[Pkg-virtualbox-devel] How do you build the virtualbox-ose-modules package?

[Joseph Rawson]

On Wednesday 15 October 2008 03:43:47 Joseph Rawson wrote:
> I've been able to use module-assistant to build the modules for virtualbox,
> but when I put them on a mirror, the version from the
> linux-modules-extra-2.6 package seems to override them.  The modules that
> I'm building with modules-assistant seem to have a version like
> (vboxver)+(kver), while the modules from l-m-e seem to have a version like
> (kver)+(vboxver).  This is making things difficult for me, as I have to
> keep installing the package by hand, instead of letting apt do it.
>
> I also tried to build the modules with make-kpkg, but I just get the vbox
> version and no kernel version when I do that.  How do I build the modules
> so that I get them in the form (kver)+(vboxver), like they are in the
> mirror?

I figured out what to do, mostly.
I got the source package linux-modules-extra-2.6

apt-get source linux-modules-extra-2.6

cd linux-modules-extra-2.6-2.6.26
Then I edited the defines file to look like this:
-----------------------------------
[base]
modules:
 virtualbox-ose
-----------------------------------

Then I ran:

python debian/bin/gencontrol.py /usr/src/linux-support-2.6.26-1/ 

The xen flavored modules wouldn't build for me, so I had to remove the 
references to the targets in the debian/rules.gen file.  I attached a diff 
file as a reference.

Once the xen targets were ignored, I ran:

debuild

Then the packages were built with versions that would be appropriate for me to 
include in my local mirror.

reprepro -VV --ignore=wrongdistribution -b /media/usbdisk/debian includedeb 
paella virtualbox-ose-modules-2.6*-dfsg*.deb 

apt-cache show virtualbox-ose-modules-2.6.26-1-686

Package: virtualbox-ose-modules-2.6.26-1-686
Source: linux-modules-extra-2.6 (2.6.26-4)
Version: 2.6.26+1.6.6-dfsg-4
Architecture: i386
<snip>

Now the version is created in a way that keeps apt from downgrading the 
package during an upgrade, and I no longer have to keep the package set 
to "hold".

I know this is a rather sloppy way to fix things, as it won't work for people 
who use dput to upload packages to their mirrors, as they would have to 
rename the source package to keep it from interfering with the other prebuilt 
modules, and they'd probably have to remove references to the meta packages 
that will conflict with those in the l-m-e package.

Anyway, I feel that this may be of some help to those people who are 
experiencing this problem, and can't use module-assistant, since they need to 
be able to redistrubute the packages with apt.

On a side note, I am pretty disappointed in the treatment of the bug reports 
surrounding this issue.  I cannot be convinced that this isn't a bug when the 
modules provided in the mirror render the virtualbox-ose package as unusable.  
Building the modules with module-assistant also makes modules that won't be 
installed via apt due to the conflict between the versioning methods of 
module-assistant and linux-modules-extra.  I don't think that just closing 
the reports as resolved is the appropriate response.  I think that the 
reports should be merged into a single bug, and that bug left open until the 
new version of l-m-e is released, ridding the archive of the modules packages 
that won't be used.  Also, if the module packages are not going to be 
supplied with the future versions of virtualbox-ose, then there should be a 
debconf warning that explains that the user will need to build their own 
modules before using the application.  Waiting for the user to discover this 
after the application is running isn't really good (I will help with this and 
write the template if y'all want to do this).

I'm sorry I had to write the paragraph above.  I don't like having to point 
these things out, but after seeing the bug reports come in, watching how they 
were closed, and having to figure out how to deal with this problem myself, I 
felt that something had to be said about it, and I needed to get it off of my 
chest. (I do feel better now :) )  I will be glad to help fix this problem if 
y'all wish.

-- 
Thanks:
Joseph Rawson
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[base]
modules:
 virtualbox-ose
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