Description of problem: Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable): FC6 How reproducible: Easy to reporduce. Steps to Reproduce: 1. Start a fresh installation of FC6 with "Virtualization" installed. 2. Uninstall "Virtualization" after FC6 is installed. 3. Kernel (with Xen support) is uninstalled, too, which leaves no kernel to boot up. Actual results: FC6 cannot boot. Expected results: FC6 can boot. Additional info:
Fun :-) Would it help if you got a warning saying that you're about to remove required bits from the system?
Like me, quite a lot people will select everything during package selection (including Virtualization support), but they don't expect that Xen is running immediateley after installation and that there is no alternative kernel installed in case they run into problems or if they remove Virtualization support. On the other hand, it's funny to see how good Xen works that a lot of people maybe never notice that they're now running under Xen. (I noticed the Xen kernel only because the complex Xen networking stuff broke my DHCP/IPv6 setup - could be related to bug #213015). But to get back to the original issue: If somebody decides to switch back from Xen to old-school kernel, he will probably run "pirut" and deselect Virtualization support. That should leave his system in the same state as if he didn't select Virtualization support during initial installation. A warning would be nice, but it might not help much. What is the user expected to do? Run "yum install kernel" manually? Maybe it might be a good idea to always install an old-school kernel as a fall-back. Then no matter whether Virtualization is installed or removed - there's always a regular kernel to boot from. Sorry if this is a stupid proposal... I'm just in that situation right now and don't want to screw up the system. ;-)
I think it's a brilliant idea to install 2 kernels (Xen and normal) and make the Xen kernel as the default one.
This then means that for the people where things work they're left downloading twice as many kernels, using twice as much disk space and leading to a less intuitive interface (the difference between the regular and Xen kernels in the grub menu is quite subtle). There's very good reason why we only install one kernel now.
In my opinion, the Xen kernel should be the default and only kernel installed. That way, you would be able to add or remove guest systems without harming the integrity or stability of the host system. Less complexity is better than more complexity...... Pete
You'll get a warning that your system will be left unbootable now if you remove kernel-xen with pirut, so closing this out