Re: apt-get install xen-tools recursion

[Frank Eskesen <fn.eskesen@xxxxxxxxx>]

I think you've found the problem. (Details below)

On 4/17/2025 1:58 PM, David Hill wrote:
> On 2025-04-15 8:56 p.m., Frank Eskesen wrote:
> > On 4/15/2025 12:58 AM, David Hill wrote:
> > > On 2025-04-14 2:37 p.m., Paul Leiber wrote:
> > > > Hi Frank,
> > > >
> > > > Am 12.04.2025 um 20:52 schrieb Frank Eskesen:
> > > > > Hi,
> > > > >
> > > > > I should have mentioned that I'm testing the installation 
> > > > > procedure using a VirtualBox virtual machine.
> > > > > This problem has nothing to do with apt-get install but is instead 
> > > > > somehow related to the bridged adapter update earlier in the Wiki. 
> > > > > Reverting that change to /etc/network/interfaces removes the 
> > > > > problem (and also makes apt-get run a lot faster.)
> > > > some more information is required. What are the two versions (o.k., 
> > > > not o.k.) of /etc/network/interfaces? What does ip a show in either 
> > > > case? Did you test connectivity (e.g. ping, DNS, etc.)?
> > > > > --------------------------------------
> > > > > Earlier message:
> > > > > Hi,
> > > > >
> > > > > (I'm not really a Xen user yet, I'm just going through the 
> > > > > beginner's installation guide on the Wiki: 
> > > > > https://wiki.xenproject.org/wiki/ Xen_Project_Beginners_Guide)
> > > > That was my starting point too. :-)
> > > >
> > > > > I can't install Debian xen-tools because it doesn't complete, it 
> > > > > just starts over again. I suspect that's because the last entry in 
> > > > > the list of packages to be installed is xen-tools.
> > > > Here as well, some more information is required. What command are 
> > > > you using to install xen-tools? What is the output of the command?
> > > > > I think that it's possible to get around the problem by installing 
> > > > > the xen-tools packages individually, but haven't done this yet.
> > > > I don't understand this. As far as I know, xen-tools isn't a meta 
> > > > package, so how would you install the content of xen-tools 
> > > > individually?
> > > > Paul
> > > Hi Frank,
> > >
> > > I echo Paul`s questions, but would also just ask you to confirm 
> > > whether I understand your setup and exactly what the problem is.
> > I'm trying to follow as closely as possible 
> > https://wiki.xenproject.org/wiki/ Xen_Project_Beginners_Guide
> > So, I created a virtual Debian image and follow the steps one by one.
> >
> > > First, am I right to think you`re trying to set up a complete xen 
> > > environment, including dom0 (i.e. the hypervisor itself - the 
> > > virtualization host) within a VirtualBox virtual machine? So it`s 
> > > virtualization within virtualization?
> > I assumed that the the dom0 is the Debian, since I'm thinking that 
> > it's what starts the hypervisor. I didn't see anything in the 
> > tutorial about doing something different.
> > > If so, I haven't tried it but conceptually I wonder whether it would 
> > > be possible. Xen is a bare metal hypervisor. I think it may expect 
> > > to be working with bare metal. I'm sure there are others more 
> > > knowledgeable than me on this list who could say more definitively.
> > I've also tried to follow the tutorial using an old laptop. At some 
> > point I ran into what I've been calling the apt recursion problem.
> > > Assuming it might be possible though, I get the sense you've 
> > > installed a Linux environment (Debian if you're following the 
> > > instructions) and are now trying to edit /etc/network/interfaces to 
> > > match the text in the Beginner's Guide - i.e. to set up a bridge. 
> > > When you do and then restart networking it no longer works - is that 
> > > right? If you revert to the original interfaces file networking is 
> > > fine?
> > Mostly the network is fine either way. It's just that apt-get doesn't 
> > work properly. Since I've been able to reproduce the problem now even 
> > on "bare metal" (a laptop ) I don't think that running second level 
> > is the problem. However, running a virtual machine makes it easier 
> > for me to transfer log files. (I now run everything I do as root 
> > under script, and keep the typescript output files.)
> > > If that's it, I can see that the virtualized network card presented 
> > > by VirtualBox may not mimic a hardware NIC completely enough to 
> > > support the bridge.
> > > If so, it`s conceivable that there's a way around it using an 
> > > alternative to the bridge like NAT, but it would be helpful if you 
> > > would confirm whether the above does describe the problem. Even 
> > > then, in the best case it may only get a network connection going, 
> > > not the rest of xen.
> > > If I've misunderstood something, then maybe the answers to Paul's 
> > > questions will help clarify.
> > Paul: some more information is required. What are the two versions 
> > (o.k., not o.k.) of /etc/network/interfaces? What does ip a show in 
> > either case? Did you test connectivity (e.g. ping, DNS, etc.)?
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> >
> > ## Old version                   : New version
> > source /etc/network/interfaces.d : = (unchanged)
> >                                  : =
> > auto lo                          : =
> > iface lo inet loopback           : =
> >                                  : =
> > allow-hotplug enp0s3             : =
> > iface enp0s3 inet dhcp           : iface enp0s3 inet manual
> >                                  :
> >                                  : auto xenbr0
> >                                  : iface xenbr0 inet dhcp
> >                                  : bridge_ports enp0s3
> >
> > Paul: Here as well, some more information is required. What command 
> > are you using to install xen-tools? What is the output of the command?
> > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> >
> > [Script output edited for clarity]
> > [Note that the 'apt-get install xen-tools' output isn't what you'd 
> > normally expect]
> > Script started on 2025-04-12 10:35:02-04:00 [TERM="linux" 
> > TTY="/dev/tty1" COLUMNS="160" LINES="50"]
> > user@debian:~$ sudo su -
> > [sudo] password for user:
> > root@debian:~# apt-get install xen-tools
> > Reading package lists... Done
> > Building dependency tree... Done
> >
> > Reading state information... Done
> >
> > The following additional packages will be installed:
> >   arch-test debootstrap debugedit libconfig-inifiles-perl 
> > libdata-validate-domain-perl libdata-validate-ip-perl 
> > libdata-validate-uri-perl libexpect-perl
> >   libfile-slurp-perl libfile-which-perl libfsverity0 libio-pty-perl 
> > libio-stty-perl liblog-message-perl liblog-message-simple-perl 
> > liblua5.3-0
> >   libmath-base85-perl libnet-domain-tld-perl libnet-ipv6addr-perl 
> > libnet-netmask-perl libnetaddr-ip-perl librpm9 librpmbuild9 librpmio9 
> > librpmsign9
> >   libsocket6-perl libsort-versions-perl libterm-size-perl 
> > libterm-ui-perl libtext-template-perl rinse rpm rpm-common rpm2cpio
> > Suggested packages:
> >   squid-deb-proxy-client ubuntu-archive-keyring alien elfutils 
> > rpmlint rpm-i18n btrfs-progs | btrfs-tools cfengine2 reiserfsprogs
> > Recommended packages:
> >   ubuntu-keyring | ubuntu-archive-keyring
> > The following NEW packages will be installed:
> >   arch-test debootstrap debugedit libconfig-inifiles-perl 
> > libdata-validate-domain-perl libdata-validate-ip-perl 
> > libdata-validate-uri-perl libexpect-perl
> >   libfile-slurp-perl libfile-which-perl libfsverity0 libio-pty-perl 
> > libio-stty-perl liblog-message-perl liblog-message-simple-perl 
> > liblua5.3-0
> >   libmath-base85-perl libnet-domain-tld-perl libnet-ipv6addr-perl 
> > libnet-netmask-perl libnetaddr-ip-perl librpm9 librpmbuild9 librpmio9 
> > librpmsign9
> >   libsocket6-perl libsort-versions-perl libterm-size-perl 
> > libterm-ui-perl libtext-template-perl rinse rpm rpm-common rpm2cpio 
> > xen-tools
> > 0 upgraded, 35 newly installed, 0 to remove and 11 not upgraded.
> > Need to get 12.3 MB of archives.
> > After this operation, 16.7 MB of additional disk space will be used.
> > Do you want to continue? [Y/n] Y
> >
> > Ign:1 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 arch-test all 
> > 0.20-1
> > Ign:2 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 debootstrap 
> > all 1.0.128+nmu2+deb12u2
> > Ign:3 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 debugedit 
> > amd64 1:5.0-5
> > Ign:4 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 
> > libconfig-inifiles-perl all 3.000003-2
> > Ign:5 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 
> > libnet-domain-tld-perl all 1.75-3
> > Ign:6 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 
> > libdata-validate-domain-perl all 0.10-1.1
> > Ign:7 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 
> > libnet-ipv6addr-perl all 1.02-1
> > Ign:8 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 
> > libnet-netmask-perl all 2.0002-2
> > Ign:9 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 
> > libnetaddr-ip-perl amd64 4.079+dfsg-2+b1
> > Ign:10 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 
> > libdata-validate-ip-perl all 0.31-1
> > Ign:11 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 
> > libdata-validate-uri-perl all 0.07-2
> > Ign:12 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 
> > libio-pty-perl amd64 1:1.17-1
> > Ign:13 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 
> > libio-stty-perl all 0.04-2
> > Ign:14 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 
> > libexpect-perl all 1.35-2
> > Ign:15 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 
> > libfile-slurp-perl all 9999.32-2
> > Ign:16 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 
> > libfile-which-perl all 1.27-2
> > Ign:17 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 libfsverity0 
> > amd64 1.5-1.1
> > Ign:18 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 
> > liblog-message-perl all 0.8-3
> > Ign:19 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 
> > liblog-message-simple-perl all 0.10-3
> > Ign:20 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 liblua5.3-0 
> > amd64 5.3.6-2
> > Ign:21 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 
> > libmath-base85-perl all 0.5+dfsg-2
> > Ign:22 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 librpmio9 
> > amd64 4.18.0+dfsg-1+deb12u1
> > Ign:23 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 librpm9 amd64 
> > 4.18.0+dfsg-1+deb12u1
> > Ign:24 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 librpmbuild9 
> > amd64 4.18.0+dfsg-1+deb12u1
> > Ign:25 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 librpmsign9 
> > amd64 4.18.0+dfsg-1+deb12u1
> > Ign:26 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 
> > libsocket6-perl amd64 0.29-3
> > Ign:27 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 
> > libsort-versions-perl all 1.62-3
> > Ign:28 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 
> > libterm-size-perl amd64 0.211-1+b2
> > Ign:29 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 
> > libterm-ui-perl all 0.50-1
> > Ign:30 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 
> > libtext-template-perl all 1.61-1
> > Ign:31 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 rpm-common 
> > amd64 4.18.0+dfsg-1+deb12u1
> > Ign:32 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 rpm2cpio 
> > amd64 4.18.0+dfsg-1+deb12u1
> > Ign:33 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 rpm amd64 
> > 4.18.0+dfsg-1+deb12u1
> > Ign:34 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 rinse all 4.1
> > Ign:35 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 xen-tools all 
> > 4.9.2-1
> > Ign:1 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main amd64 arch-test all 
> > 0.20-1
> > [Working]
> > 0%^C
> > ## Used Ctrl-C after realizing that it was looping
> > ## : (omitted, not relevant)
> > root@debian:/etc# exit
> > logout
> > user@debian:~$ exit
> > exit
> >
> > Script done on 2025-04-12 11:18:46-04:00 [COMMAND_EXIT_CODE="0"]
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> >
> > You didn't ask: what debian image was used?
> > -----------------------------------------------------------
> > debian-live-12.10.0-amd64-standard.iso*
> >
> > The same image was used for the laptop installation.
> >
> > > David
> Hi again Frank,
>
> The problem I had with apt-get was something to do with apt-get update 
> a few years ago (along with Network Manager and packagekit). apt 
> worked just fine so I never went back to it. So, probably nothing to 
> do with your problem.
> I notice that the apt-get output you supplied includes "Ign:" at the 
> beginning of each line, meaning I think that the correct versions of 
> those packages couldn't be found at the repositories in 
> /etc/apt/sources.list.
> (https://askubuntu.com/questions/984534/updating-ubuntu-understanding-errors-thrown-by-apt) 
>
> How does sources.list look? Are those repositories accessible from the 
> machine you're trying this on?
> David
Thanks David,

As you implied, the network configuration was the problem, not apt or 
apt-get. It turns out that networking is totally kaput when using the 
Xen virtual bridge configuration. With that active, it turns out that I 
can't even ping xenproject.org. I should've tried some other network 
access than apt, but didn't.
All my other virtual machines use static IP, so I'll probably have to 
figure out how to use Xen's virtual bridge on top of that.
The problem isn't limited to running under VirtualBox, though. I ran 
into a similar problem running on my laptop, but don't remember exactly 
which step in the beginner's guide made it happen.
Thanks for your help,
Frank