Ubuntu apt-get install linux-image

Question

I'd like someone to enlighten me as to what exactly goes on with aptitude when I want a kernel.

As we all know, there's pretty much the following kernel option:

1. linux-image-generic

2. linux-image-server

3. linux-image-virtual

This morning I did an install and it had linux-image-generic on it, so I ran the following:

apt-get -y remove linux-image-*

This removed all my kernels as expected, I followed suit with running:

apt-get install linux-image-virtual

Says I've installed linux-image-server!?

Am I missing something here, because I checked twice and it did it twice, however if I manually select a kernel (in my instance I used: linux-image-2.6.35-30-virtual) it will install linux-image-virtual.

This seems rather strange to me?

Details: Running Ubuntu 9.10

Am I missing something? :)

Solution

Essentially, here's whats going on:

The package linux-image-virtual is for virtual machines. Virtual Machines are traditionally servers.

However, if you installed the linux-image-2.6.35-30 package, it should install the normal Kernel.

Hopefully that answers your question.

Comments

[sarnold]

I always use apt-get -u install ... or apt-get -u dist-upgrade when installing or upgrading, just to see the explicit package selections being made.

[Admin]

@sarnold Yep, I'd normally do that too but I still find this a little weird, don't you? It just seems to me like, logically if you ask for linux-image-virtual you should be presented with a stable linux-image-virtual?

[Karl Kloppenborg]

See that's what I thought, I was just under the assumption that ubuntu would be very strict with their naming conventions, because isn't it correct to say -server does not have virtualized stuff in it (ie: xenblk) and -virtual does? Maybe it's me who is a bit too strict? :P