntu if they want :P Well of course not this version of Ubuntu.
Ubuntu is much more up-to-date with the packages, so it's really great when you want to run the latest versions of software. But it also needs updates all the time :S
And the number of ppa's (packages) available makes it attractive for those who don't wish to compile from source.
But yes I do agree that Ubuntu has it's place on a desktop, and not a server.
I've also noticed that on KVM my Ubuntu 11.10 vps use 0.01 to 0.05 load when the same software setup on Debian 6 or any previous version of Ubuntu will sit at 0.0 .
Its not much but added up over hundreds of customers it probably amounts to something.
wats up with people using ubuntu for servers? whats so great about it? why not just use debian?
Ubuntu is based on Debian and with some improvements on that, it's easier to manage IMO, also PPA for Ubuntu is great resource for software packages, if you read the usage of OS published by Linode you'll see Ubuntu's share is quite impressive.
I've also noticed that on KVM my Ubuntu 11.10 vps use 0.01 to 0.05 load when the same software setup on Debian 6 or any previous version of Ubuntu will sit at 0.0 .
Its not much but added up over hundreds of customers it probably amounts to something.
Same for me, I reverted to Ubuntu 11.04 which is more stable for me. I guess the problem is on the latest kernel of version 3?
This worked for me
"I found another workaround which do not involve patching : simply delete /dev/console in the VE and replace it with a plain file."
You can make a script that does that, am i right?
Yes, there is workaround. Downgrade upstart to earlier version.
:P
I am also using Debian, at least for the real workhorses. Nothing against Ubuntu but I feel Debian has better control over packages, lower footprint and is more stable.
If I need something more uptodate, CentOS is OK and for desktops I go with openSUSE.
I know quite a few ppl that use Ubuntu tho, but they use it for desktop, havent heard of anyone to use it for a server (unless we count their desktop which has also LAMP, FTP, Samba or something along those lines).
It makes perfect sense for someone to get a VPS and use it with something they know best, so I guess Ubuntu will continue to have it's share in this particular area. It is just unfortunate for that bug, but CentOS had worse bugs, some images with CentOS 5 are still buggy out there, but since it doesnt affect the node's load and stability, it is not a concern for providers.
M
We've experienced this for OpenVZ so it's using the OpenVZ kernel (and not the latest one either).
hmm, I have most of my VMs running on Ubuntu 11.10 but the 'uptime' shows no load for me, probably it displays something in virt-top?
Anyway, thanks for the heads up
IIRC do you hate OpenVZ xD So, this is only for this kind of virtualization.
Lots of 11.10 guests and a couple of nodes running fine without this issue. All on KVM.
I'll keep an eye out.