11-STABLE system unbootable after update

[Scott Bennett]

Cyrus Rahman <crahman at gmail.com> wrote:

> When you upgrade the kernel you need to upgrade any loadable kernel
> modules at the same time.

     Yes.  For a time, listing them in /etc/src.conf would get them
rebuilt automatically as a sort of epilogue to building a kernel, but then
something changed quite a while back, and I had to comment that line out
and return to doing them manually.  Often they still work without being
rebuilt, and I got careless this time.  Sigh.
>
> Recompile any kmods from ports and you should be ok.

     Done, but the next reboot will be into the previous boot environment,
and it now seems unlikely that I will use this one again rather than
making a new one from a more up-to-date revision.
>
> STABLE doesn't always work.  It's good for adventurous people to try
> it so the bugs get found out, but occasionally it is painful.  Upgrade
> again right after the release in a few weeks.  Usually caution is in
> order just before things get to the BETA stage.  I upgraded just now
> do help test things and discovered your bug, which I posted about a
> few posts before yours on the list.

     Ah.  I suppose I will see that while catching up on my latest email
backlog caused by six days or so with no working system.  Thanks again
for your reply to my call for help.
>
> If the description I posted is similar to yours, go ahead and reply to
> my message on the list, and perhaps go to bugs.freebsd.org and search
> out 'loader', and add any information you might have (or at least
> document the fact that you were affected).

     Will do.
>
> You can quote me on the list, I simply wanted to have you try things
> out before putting my suggestions on it.  Over the years I have grown
> weary of unnecessary noise.
>
     Okay.  I've cc'ed the list this time.
     FWIW, once of the things I have been wishing for in trying new
revisions of 11-STABLE is a fix for the failure of the kernel to honor
the vm.max_wired sysctl variable.  The crash that gave me an opportunity
to try the broken revision was another case of the kernel having pagefixed
so much real memory that it was not only causing paging/swapping when it
should have, but I think the kernel itself couldn't get page frames it
needed fast enough in some situation.  I don't know whether this bug has
been found and fixed yet, though, so I have temporarily returned to
setting vm.kmem_size_max, which does seem to be honored.
     Anyway, thanks for bailing me out yesterday.  The system is now
somewhat usable while I satisfy my curiousity and should be fully usable
upon reversion, which will probably happen tomorrow (Monday) night.


                                  Scott Bennett, Comm. ASMELG, CFIAG
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