WayStar
04-28-2004, 06:58 PM
As of this writing, I'm running Mandrake 10.0, recently upgraded from 9.2. I received an email alert today that I should update from kernel 2.6.3.7mdk to 2.6.3.9mdk. Trouble is, I'm at work, on windows machines, and my Mandrake machine is at home. I won't be leaving work until late tonight, so I thought I'd try to update it remotely. And it worked!
I've updated my Mandrake kernel plenty of times, but never remotely.
Here's what I did:
1) From my windows machine at work, I used Putty to ssh into my machine.
Putty is a linux-loving windows user's best friend. Last I checked, it could be obtained from http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/
I have OpenSSH installed on my Mandrake machine, and I keep the server portion (sshd) running all the time. http://www.openssh.org/ if you don't have it, but you could more easily get it using the "Install Software" program found somewhere under Packages in your Configuration menu.
***Make sure that you know how to ssh and use a text editor remotely. Your favorite text editor at the console might not work the same when you're logged in from a windows machine.***
2) I logged in as myself, the user. Then I used the "su" command to change to root. I have my machine set up so that root is not allowed to directly log in from a remote location. I feel a wee bit safer that way.
3) I followed the directions at http://www.mandrakesecure.net/en/kernelupdate.php
Okay, here's the short version. Or not-so-short version. :)
3a) Updated urpmi sources by typing "urpmi.update -a" and hitting ENTER key.
3b) Consulted the Advisory to confirm the new kernel name, then installed by typing "urpmi kernel-2.6.3.9mdk" followed by ENTER key. NOTE: this step took a few minutes, even after my prompt came back.
3c) Examined the file /etc/lilo.conf to make sure that the new kernel was the first entry. In my case, the first entry is pretty generic looking and doesn't include version numbers. That's OK. I checked the files in /boot to find that the generic looking files are links that now point to the newly-installed kernel. Good.
If I did need to edit the /etc/lilo.conf file, I would've used the "vi" text editor because I know that it works when I'm logged in through Putty from this machine. If you need to change your /etc/lilo.conf and can't because your text editor won't work, you'll probably have to wait until you get home to finish the job. In general, Putty has pretty good xterm emulation, so it's usually not a problem.
3d) After confirming that my /etc/lilo.conf is in tip-top shape, I ran the lilo program to read in the new configuration by typing "/sbin/lilo -v" and hitting ENTER. A bunch of stuff scrolled my indicating that it was reading all of the stuff I had in there.
***Forgetting to run the lilo program was my biggest mistake the first few times I tried updating my kernel.
4) Rebooted the machine. As root, I typed, "reboot" and that did the trick. As always in linux, there are many ways to do this one simply task. Just use your favorite.
5) I Waited. This is the hardest part. :)
6) Again using Putty, I used ssh to log into my machine as myself. Then I typed "uname -a" and hit ENTER to be greeted with the name of my shiny, newly-updated Mandrake kernel.
That's about it. I hope I didn't leave anything out. I'm sure y'all can let me know if I did.
-Waylena
< searching keywords >
remote kernel update openssh ssh putty
I've updated my Mandrake kernel plenty of times, but never remotely.
Here's what I did:
1) From my windows machine at work, I used Putty to ssh into my machine.
Putty is a linux-loving windows user's best friend. Last I checked, it could be obtained from http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/
I have OpenSSH installed on my Mandrake machine, and I keep the server portion (sshd) running all the time. http://www.openssh.org/ if you don't have it, but you could more easily get it using the "Install Software" program found somewhere under Packages in your Configuration menu.
***Make sure that you know how to ssh and use a text editor remotely. Your favorite text editor at the console might not work the same when you're logged in from a windows machine.***
2) I logged in as myself, the user. Then I used the "su" command to change to root. I have my machine set up so that root is not allowed to directly log in from a remote location. I feel a wee bit safer that way.
3) I followed the directions at http://www.mandrakesecure.net/en/kernelupdate.php
Okay, here's the short version. Or not-so-short version. :)
3a) Updated urpmi sources by typing "urpmi.update -a" and hitting ENTER key.
3b) Consulted the Advisory to confirm the new kernel name, then installed by typing "urpmi kernel-2.6.3.9mdk" followed by ENTER key. NOTE: this step took a few minutes, even after my prompt came back.
3c) Examined the file /etc/lilo.conf to make sure that the new kernel was the first entry. In my case, the first entry is pretty generic looking and doesn't include version numbers. That's OK. I checked the files in /boot to find that the generic looking files are links that now point to the newly-installed kernel. Good.
If I did need to edit the /etc/lilo.conf file, I would've used the "vi" text editor because I know that it works when I'm logged in through Putty from this machine. If you need to change your /etc/lilo.conf and can't because your text editor won't work, you'll probably have to wait until you get home to finish the job. In general, Putty has pretty good xterm emulation, so it's usually not a problem.
3d) After confirming that my /etc/lilo.conf is in tip-top shape, I ran the lilo program to read in the new configuration by typing "/sbin/lilo -v" and hitting ENTER. A bunch of stuff scrolled my indicating that it was reading all of the stuff I had in there.
***Forgetting to run the lilo program was my biggest mistake the first few times I tried updating my kernel.
4) Rebooted the machine. As root, I typed, "reboot" and that did the trick. As always in linux, there are many ways to do this one simply task. Just use your favorite.
5) I Waited. This is the hardest part. :)
6) Again using Putty, I used ssh to log into my machine as myself. Then I typed "uname -a" and hit ENTER to be greeted with the name of my shiny, newly-updated Mandrake kernel.
That's about it. I hope I didn't leave anything out. I'm sure y'all can let me know if I did.
-Waylena
< searching keywords >
remote kernel update openssh ssh putty