Slackware 14.1 in MS Hyper-V

skush · 11-29-2013, 07:03 PM

I'm having trouble with Slackware 14.1 in Hyper-V, it gets through the installer just fine, and reboots, and LILO works fine. After selecting it from the LILO menu however, it goes through some of the regular boot procedure (Loading Linux…….., etc.) then it goes to a kernel panic. Does anyone else have a successful installation on Hyper-V? Should I not be using the default kernel? Do I need to give certain kernel parameters when it asks? The hypervisor is running Windows Server 2008. I can post an image of the panic the next time I have access to the machine if necessary.

Thanks

tux_dude · 11-30-2013, 10:05 AM

Are you using initrd and if yes, what options did you specify?

mostlyharmless · 11-30-2013, 10:48 AM

There's a hyper-v compatibility option for the kernel compile options which is not selected by default. Methinks you need to recompile the kernel.

CeeWave · 12-01-2013, 04:54 PM

I have recently installed a Slackware64 guest virtual machine in a Windows 8 host with Hyper-V. I ran into similar problems finding the root device when booting either the huge or generic 3.10.17 kernels. I was able to successfully boot the virtual machine, with the stock kernels, by using an initrd image that included the hv_vmbus and hv_storvsc modules. These modules are in addition to any filesystem modules that you would normally require for use when booting with the generic kernel.

skush · 12-02-2013, 07:44 PM

Thanks for the replies. CeeWave, as I have zero experience with initrd, could you explain the process you went through a little bit more. Thanks.

CeeWave · 12-03-2013, 07:14 AM

This may not be the cleanest method, and I'm recalling the process mostly from memory, but the basic steps I used to fix this was to:

1) Boot off of the installation disc
2) Mount the partition holding the root partition on /mnt, e.g.:

Code:

mount -t ext4 /dev/sda1 /mnt

3) Enter an interactive shell with the mounted partition as root directory:

Code:

chroot /mnt

4) Change directory to /boot and review the file README.initrd for the official description of the initrd building process and usage. You should also review the man page for the mkinitrd command.
5) Create the initrd.gz image:

Code:

mkinitrd -c -f ext4 -r /dev/sda1 -m hv_vmbus:hv_storvsc:mbcache:jbd2:ext4 -u -o /boot/initrd.gz

6) Follow the instructions in /boot/README.initrd to edit /etc/lilo.conf and run lilo to set up and install the boot loader.

If you used a root filesystem other than ext4 or a partition other than /dev/sda1, you'll need to adjust the commands in steps #2 and #5. The hv_vmbus and hv_storvsc modules were the key to getting it working under Hyper-V while the mbcache, jbd2, and ext4 modules were required to use the generic kernel with the ext4 root filesystem. You can also try using the /usr/share/mkinitrd/mkinitrd_command_generator.sh script to automatically generate the command appropriate for you to use in step #5.

skush · 12-03-2013, 10:27 PM

Your method worked flawlessly, and in reading that file, I gained a basic understanding of initrd. Thank you very much.

ReaperX7 · 12-03-2013, 10:53 PM

Alternatively you can also use the Huge kernel which doesn't require an initrd.gz.

CeeWave · 12-04-2013, 07:16 AM

skush, You're welcome, I'm glad you were able to to get it to work.

ReaperX7, using the Huge kernel often avoids requiring an initrd.gz. Unfortunately, by design or oversight, the Hyper-V support is provided by modules in both the Huge and Generic 3.10.17 kernels.

Huge:

Code:

bash-4.2# grep HYPERV /boot/config-huge-3.10.17
CONFIG_HYPERVISOR_GUEST=y
# CONFIG_SYS_HYPERVISOR is not set
CONFIG_HYPERV_STORAGE=m
CONFIG_HYPERV_NET=m
# CONFIG_FB_HYPERV is not set
CONFIG_HID_HYPERV_MOUSE=m
CONFIG_HYPERV=m
CONFIG_HYPERV_UTILS=m
CONFIG_HYPERV_BALLOON=m

and Generic:

Code:

bash-4.2# grep HYPERV /boot/config-generic-3.10.17
CONFIG_HYPERVISOR_GUEST=y
# CONFIG_SYS_HYPERVISOR is not set
CONFIG_HYPERV_STORAGE=m
CONFIG_HYPERV_NET=m
# CONFIG_FB_HYPERV is not set
CONFIG_HID_HYPERV_MOUSE=m
CONFIG_HYPERV=m
CONFIG_HYPERV_UTILS=m
CONFIG_HYPERV_BALLOON=m

necessitating the use of an initrd image with either kernel.

Strykar · 07-01-2016, 09:45 PM

I use ext4 and even on 14.2 I use

Quote:

mkinitrd -c -f ext4 -r /dev/sda1 -m hv_vmbus:hv_storvsc -u -o /boot/initrd.gz

I wish I'd commented my 14.1's (kernel 4.0.1) lilo.conf because I found I would use

Quote:

append="vt.default_utf8=0 raid=noautodetect hyperv_clocksource"

This is from

Quote:

# ls -l /sys/devices/system/clocksource/clocksource0/
total 0
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 4096 Jul 2 08:12 available_clocksource
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4096 Jul 2 08:12 current_clocksource
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 0 Jul 2 08:12 power/
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 0 Jul 2 08:12 subsystem -> ../../../../bus/clocksource/
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4096 Jul 2 2016 uevent
--w------- 1 root root 4096 Jul 2 08:12 unbind_clocksource

Telling lilo the clocksource isn't required, I tested it.
On 14.2 hyperv_clocksource_tsc_page is used by default.

a4z · 07-02-2016, 12:41 AM

Hej Strykar, thanks for the info

what does this mean?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strykar

I wish I'd commented my 14.1's (kernel 4.0.1) lilo.conf because I found I would use

This is from
Telling lilo the clocksource isn't required, I tested it.

On 14.2 hyperv_clocksource_tsc_page is used by default.

no extra parameter for lilo?

I wish this additional work would not be required and Slackware could work on Hyper-V out of the box.
I understand that most here do not need this, and therefor do not know/understand, but for certain development work on windows you need to use Hyper-V what disables VMWare (or limits it to 1 32bit CPU), switching between Hyper-V on of on the fly is not possible.

This makes people of course using something else, understandable, even I hate to fiddle around and fix this since my primary interests are getting dev jobs done, not fixing pre loaded modules, a stupid work someone has to do over and over again for each installation.

Strykar · 07-02-2016, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by a4z

Hej Strykar, thanks for the info

what does this mean?

no extra parameter for lilo?

I wish this additional work would not be required and Slackware could work on Hyper-V out of the box.

Hi! It means to get Hyper-V support without the huge.s kernel, you need just 2 modules - hv_vmbus and hv_storvsc

I'd specified clocksource because of a kernel panic in the past.
No extra parameters are required in lilo.conf

The issue why initrd is required is due to the way Hyper-V is bundled in the kernel.
It seems unlikely to get Slackware working out of the box as a Hyper-V guest unless kernel.org changes the way Hyper-V is bundled.
Just follow CeeWave's instructions above when you install and setup the initrd right after completing the install before rebooting.

I often get trolled for using Slackware under Hyper-V, but they have 4 datacenters in India which are important to me and facts speak for themselves - http://www.geekwire.com/2016/azure-r...tanley-survey/

marky9074 · 02-10-2018, 01:59 AM

Sorry to resurrect this thread. Successfully installed 14.2 and followed the instructions for the initrd OK. However once I upgrade all, I cannot mount my /dev/sda2 with 'No kernel modules found for Linux 4.4.115'....

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Mark

a4z · 02-10-2018, 11:04 AM

possible you updated the kernel? than you should have rebuild the initrd for the new kernel before rebooting.

marky9074 · 02-11-2018, 04:04 PM

I tried to make a new initrd.gz but it has more or less same error:

ERROR: No /lib/modules/4.4.14 kernel modules tree found for kernel "4.4.14"

So I renamed 4.4.115 to 4.4.14 and rerun the mkinitrd and re-run lilo, but it just stayed at the dots at the top of the screen when booting. I then booted back of install media and tried again, but the same. What is telling mkinitrd to use those modules? I looked and there is no mkinitrd.conf in /etc and the sample file has no obvious link to a kernel tree....