- Issued:
- 2011-02-21
- Updated:
- 2011-02-21
RHBA-2011:0285 - Bug Fix Advisory
Synopsis
kernel bug fix update
Type/Severity
Bug Fix Advisory
Topic
Updated kernel packages that resolve an issue are now available for Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 5.3 Long Life.
Description
The kernel packages contain the Linux kernel, the core of the Linux operating
system.
These updated kernel packages fix the following bug:
- Prior to this update, the '/proc/diskstats' file showed erroneous values. This
occurred when the kernel merged two I/O operations for adjacent sectors which
were located on different disk partitions. Two merge requests were submitted for
the adjacent sectors, the first request for the second partition and the second
request for the first partition, which was then merged to the first request. The
first submission of the merge request incremented the 'in_flight' value for the
second partition. However, at the completion of the merge request, the
'in_flight' value of a different partition (the first one) was decremented. This
resulted in the erroneous values displayed in the '/proc/diskstats' file. With
this update, the merging of two I/O operations which are located on different
disk partitions has been fixed and works as expected. (BZ#672249)
All users of kernel are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which
resolve this issue.
Solution
Before applying this update, make sure that all previously-released errata
relevant to your system have been applied.
This update is available via Red Hat Network. Details on how to use the Red Hat
Network to apply this update are available at
https://access.redhat.com/kb/docs/DOC-11259
To install kernel packages manually, use "rpm -ivh [package]". Do not use "rpm
- Uvh" as that will remove the running kernel binaries from your system. You may
use "rpm -e" to remove old kernels after determining that the new kernel
functions properly on your system.
Affected Products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - AUS 5.3 x86_64
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - AUS 5.3 ia64
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - AUS 5.3 i386
Fixes
(none)CVEs
(none)
References
(none)
The Red Hat security contact is secalert@redhat.com. More contact details at https://access.redhat.com/security/team/contact/.