Ubuntu Linux 11.10 Install Notes

This past week, I finally got around to installing the latest version of Ubuntu Linux on my home server - 11.10, "Oneiric Ocelot" (released 2011-10-13). There shouldn't be anything too significant here - these are mainly notes for myself, but posted here in case something is useful to others. I always do a full, clean re-installation - so several of the notes listed here won't be of concern for an in-place upgrade.

For some additional reference, this is the same server that I have setup as part of my Ubuntu Linux Router project, is setup with LDAP, and is the subject of several other Linux-related posts.

As I am using and now dependent on VLANs on this server for my network setup, I need to have a few necessary related packages readily available for the upgraded OS before reinstalling. These are not currently included on either the CD or DVD installation images, and I need them to be able to regain Internet connectivity - so simply using "apt-get" to re-install them from the Internet is clearly not an option. For the 11.10 upgrade, I downloaded the following amd64 *.deb packages:

• http://packages.ubuntu.com/oneiric/vlan
• http://packages.ubuntu.com/oneiric/bridge-utils
• http://packages.ubuntu.com/oneiric/ebtables

After the fresh installation, the server fails to boot. This isn't anything new to to 11.10, but has been something to remember since I converted to a GUID Partition Table (GPT) from the legacy MBR partitioning scheme. I already have the special BIOS boot partition, as detailed under "GPT" at http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub.html#BIOS-installation, which doesn't need to be re-configured with an OS upgrade. However, after the Ubuntu installation finishes, I do need to reset this partition as "active" in the legacy MBR partition table using fdisk - as I apparently have one of the Intel motherboards with a "buggy BIOS" that otherwise shouldn't require this. Additional details are at http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=9787109&postcount=22 and http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/bios.html.

All of my posts for the Ubuntu Linux Router project, while written for 8.04, are still almost completely valid and applicable for all releases since - including 11.10. One edit for Configuring Persistent PPP is that instead of attempting to disable NetworkManager, it is easier to just remove it: "apt-get remove network-manager". Install the networking *.deb packages downloaded above, then configure the DSL. Uncomment the "usepeerdns" line from the /etc/ppp/peers/dsl-provider restored from backup until BIND can be setup.

Once online, download and install some additional packages:

apt-get install vim build-essential ssh gnome-panel nautilus-open-terminal dkms linux-server
apt-get upgrade

After getting LDAP re-configured, 11.10 has some problems with graphical / xorg logins, as detailed at https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/at-spi2-core/+bug/870874, and somewhat, "Problems with LightDm on Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric? Here's how to solve" (2011-10-16, linux-software-news-tutorials.blogspot.com). Unfortunately, in this case, both LightDm and gdm exhibit the same issue - so my current work-around is to disable the problem script, /etc/X11/Xsession.d/90qt-a11y, by prefixing its name with a non-numeric character.

Finally, I don't need the extra help that Ubuntu provides at every login, so I disable it:

$ sudo chmod -x /etc/update-motd.d/10-help-text