Current Ubuntu Kernel doesn't match

Posted on March 26, 2016

Server Optimization

DigitalOcean

Ubuntu

By nssimpson

Hi, I now keep my server updated and so am now running Ubuntu 15.10.

uname -ir: 4.2.0-34-generic x86_64

When I login the DO control panel is says my current kernel is: 14.10 x64 vmlinuz-3.16.0-41-generic

I’ve tried changing it to: 15.10 vmlinuz-4.2.0-34-generic

It still says the current kernel is 14.10…

I’ve tried rebooting, poweroff, etc but nothing gets the two things to match up.

I did have to change the repositories a while ago because I hadn’t updated for such a long time that the DO files were archived so I was stuck on a really old version of Ubuntu. I therefore stopped using the DO repositories and redirected directly to Ubuntu’s own servers.

Is this the reason why the kernel’s aren’t matching up?

Is there a way to fix this problem? Is it actually a problem? What are the potential problems (or benefits) of my setup?

Thanks

Nick

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Jon Schwenn

March 27, 2016

Hey Nick,

If you’re using 15.10 and see the kernel page, it means that this Droplet used to be an older version of the OS. New builds with 15.10 would have internally managed kernels. The kernel is set to whatever shows up in the uname command. The web panel has a current bug which should be patched shortly that displays the original kernel instead of the kernel currently set.

Happy coding,

Jon Schwenn Platform Support Specialist DigitalOcean