Big list of package updates suddenly required?

After the latest VM upgrade, my server is suddenly telling me that it wants to get 49 new (Debian) package upgrades?

It didn't want them before this VM update, so I'm suspicious that it doesn't suddenly need them now either.

What do you think? So far I have not let it get anything.

Status: 
Closed (fixed)

Comments

Anyone have a clue about these sudden package update (supposed) requirements?

Had no updates required one minute before the latest VM 'upgrade' and (apparently) forty-nine of them immediately afterwards.

What do you see if you type "apt-get upgrade -s"?

That does a dry-run, it should only display what apt thinks needs to be installed.

It says it needs the 49 updates.

Why suddenly after the VM upgrade?

This is a list of what it says it now wants (sorry for the broken formatting):

Package     Description     Status      Source   
apache2-doc     Apache HTTP Server documentation    New version 2.2.9-10+lenny4
apache2-suexec-custom   Configurable suexec program for Apache 2 mod_suexec     New version 2.2.9-10+lenny4
apache2-utils   utility programs for webservers     New version 2.2.9-10+lenny4
base-files  Debian base system miscellaneous files  New version 5lenny4
dhcp3-client    DHCP client     New version 3.1.1-6+lenny3
dhcp3-common    common files used by all the dhcp3* packages    New version 3.1.1-6+lenny3
gnupg   GNU privacy guard - a free PGP replacement  New version 1.4.9-3+lenny1
gpgv    GNU privacy guard - signature verification tool     New version 1.4.9-3+lenny1
graphicsmagick  collection of image processing tools    New version 1.1.11-3.2+lenny1   debian
graphicsmagick-imagemagick-compat   image processing tools providing ImageMagick interface  New version 1.1.11-3.2+lenny1   debian
irb1.8  Interactive Ruby (for Ruby 1.8)     New version 1.8.7.72-3lenny1    
libapache2-svn  Subversion server modules for Apache    New version 1.5.1dfsg1-4    
libapr1     The Apache Portable Runtime Library     New version 1.2.12-5+lenny1     
libaprutil1     The Apache Portable Runtime Utility Library     New version 1.2.12+dfsg-8+lenny4    
libcompress-raw-zlib-perl   low-level interface to zlib compression library     New version 2.012-1lenny1   
libcurl3    Multi-protocol file transfer library (OpenSSL)  New version 7.18.2-8lenny3  
libfreetype6    FreeType 2 font engine, shared library files    New version 2.3.7-2+lenny1  
libgeoip1   A non-DNS IP-to-country resolver library    New version 1.4.4.dfsg-3+lenny1     
libglib2.0-0    The GLib library of C routines  New version 2.16.6-2    debian
libglib2.0-data     Common files for GLib library   New version 2.16.6-2    debian
libgraphicsmagick1  format-independent image processing - C shared library  New version 1.1.11-3.2+lenny1   debian
libmagick10     image manipulation library  New version 6.3.7.9.dfsg2-1~lenny3  
libnewt0.52     Not Erik's Windowing Toolkit - text mode windowing with slang   New version 0.52.2-11.3+lenny1  debian
libopenexr6     runtime files for the OpenEXR image library     New version 1.6.1-3+lenny3  
libpango1.0-0   Layout and rendering of internationalized text  New version 1.20.5-5    
libpango1.0-common  Modules and configuration files for the Pango   New version 1.20.5-5    
libpq5  PostgreSQL C client library     New version 8.3.8-0lenny1   debian
libreadline-ruby1.8     Readline interface for Ruby 1.8     New version 1.8.7.72-3lenny1    
libruby1.8  Libraries necessary to run Ruby 1.8     New version 1.8.7.72-3lenny1    
libsasl2-2  Cyrus SASL - authentication abstraction library     New version 2.1.22.dfsg1-23+lenny1  
libsasl2-modules    Cyrus SASL - pluggable authentication modules   New version 2.1.22.dfsg1-23+lenny1  
libssl0.9.8     SSL shared libraries    New version 0.9.8g-15+lenny5    
libtiff4    Tag Image File Format (TIFF) library    New version 3.8.2-11.2  debian
libwmf0.2-7     Windows metafile conversion library     New version 0.2.8.4-6+lenny1    debian
libxcb-render0  X C Binding, render extension   New version 1.1-1.2     
libxcb-xlib0    X C Binding, Xlib/XCB interface library     New version 1.1-1.2     
libxcb1     X C Binding     New version 1.1-1.2     
libxml2     GNOME XML library   New version 2.6.32.dfsg-5+lenny1    
linux-libc-dev  Linux support headers for userspace development     New version 2.6.26-19   
perlmagick  Perl interface to the libMagick graphics routines   New version 6.3.7.9.dfsg2-1~lenny3  
python-support  automated rebuilding support for Python modules     New version 0.8.4lenny1     
rdoc1.8     Generate documentation from Ruby source files (for Ruby 1.8)    New version 1.8.7.72-3lenny1    
ri1.8   Ruby Interactive reference (for Ruby 1.8)   New version 1.8.7.72-3lenny1    
ruby1.8     Interpreter of object-oriented scripting language Ruby 1.8  New version 1.8.7.72-3lenny1    
sasl2-bin   Cyrus SASL - administration programs for SASL users database    New version 2.1.22.dfsg1-23+lenny1  
tzdata  time zone and daylight-saving time data     New version 2009l-0lenny1   
wget    retrieves files from the web    New version 1.11.4-2+lenny1     debian
whiptail    Displays user-friendly dialog boxes from shell scripts  New version 0.52.2-11.3+lenny1  debian
x11-common  X Window System (X.Org) infrastructure  New version 7.3+20  

In the latest Virtualmin release, it will now offer to upgrade other system packages for you as well.

Previously only those related to Virtualmin and associated software (like Apache and BIND) were offered.

You can tell the difference because Virtualmin updates will appear on the System Information page in a line like :

"One updated Virtualmin package is available. Use the Virtualmin Package Updates module to see all managed packages."

We strongly recommend updating Virtualmin-related packages. Other updates you can make if you want..

Hi Jamie,

Ah, I see, it's a new feature, sprung upon us unsuspecting users. ;).

Ok, well I have always updated VM related updates as and whenever it asked, but what do you suggest re. that bunch of Debian upgrades? The server VM is on only does, well, VM things via VM - i.e. nothing else runs on it other than a standard VM virtual hosting/email etc. setup.

Leave the Debian upgrades and just stick with the VM-requested things, or go for the Debian stuff too?

Installing all of those Debian updates, none of which are security related as far as I'm aware, is asking for trouble from VM, or not?

What say?

If you don't need them, you can just go with the Virtualmin-specific updates.

The other Debian updates are just offered for your convenience. Debian developers / experts would probably recommend you install them, but there's always a trade-off with potentially breaking something.

That's what I thought - I'll leave them, for now at least.

Any chance you can also provide an 'off' switch for the new display of non-VM updates - at the moment it's all upgrades or nothing - and even more importantly an 'off' switch for the CPU munching (even with my powerful thing it's munching an average of 10%) new full package checking in collectinfo.pl as well?

In other words, a switch to switch off those particular new features, and the sooner the better with collectinfo's new superpowers. ;)

Thanks.

Thanks Jamie (and Eric in the other thread).

"The other Debian updates are just offered for your convenience."

Actually, it seems that all of those package updates were security related, so I have now installed them.

Nothing, so far, seems to have broken.

Automatically closed -- issue fixed for 2 weeks with no activity.