initramfs fails to boot ubuntu 8.10 server

Question

I have recently compiled my linux kernel (3.16.2-x) and tried to install it into two different ubuntu 8.10 server virtual machines appliances. Following is how the upgrade process looks like:

1. Install the kernel header, libc, firmware, image deb packages

2. Manually edit the grub menu /boot/grub/menu.lst (grub version 0.97)

3. Create a new initramfs by running update-initramfs -c -v -k 3.16.2-x

4. Copy a few of our kernel modules at the /lib/modules/3.16.2-x/extra/ directory and running update-initramfs again with -u switch

5. depmod -a 3.16.2-x

6. reboot

Interestingly, it boots into the new kernel on one of the servers and the other one fails consistently, with the following messages.

Mounting root file system

Running /scripts/local-top

/scripts/local-top/iscsi: .: line 101: can't open /etc/iscsi.initramfs

...

ALERT! /dev/sda1 does not exist. Dropping to a shell!

It will be great if some one can just throw in some ideas on how to debug. I have checked that both the servers' initramfs contain the same files and are identical.

Answer 1

I figured out the problem. The two appliances used different scsi controllers(Paravirtual SCSI and LSI Logic Parallel)

Although it turns out to be our build issue 'cos the two machines were supposed to be the same but the moral is to double check the machine's configuration and include every mandatory driver in the kernel.