Rules for when "Update VM" is an active menu item

[motech man]

I updated the fedora 23 template with changes to the hosts /etc/file, and I noticed that all other VMs that used that template had the update flag set. That makes perfect sense.

So when I was done I shutdown the template VM and now the Update VM item is grayed out in the dom0 menu. Restarting the fedora 23 template or any of the VMs that use it in any order or combination does not allow me to update the VMs that use that template.

I made sure all VMs that use that template were shutdown. In fact the only VM running is dom0.

What is the correct procedure for updating the hosts file for all VMs dependent on fedora 23 (what is the rule for when the 'Update VM' menu is active)?

[motech man]

Another odd observation was that on the AppVM's that used the updated fedora-23 template the lines in the hosts file which were added in the template were all listed as x.x.x.x fedora-23. The other lines were not affected.

[Chris Laprise]

You perform updates on templates themselves, not on the VMs which use them.

The indicator you're referring to as "update flag" simply shows that the
VM's template has been changed in some way. Shutting down the template
and re-starting the derivative VM is how you make the update take effect
in the VM.

--

Chris Laprise, tas...@openmailbox.org
https://twitter.com/ttaskett
PGP: BEE2 20C5 356E 764A 73EB 4AB3 1DC4 D106 F07F 1886

[motech man]

> Chris Laprise, tasket@openmailbox dot org

> https://twitter.com/ttaskett
> PGP: BEE2 20C5 356E 764A 73EB 4AB3 1DC4 D106 F07F 1886

I am aware of the template / AppVM relationship. However simply restarting the AppVM to obtain the updated hosts file does not work. I also mentioned an odd symptom associated with changing the hosts file in a subsequent post. Niether are explained by your reply, but thx for it anyway.

[Unman]

On Sat, Jul 01, 2017 at 10:33:01AM -0700, motech man wrote:
> On Saturday, July 1, 2017 at 5:37:53 AM UTC-5, Chris Laprise wrote:
> > On 06/29/2017 01:13 PM, motech man wrote:
> > > I updated the fedora 23 template with changes to the hosts /etc/file,
> > > and I noticed that all other VMs that used that template had the
> > > update flag set. That makes perfect sense.
> > >
> > > So when I was done I shutdown the template VM and now the Update VM
> > > item is grayed out in the dom0 menu. Restarting the fedora 23
> > > template or any of the VMs that use it in any order or combination
> > > does not allow me to update the VMs that use that template.
> > >
> > > I made sure all VMs that use that template were shutdown. In fact the
> > > only VM running is dom0.
> > >
> > > What is the correct procedure for updating the hosts file for all VMs
> > > dependent on fedora 23 (what is the rule for when the 'Update VM'
> > > menu is active)?
> > >
>

> I am aware of the template / AppVM relationship. However simply restarting the AppVM to obtain the updated hosts file does not work. I also mentioned an odd symptom associated with changing the hosts file in a subsequent post. Niether are explained by your reply, but thx for it anyway.
>

I don't have a fedora 23, but I have tested 24, and assorted Debian
templates, and all of them work as expected.

So I would say that the "correct procedure" is to do what you have done.

This doesn't explain why it does not work for you or why you get the
"censored" output - I'm assuming here that those are ACTUAL x
characters.
What package versions are you using?
Are you using a default template with no other changes?

[Chris Laprise]

"...now the Update VM item is grayed out in the dom0 menu."

This reference to 'menu' gave me the impression you were trying to
perform normal OS updates, but for the appVMs directly.

Re: hosts file, here was some discussion:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/qubes-users/xy2eYiZHvW4

FWIW, Fedora 23 is outdated and something may not be working quite
right. I tried modifying hosts in a Debian 9 template and the change did
propagate to the derivative VMs.

--

Chris Laprise, tas...@openmailbox.org