kernel-packages team mailing list archive

[Stefan Bader <stefan.bader@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

No kernel change. Basically changes to /etc/default/grub are used when
running update-grub to create the grub configuration. Leaving
GRUB_TERM=console commented out causes grub to initialize some higher
resolution graphics framebuffer mode. And (not quite sure) it might be
that about some point in time this changed to be a higher resolution.

But looking at the two dmesg outputs you posted (possibly you have both
kernels installed on the same box, so grub setup is the same in both
cases just the newer kernel ends up being slower) shows both vesafb get
initialized nearly identical.  So right now its hard to say why things
go so much slower in the newer kernels. The simple framebuffer imo
should not be so much different in how it works. Cannot say why that
works faster. simplefb might just be one of them. There is a whole bunch
blacklisted in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-framebuffer.conf because they
tend to cause issues.

One other detail I noticed in the dmesg output was that the newer kernel
managed to initialize local ipmi drivers. Not sure how much this is
actually needed. As long as its not required to have access to ipmi
directly (not lan) one can disable ipmi_si and dev_ipmi can be disabled
in /etc/default/openipmi. Just mentioning that since console usually can
be accessed via ipmi and maybe there is some kind of interference.

-- 
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Kernel
Packages, which is subscribed to linux in Ubuntu.
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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