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[Patricia Gaughen <1415634@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1415634

Title:
  RFC: replace linux-virtual with linux-server / tune kernel  packages

Status in linux package in Ubuntu:
  Confirmed

Bug description:
  We currently build 2 meta packages for easy consumption and automatic
  kernel upgrades.  These are linux-virtual and linux-generic.

  The -virtual meta package was created with the general purpose of
  "support virtual environments", and then extended to include "and
  common cloud workloads" (adding things like rdb and kvm).

  Would it be possible to find a happy medium where we had enough
  drivers to enable network and block devices and essential server
  devices but maintained a reasonable install size ?  That would enable
  us to create one set of images for use in cloud enviroments be they on
  bare metal or hypervisors.

  As an example of sizes collected from a cloud image, we have:

  release | kernel        | apt inst| initrd | /lib/modules
   vivid  | linux-virtual | 125M    |  8M    |  34M
   vivid  | linux-generic | 358M    | 27M    | 193M
   trusty | linux-virtual | 119M    |  7M    |  31M
   trusty | linux-generic | 337M    | 24M    | 184M

  'apt inst' is as reported by apt install after 'apt-get --purge ^linux-.*'
  vivid version 3.18.0.11, trusty version 3.13.0.44.51.
  both packages share the linux kernel binary which in this case is 5.6M on trusty and 6.3M on vivid.

  For a cloud image with default install in the 700M range, the
  difference between -virtual and -generic is considerable.  So it
  clearly has its value.

  However, this value comes at the cost of specialization.  If a user
  installs a server via MAAS or via ISO, they get linux-generic and have
  some set of modules/kernel function.  If they run a cloud image, they
  have a different set.  This is less than desireable as we'd like to
  say that both cases are "Ubuntu Server".  It also means that we have
  to build "maas images" which are primarily "cloud images with a
  hardware kernel".

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