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Chapter 7 Release-Specific Information for Oracle Linux 7.9 (aarch64)

Table of Contents

The following information pertains to the Oracle Linux 7.9 (aarch64) release.

Note

Some information in this chapter may also generally apply to the x86_64 platform. Refer to the previous chapters of these release notes for general information that may apply to both the x86_64 and 64-bit Arm (aarch64) platforms, as well as information that is specific to the x86_64 platform.

7.1 System Requirements and Limitations (aarch64)

7.1.1 File System, Storage, and Address Space Limitations

System requirements and limitations for the 64-bit Arm (aarch64) architecture are under review. You can check whether your hardware is supported on Oracle Linux 7.9 (aarch64) by checking the Hardware Certification List at https://linux.oracle.com/hardware-certifications. Hardware is listed as it becomes available and is validated.

7.1.1 File System, Storage, and Address Space Limitations

The following table describes the maximum file size and maximum file system size for the Btrfs, Ext4, and XFS file systems. File system limitations are affected by kernel versions and features, and by the architecture of the system on which Oracle Linux is installed. The values depicted here are estimates based on the known variables that might affect the maximum theoretical value that can be achieved. The theoretical values might be higher than those depicted here, and the actual achievable values might be lower than the values shown, depending on the hardware and the kernel version that is used.

File System Type	Maximum File Size	Maximum File System Size
`btrfs`	8 EiB	8 EiB
`ext4`	16 TiB	1 EiB
`xfs`	8 EiB	8 EiB

The limits for the ext4 file system that are described here are higher than those recommended and might prove unstable. If you plan to work with systems where you are intend to work toward using higher file system sizes or file sizes, it is recommended that you use either the BTRFS or XFS file system.

The maximum supported size for a bootable logical unit number (LUN) is 50 TB. GPT and UEFI support are required for LUNs that are larger than 2 TB.

The maximum size of the address space that is available to each process is 128 TB.

7.2 Shipped Kernel (aarch64)

Oracle Linux 7.9 ships with the following kernel package:

kernel-uek-5.4.17-2011.6.2.el7uek: Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 6 (UEK R6), which is the default kernel.

The Oracle Linux release is tested as a bundle, as shipped on the installation media image. When installed from the installation media image, the minimum kernel version that is supported is the kernel that is included in the image. Downgrading kernel packages is not supported, unless recommended by Oracle Support.

The kernel source code for the shipped kernel is available after the initial release through a public git source code repository at https://github.com/oracle/linux-uek.

7.3 New Features (aarch64)

Note

Currently, there are no new features that apply just to the 64-bit Arm (aarch64) platform. Most of the new features in this release that are documented in the Chapter 4, New Features and Changes chapter also apply to the 64-bit Arm (aarch64) platform.

7.4 Known Issues (aarch64)

The following are the known issues for Oracle Linux 7.9 (aarch64). Some issues might also apply to the x86_64 platform. See Chapter 5, Known Issues for information about issues that apply to both the x86_64 and Arm (aarch64) platforms.

For information about known issues that are specific to UEK R6, see Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel: Release Notes for Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 6.

7.4.1 Support Limited to Text-Mode Environments and Server Software

Oracle Linux 7.9 (aarch64) is engineered and tested for server-related usage only. Although packages for desktop and productivity features are built and provided, testing of these packages is limited and support for graphical mode packages is not provided in this update. You can install any of these packages on your platform, but some of these applications might not work or could have issues that are not documented here.

Oracle does not provide support for these packages and any assistance is community-based. If you choose to run a desktop environment or any desktop applications, direct your questions to the Oracle Linux for Arm community forum at https://community.oracle.com/tech/apps-infra/categories/oracle-linux-for-arm.

7.4.2 Installation Issues (aarch64)

The following issues might be encountered during an Oracle Linux 7.9 (aarch64) installation.

7.4.2.1 Installing the oracle-armtoolset-8 package sometimes fails

Running the yum install oracle-armtoolset-8 command sometimes fails to install the package. This failure occurs at the following stage of the installation:

Installing : oracle-armtoolset-8-runtime-8.0-1.el7_6.aarch64  16/69
Error unpacking rpm package oracle-armtoolset-8-runtime-8.0-1.el7_6.aarch64
error: unpacking of archive failed on file
/opt/oracle/oracle-armtoolset-8/root/lib64: cpio: rename
  Installing : oracle-armtoolset-8-libgo-8.2.0-6.el7_6.aarch64  17/69
error: oracle-armtoolset-8-runtime-8.0-1.el7_6.aarch64: install failed
  Installing : oracle-armtoolset-8-libasan-8.2.0-6.el7_6.aarch64  18/69

Subsequent attempts to install the individual package also fail with the following output:

Failed:
  oracle-armtoolset-8-runtime.aarch64 0:8.0-1.el7_6

If you encounter this issue, you can work around it by running the following commands, which remove and then reinstalls the oracle-armtoolset-8 package:

# yum remove 'oracle-armtoolset-8*'
# yum remove policycoreutils-python
# rm -Rf /opt/oracle/oracle-armtoolset-8/
# yum install policycoreutils-python
# yum install 'oracle-armtoolset-8*'

(Bug ID 29672241)

7.4.2.2 Kernel panic for QLogic cnic module on ThunderX2 during installation

The QLogic cnic driver module is unsupported on 64-bit Arm (aarch64) platforms. The Marvell ThunderX2 servers include hardware that can cause the cnic driver module to load, thus triggering a kernel panic.

To work around this issue, blocklist the cnic module at boot by modifying the boot option in the kernel command line for the installer. To prevent the module from installing or loading in the future, create the file /etc/modprobe.d/cnic.conf file and add the following lines:

blacklist cnic
install cnic /bin/true

(Bug IDs 27011806, 28109733)

7.4.3 btrfs-convert operation results in a file system that cannot be mounted

You can use the btrfs-convert tool to convert an ext4 file system to btrfs. However, if the tool attempts to convert a file system that has not been created with a sector block size that matches the system default page size (which is set to 64 KB for the aarch64 platform), the resulting file system cannot be mounted. Note that this issue can occur if the original ext4 file system is not created by using the -b 65536 option to specify a 64 KB block size.

(Bug ID 28200561)

7.4.4 Manual execution of shim first-stage boot loader can fail in the UEFI shell

Manually loading shim binaries from the UEFI shell can fail in some scenarios, including the following cases, which are known to fail:

FS0:\EFI\redhat\shimaa64.efi
FS0:\EFI\redhat\> shimaa64.efi

FS0:\> \EFI\redhat\shimaa64.efi is known to work correctly.

This problem is limited to the manual execution of shim in the UEFI shell. Note that a standard installation is unaffected by this bug.

(Bug ID 27962691)

7.4.5 Kdump tools fail to create a vmcore-dmesg.txt on systems that have multiple CPUs

On systems that have multiple CPUs, the Kdump crash dump tools fail to create a vmcore-dmesg.txt file, which is created with the vmcore file.

This issue might result in the following segmentation fault:

...
kdump: saving to /sysroot//var/crash/127.0.0.1-2018-05-22-12:34:45/
kdump: saving vmcore-dmesg.txt
/lib/kdump-lib-initramfs.sh: line 118:   459 Segmentation fault      
$_dmesg_collector /proc/vmcore > ${_path}/vmcore-dmesg-incomplete.txt
kdump: saving vmcore-dmesg.txt failed
kdump: saving vmcore
Copying data                                      : [100.0 %] \          
eta: 0s
kdump: saving vmcore complete

The issue is occurs because the log buffer that is dynamically allocated by the kernel (vmcore-dmesg) does not know how to access memory that is allocated in this way. This issue is typically triggered on systems with 64 or more CPUs, but has also been observed on a 32-core Ampere X-Gene 3 system.

As a workaround, you can retrieve the dmesg output manually by the running crash command against vmcore and then using the dmesg command in the crash shell.

(Bug IDs 28064675, 28670960)

7.4.6 Segmentation fault when running bluedevil-wizard

The bluedevil-wizard, which is available in the bluedevil package, is unable to connect or locate Bluetooth devices and fails with a segmentation fault when run.

(Bug ID 27101618)

7.4.7 dsktune command fails with an unsupported error message

The dsktune command, which is included with the 389 Directory Server base package (389-ds-base), fails with the following error:

ERROR: This system does not support CMPXCHG16B instruction (cpuflag cx16).
nsslapd-enable-nunc-stans must be set to "off" on this system.
In a future release of Directory Server this platform will NOT be
supported.

ERROR  : The above errors MUST be corrected before proceeding.

The message is notifying you that the system does not have support for cx16, which is a feature that is commonly available on the x86_64 platform.

The dsktune command checks that a system meets requirements and can provide helpful information pertaining to configuration; however, it is not required to run the 389 Directory Server.

(Bug ID 26861135)

7.5 Installation and Availability (aarch64)

7.5.1 Installing From the ISO Image

The following installation and availability information applies specifically to the 64-bit Arm (aarch64) platform for the Oracle Linux 7.9 (aarch64) release. For general installation and availability information, as well as information that applies specifically to the x86_64 platform, see Chapter 6, Installation and Availability.

Oracle Linux 7.9 (aarch64) is made available as an ISO image (OracleLinux-R7-U9-Server-aarch64-dvd.iso), which can be used for a standard installation on generic 64-bit Armv8 hardware. This ISO has been tested on Arm hardware and is engineered for use with Ampere™ eMAG™-based EVK platform and the Marvell ThunderX2® processor. For the latest hardware validated for Oracle Linux 7.9, refer to the Hardware Certification List at https://linux.oracle.com/hardware-certifications. Note that hardware is listed as it becomes available.

The Oracle Linux 7.9 (aarch64) ISO image is available from the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud at https://edelivery.oracle.com/.

You can also obtain the latest packages for Oracle Linux 7.9 (aarch64) from the Unbreakable Linux Network (ULN) and the Oracle Linux yum server. To install additional software for Oracle Linux 7.9 (aarch64), subscribe to the different channels on ULN or by enable the required repositories within your yum configuration. To explore the channels that are available on ULN, log in to https://uln.oracle.com/ and view the Channels option. To view the Oracle Linux yum repositories that are available for Oracle Linux 7.9 (aarch64), visit https://yum.oracle.com/oracle-linux-7.html.

Note

The Oracle Linux yum server does not provide equivalent repositories for some channels that are available on ULN. These channels provide non-open source packages.

UEK R6 is the default boot kernel for fresh installations of Oracle Linux 7.9 (aarch64). For more information, see Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel: Release Notes for Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 6.

7.5.1 Installing From the ISO Image

The installation process for Oracle Linux 7.9 (aarch64) does not differ substantially from the installation process on the x86_64 platform. The same instructions and information that are provided in Oracle® Linux 7: Installation Guide also apply to the 64-bit Arm (aarch64) platform.

The following is the recommended installation process:

Obtain the ISO image from the Oracle Technology Network (https://www.oracle.com/linux/).
Configure a network installation server to perform the installation.
Create a kickstart file to automate your installation.
Connect your target Arm hardware to the network and then configure the firmware to boot from the network or by performing a PXE boot.

Refer to your hardware documentation for instructions.
Boot the target hardware and wait for the installation to complete.

For more information about configuring a network installation server and using a kickstart file to boot the installer, see Oracle® Linux 7: Installation Guide.

The following exceptions and additional information might be required to complete the installation:

Graphical Network-Based Installation

If you are performing a manual installation over the network and intend to use the remote graphical installer over VNC by setting the inst.vnc boot option, you must also set boot options to configure the network. Otherwise, the graphical installer fails to load and the installation reverts to text mode.

To ensure that the VNC server starts at boot, append the appropriate ip option to your kernel boot command. Typically, for a DHCP configuration, this option looks similar to the following: ip=eth0:dhcp.

Software Selection Groups

Note that the available Software Selection groups in the Arm installer may differ slightly from the groups that are available in the x86_64 installer.

Software Sources

Note that unlike the x86_64 installer, there are no alternate Software Source repositories provided on this ISO.