Description of problem: The module-init-tools RPM obsoletes modversions, but kmod-xenpv still depends on it. Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable): module-init-tools-3.1-0.pre5.3.10 kmod-xenpv-0.1-10.el4 modversions-1.0-4.el4_6.1 How reproducible: always Steps to Reproduce: 1. On a fully virtualized RHEL 4.7 guest, try to install kmod-xenpv with up2date. 2. This fails because it requires modversions, which is obsoleted by the already installed module-init-tools. Actual results: Installation of kmod-xenpv with up2date is not possible. Additional info: It is possible to install modversions with "rpm -i", and then install kmod-xenpv. Also see BZ 458173 for the way up2date behaves in this situation.
Actually, in point of fact, this isn't really a bug, since you don't need to use kmod-xenpv in 4.7 anymore. That is, since 4.7, the PV-on-HVM drivers are built into the kernel, and all further development on them is being done there. I'm going to close this as "NOTABUG" for now; if you disagree, feel free to reopen. Chris Lalancette
Re-opening this bz. The reporter is 100% correct. When upgrading from 4.6 to 4.7 (or soon, 4.8) with the kmod-xenpv pkg installed, the module.dep has incorrect module dependencies created due to a bug in modversions shipped in 4.6. The end result is that the kmod-xenpv .ko's are listed in the modules.dep file instead of the in-kernel-pkg version of the xenpv drivers. The solution is to install the 4.7 (or 4.8) module-init-tools, then upgrade the kernel. To do it automagically, the kernel spec file needs to have a Requires: module-init-tools >= 3.1-0.pre5.3.10 added to it, *and* the kmod-xenpv-<>.el4 pkg has to have its Requires change from modversions to this module-init-tools version (to cover the multiple ways to update: just the kernel, just the kmod-xenpv, & both). The kmod-rhel4 pkg is getting ready to be rev'd so it has this new dependency, *and* the kernel spec needs to be changed for rhel4.8, as well as backported to 4.7(.z), so updates from 4.6+xenpv => 4.7.x create a proper modules.dep. Will leave this bz open until the changes are made to the kernel specs files as well as the kmod-xenpv-<>.el4 pkg. - Don Dutile
The final solution to this problem is to de-install the kmod-xenpv pkg _before_ installing/upgrading rhel4.7. This means that if one wants to keep a 4.6 kernel + kmod_xenpv setup and a rhel4.7 kernel on the same (guest) system, one would have to save the /lib/modules/<version>/kernel/drivers/xenpvhvm subdirectory to the side, remove the kmod-xenpv pkg, do the rhel4.7 update, then put the saved directory back. It may also require saving the 4.6 initrd before the kmod-xenpv pkg removal. This manual process is necessary due to the compound problem of the kmod-xenpv support being included in the rhel4.7 kernel package, the inclusion of modversions into the module-init-tools pkg, and the upgrading of kernels & kmod's and their dependencies btwn old and new kernels. The m-i-t pkg wasn't designed to handle this odd combination (on rhel4), and the risk to upgrade it to do so puts other, more std, kmod-<> pkgs in jeopardy when rhel4 is upgraded again.
We may need to write a kbase article on this.