Introduction

Update-manager provides two services - the ability to upgrade packages within a release, and the ability to upgrade releases of Ubuntu. When looking at bug reports it is important to keep this in mind and identify whether it is a problem with a package upgrade or a release upgrade.

How to file

When filing a bug report regarding a problem with a distribution or release upgrade you should add every file in '/var/log/dist-upgrade/', there should be at least 3, as separate attachments. You should also tag your distribution upgrade bug with the release you are moving from and to - for example 'feisty2gutsy'.

Debugging procedure

For a distribution upgrade in '/var/log/dist-upgrade/' there are three log files that are helpful in debugging the issue:

1. 'main.log'
   • contains the version of release upgrade and the lsb-release (version of Ubuntu)
   • contains information on how '/etc/apt/sources.list' was handled and updated
   • contains log information regarding the free space calculation
   • contains an overview of the whole process
   • may contain python back traces
2. 'apt.log'
   • contains a dump of the package problem resolver
   • it is useful when update-manager says it can not upgrade
   • it is also useful for identifying 3rd party repositories that are problematic
   • it usually reveals information about incorrect dependencies
3. 'term.log'
   • is a subset of '/var/log/apt/term.log'
   • errors can be found by looking for the string 'dpkg: error'

Known bugs

Description of known issues, how to recognise them and stock responses/actions.

Open

Closed

Non-bugs

• The distribution upgrade will halt if the system has custom, non-Ubuntu, kernel installed.
• The distribution upgrade will warn the user if there is not enough free space in '/boot' on their system.

Also see

• DebuggingProcedures

CategoryBugSquad