kernel-packages team mailing list archive

[Stefan Bader <stefan.bader@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

SYSFB/simpleframebuffer did not exist before 3.12 (iirc). When having
CONFIG_X86_SYSFB=N there is no way to force it since it does not get
built (as before). And given the other issues I do not think we should.

The difference with vesafb is not necessarily in code (and as that has
been around for quite a while its rather unlikely the code changed
there). The change just made the same code being part of the kernel
instead of a loadable module.

What I think has changed is the way that grub might be setting up a
framebuffer device and passing that into the kernel. Which is the reason
I suggested playing around with that. Beside of generally preferring
80x24 in a server environment, I think I generally prefer to keep grub
not changing anything there (which is what the GRUB_TERM=console should
do + running update-grup to make that active). Then switching to the
higher resolution is postponed until the kernel is taking over.

There should be messages in dmesg about  any switching over and afaik
/proc/fb would contain the currently used one (if switching was
successful, might lie if that fails).

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1434581

Title:
  Console extremely slow with 3.13 and newer kernels for certified
  servers with Matrox G200er2 or similar

Status in linux package in Ubuntu:
  Confirmed
Status in linux source package in Trusty:
  Confirmed
Status in linux source package in Utopic:
  Confirmed
Status in linux source package in Vivid:
  Confirmed

Bug description:
  When I first came across this issue I thought it was the same as bug
  #1316035 (https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xorg-
  server/+bug/1316035), but this bug seems to be about X and it is
  reporting xorg-server as the package with the issue. I've seen a
  report on the certification program already on this, but it was
  lacking follow-up and suggested a bug report, question 255332
  (https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu-certification/+question/255332).
  I've already asked about this on the forums, and received no replies.

  I originally encountered this issue due to having a bunch of Dell
  servers that I was testing with kernel 3.13 on 12.04. The text console
  is so slow that it is unusable when using vi or doing an operation
  similar to dpkg -l |grep xorg. Comparing the exact same system with
  kernel 3.2 or 3.11 loaded and running lsmod, vesafb is listed and
  performance is excellent. It is not listed on the 3.13 system. The
  same issue exists on 14.04 with the 3.13 or 3.16 kernel.

  Attempting to do modprobe vesa or modprobe vesafb returns modprobe:
  FATAL: Module vesa not found and modprobe: FATAL: Module vesafb not
  found respectively.

  Attempting to use uvesafb on this hardware results in a black screen.
  Attempting to use vga16fb results in good performance, but I am locked
  to 640x480. I tried to use fbset to force higher resolutions, but it
  either results in a distorted display or tells me there is not enough
  memory.

  I need a 1280x1024 console with performance equal to 12.04 with
  kernels 3.2-3.11. The server I'm using for testing is a Dell R320.

  This appears to be regression as I can duplicate it by simply doing a fresh install of 12.04.1 and not having the issue, while doing a fresh install of 12.04.5, 14.04.1, or 14.04.2 results in a very slow console.
  --- 
  AlsaDevices:
   total 0
   crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116,  1 Mar 20 13:17 seq
   crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 33 Mar 20 13:17 timer
  AplayDevices: Error: [Errno 2] No such file or directory
  ApportVersion: 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.7
  Architecture: amd64
  ArecordDevices: Error: [Errno 2] No such file or directory
  AudioDevicesInUse: Error: command ['fuser', '-v', '/dev/snd/seq', '/dev/snd/timer'] failed with exit code 1:
  CRDA: Error: [Errno 2] No such file or directory
  DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.04
  HibernationDevice: RESUME=UUID=3255aa87-ba68-4b74-bdb0-1112aba7d46e
  InstallationDate: Installed on 2015-03-20 (0 days ago)
  InstallationMedia: Ubuntu-Server 14.04.1 LTS "Trusty Tahr" - Release amd64 (20140722.3)
  IwConfig: Error: [Errno 2] No such file or directory
  MachineType: Dell Inc. PowerEdge R320
  Package: linux (not installed)
  PciMultimedia:
   
  ProcEnviron:
   TERM=linux
   PATH=(custom, no user)
   XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set>
   LANG=en_US.UTF-8
   SHELL=/bin/bash
  ProcFB: 0 VESA VGA
  ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-3.13.0-46-generic root=UUID=fda4445f-efe2-4e93-9adb-ecaf6386f8cd ro consoleblank=0
  ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.13.0-46.79-generic 3.13.11-ckt15
  RelatedPackageVersions:
   linux-restricted-modules-3.13.0-46-generic N/A
   linux-backports-modules-3.13.0-46-generic  N/A
   linux-firmware                             1.127.11
  RfKill: Error: [Errno 2] No such file or directory
  Tags:  trusty
  Uname: Linux 3.13.0-46-generic x86_64
  UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
  UserGroups: root
  _MarkForUpload: True
  dmi.bios.date: 09/23/2013
  dmi.bios.vendor: Dell Inc.
  dmi.bios.version: 2.0.21
  dmi.board.name: 0R5KP9
  dmi.board.vendor: Dell Inc.
  dmi.board.version: A09
  dmi.chassis.type: 23
  dmi.chassis.vendor: Dell Inc.
  dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnDellInc.:bvr2.0.21:bd09/23/2013:svnDellInc.:pnPowerEdgeR320:pvr:rvnDellInc.:rn0R5KP9:rvrA09:cvnDellInc.:ct23:cvr:
  dmi.product.name: PowerEdge R320
  dmi.sys.vendor: Dell Inc.

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