IT36797: VSNAP FAILS TO INSTALL ON RHEL 8.X WHEN NEWER KERNEL IS PRESENT

APAR status

• Closed as program error.

Error description

• When installing vSnap on RHEL 8.x, a specific kernel version
  supported
  by vSnap is required. If the system contains an older kernel,
  the
  vSnap installer upgrades it to the required version. If the
  system
  contains a newer kernel, the vSnap installer is supposed to
  install
  the older supported kernel and make it the default boot choice.
  
  Due to an error in the installer, it can fail to install the
  older
  kernel if a newer version is already present on the system. The
  installation process shows messages similar to the following:
  
  Package kernel-4.18.0-193.el8.x86_64 is already installed.
  Package kernel-4.18.0-240.22.1.el8_3.x86_64 is already
  installed.
  Dependencies resolved.
  Nothing to do.
  Complete!
  WARNING: Failed to install kernel 4.18.0-240.15.1.el8_3.x86_64.
  
  The problem occurs because the vSnap installer uses a yum
  command to
  install the older kernel 4.18.0-240.15.1. Due to new behavior of
  yum
  in RHEL 8.x, the command fails if one or more newer kernels are
  present. In contrast, the same command does succeed on RHEL 7.x.
  
  Affected Version: IBM Spectrum Protect Plus 10.1.8
  

Local fix

• After the vSnap installation fails, run the following command to
  manually retry the kernel installation.
  
  yum install
  /opt/vsnap/config/pkgs/kernel/kernel-4.18.0-240.15.1.el8_3.x86_6
  4.rpm
  
  Once the kernel is successfully installed, retry the vSnap
  installation to allow it to complete the rest of the steps.
  

Problem summary

• ****************************************************************
  * USERS AFFECTED:                                              *
  * IBM Spectrum Protect Plus level 10.1.8.                      *
  ****************************************************************
  * PROBLEM DESCRIPTION:                                         *
  * See Error Description.                                       *
  ****************************************************************
  * RECOMMENDATION:                                              *
  * Apply the fixing level when available. This problem is       *
  * projected to be fixed in IBM Spectrum Protect Plus level     *
  * 10.18 patch1 and 10.1.9. Note that this is subject to change *
  * at the discretion of IBM.                                    *
  ****************************************************************
  

Problem conclusion

• The vSnap installer has been fixed to take into account the new
  behavior of yum in RHEL 8.x. The installer now succeeds and
  correctly installs the required kernel even if a newer kernel is
  already present at the time of installation or upgrade.
  

Temporary fix

Comments

APAR Information

• APAR is sysrouted FROM one or more of the following:

• APAR is sysrouted TO one or more of the following:

Fix information

• Fixed component name

  SP PLUS

• Fixed component ID

  5737SPLUS

Applicable component levels