As steady as clockwork, Ubuntu 11.04 Natty is released on the day scheduled at least eleven months ago; and thanks to Canonical, tested AMIs for Natty are already published for use on Amazon EC2.
As steady as clockwork, Ubuntu 11.04 Natty is released on the day scheduled at least eleven months ago; and thanks to Canonical, tested AMIs for Natty are already published for use on Amazon EC2.
Does anybody really need me to tell them that you can now run a copy of the newly released Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick on Amazon EC2 with official AMIs published by Canonical?
Or, by now, perhaps you have come to expect–like I have–that the smoothly oiled machine will naturally pump out Ubuntu AMIs for EC2 on the same pre-scheduled date that the larger Ubuntu machine churns out yet another smooth launch of yet another clean Ubuntu release.
The bigger question, I guess, might be:
Should I upgrade to Ubuntu 10.10 on EC2?
Canonical has released an updated series of Ubuntu AMIs for EC2. When starting new EC2 instances, you should use the latest AMI ids to pick up kernel security fixes. If you have Ubuntu 10.04 running on a t1.micro instance type, you should at least upgrade the software packages to get the patch for the rebooting issue:
Note: I do not recommend that new users start with these AMIs. These AMIs run with older versions of Amazon’s Fedora 8 kernel which have some incompatibilities with Ubuntu and Debian (e.g., XFS is broken). My strong recommendation is for all users to convert to one of the Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic or Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy AMIs which run with a modern, compatible Ubuntu kernel.
I have released updates of the following legacy Ubuntu and Debian S3-based AMIs published in the “alestic” buckets:
I welcome testing and feedback from folks who are already using the older versions of these AMIs.
In addition to upgraded software packages, the following enhancements are in this release:
Wait for meta-data before deciding whether to generate ssh host key (Thanks to Dmitry for catching)
Patch from Tom White to support compressed user-data scripts
Allow user-data script to remove the “been run” file so that it is run on every boot instead of just the first
Upgrade EC2 AMI tools to 1.3-34544
Debian: Add Alestic PPA to apt sources
Debian: Install runurl from Alestic PPA
I would like to reiterate that these AMIs are not recommended for anybody except folks who are already using older versions of these AMIs and I would encourage you to upgrade to an Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic AMI or the upcoming Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid AMI which will be released in April. The base Ubuntu image building responsibilities have been transfered to Canonical and I don’t have any plans to release new AMIs in the older Ubuntu or Debian series beyond what I am announcing here.
I have not yet posted the AMI ids on https://alestic.com pending testing and feedback, but here are the ids for those who need to run them:
us-east-1
ami-1116f978 Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty server 32-bit
ami-e116f988 Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty server 64-bit
ami-cd16f9a4 Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty desktop 32-bit
ami-c316f9aa Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty desktop 64-bit
ami-1316f97a Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid server 32-bit
ami-e316f98a Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid server 64-bit
ami-cb16f9a2 Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid desktop 32-bit
ami-c116f9a8 Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid desktop 64-bit
ami-e916f980 Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy server 32-bit
ami-e716f98e Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy server 64-bit
ami-1716f97e Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy desktop 32-bit
ami-e516f98c Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy desktop 64-bit
ami-eb16f982 Ubuntu 6.06 Dapper server 32-bit
ami-f916f990 Ubuntu 6.06 Dapper server 64-bit
ami-ed16f984 Debian 5.0 Lenny server 32-bit
ami-fb16f992 Debian 5.0 Lenny server 64-bit
ami-cf16f9a6 Debian 5.0 Lenny desktop 32-bit
ami-c516f9ac Debian 5.0 Lenny desktop 64-bit
ami-ef16f986 Debian 4.0 Etch server 32-bit
ami-fd16f994 Debian 4.0 Etch server 64-bit
us-west-1
ami-197a2b5c Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty server 32-bit
ami-237a2b66 Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty server 64-bit
ami-357a2b70 Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty desktop 32-bit
ami-c97a2b8c Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty desktop 64-bit
ami-257a2b60 Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid server 32-bit
ami-2d7a2b68 Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid server 64-bit
ami-377a2b72 Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid desktop 32-bit
ami-d57a2b90 Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid desktop 64-bit
ami-277a2b62 Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy server 32-bit
ami-2f7a2b6a Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy server 64-bit
ami-cf7a2b8a Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy desktop 32-bit
ami-d77a2b92 Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy desktop 64-bit
ami-217a2b64 Ubuntu 6.06 Dapper server 32-bit
ami-e77a2ba2 Ubuntu 6.06 Dapper server 64-bit
ami-d37a2b96 Debian 5.0 Lenny server 32-bit
ami-df7a2b9a Debian 5.0 Lenny server 64-bit
ami-e37a2ba6 Debian 5.0 Lenny desktop 32-bit
ami-db7a2b9e Debian 5.0 Lenny desktop 64-bit
ami-d17a2b94 Debian 4.0 Etch server 32-bit
ami-dd7a2b98 Debian 4.0 Etch server 64-bit
eu-west-1
ami-a798b3d3 Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty server 32-bit
ami-af98b3db Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty server 64-bit
ami-9798b3e3 Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty desktop 32-bit
ami-9d98b3e9 Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty desktop 64-bit
ami-a198b3d5 Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid server 32-bit
ami-a998b3dd Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid server 64-bit
ami-9198b3e5 Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid desktop 32-bit
ami-9998b3ed Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid desktop 64-bit
ami-a398b3d7 Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy server 32-bit
ami-ab98b3df Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy server 64-bit
ami-9398b3e7 Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy desktop 32-bit
ami-8798b3f3 Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy desktop 64-bit
ami-ad98b3d9 Ubuntu 6.06 Dapper server 32-bit
ami-9598b3e1 Ubuntu 6.06 Dapper server 64-bit
ami-8398b3f7 Debian 5.0 Lenny server 32-bit
ami-8f98b3fb Debian 5.0 Lenny server 64-bit
ami-8998b3fd Debian 5.0 Lenny desktop 32-bit
ami-8b98b3ff Debian 5.0 Lenny desktop 64-bit
ami-8198b3f5 Debian 4.0 Etch server 32-bit
ami-8d98b3f9 Debian 4.0 Etch server 64-bit
Scott Moser (Canonical) built and released new Ubuntu 8.04.3 LTS Hardy images and AMIs for Amazon EC2. I also published new EBS boot AMIs using the same images. I’ve listed all of the AMI ids on https://alestic.com (pick your region at the top).
These AMIs should work better in the us-west-1 region (apt sources.list) and have updated software packages so upgrades on new instances should be faster.
New updates have been released for the Ubuntu and Debian AMIs (EC2 images) published on:
The following notes apply to this release:
The images have been upgraded to use the newest 2.6.21 kernel, ramdisk, and kernel modules from Amazon. This fixes a serious security hole in the previous 2.6.21 kernel.
The Alestic PPA (personal package archive) has been added to the Ubuntu AMIs. This makes it easy to install software packages listed in this PPA, including ec2-consistent-snapshot.
The runurl package from the Alestic PPA has been pre-installed on the Ubuntu AMIs. This can be a handy tool for setting up new instances with user-data scripts.
The EC2 AMI tools have been upgraded to version 1.3-34544.
The ec2-ami-tools package version has been pinned so it does not get downgraded if the official Ubuntu archives still have older versions.
All packages have been upgraded to their respective latest versions.
The Ubuntu Karmic images were not updated and have been removed from the listings at the top of https://alestic.com. If you would like to use Ubuntu Karmic Beta, please test with the AMIs published by Canonical listed a bit lower down on the page.
Please give these new images a spin and let us know if you run into any problems.
Enjoy
New updates have been released for the Ubuntu and Debian AMIs (EC2 images) published on:
The following notes apply to this release:
The EC2 AMI tools have been upgraded to version 1.3-34544. Note that an “apt-get upgrade” will downgrade the EC2 AMI tools because the versions of the ec2-ami-tools package currently in the Ubuntu Hardy, Intrepid, Jaunty archives are outdated. If you have an easy solution to this, please let us know.
The ssh host key regeneration has been moved to run after the RNG is seeded. This improves security, especially for folks who are verifying the ssh host key on the first connect by comparing the fingerprint to the value in the instance console output. Thanks to Andrew Becherer for suggesting this improvement.
The Ubuntu Karmic Alpha images were not updated. Due to a new kernel requirement, Karmic will no longer run on Amazon’s 2.6.21 kernel. Once Canonical releases an Ubuntu kernel with the appropriate features, the Karmic series may be resumed. Running “apt-get upgrade” on an existing Karmic AMI will cause it to be inaccessible after rebooting.
The Debian Etch desktop images were not updated because apparently LaTeX refuses to build a format from a source file which is more than five years old. If there is anybody who wants Etch desktops and is willing to investigate, please contact me, otherwise I plan to discontinue support for this series. If you’re using Debian, I’d encourage you to upgrade to Lenny “stable” anyway.
Please give these new images a spin and let us know if you run into any problems.
Enjoy
Ubuntu Karmic Koala Alpha is being developed and will be released as Ubuntu 9.10 in October. If you want to play around with Karmic Alpha on Amazon EC2, I have published new AMIs in the US and EU regions for 32- and 64-bit:
A Karmic desktop image for EC2 is also available if you wish to monitor progress in that area.
Warning! Karmic is an unstable alpha developer version and is not intended for use in anything resembling a production environment.
Please note that we are still defaulting to Amazon’s 2.6.21fc8 kernel which, though functional and stable, is getting older and older for each new release of Ubuntu. One effect of this is that AppArmor will not be enabled, though this should not affect the functionality of any software.
Enjoy!
New updates have been released for the Ubuntu and Debian AMIs (EC2 images) published on:
The following improvements are included in this release:
Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty now uses an Ubuntu mirror inside of EC2 hosted by RightScale. This dramatically improves the performance of updates and upgrades. Hardy and Intrepid were already using the mirrors inside EC2.
The Hardy, Intrepid, and Jaunty images have been enhanced to add failover for Ubuntu archive mirror hosts across availability zones (data centers). This change lets an Ubuntu instance perform package updates and upgrades even if one or two of the EC2 availability zones are completely unavailable.
The denyhosts package is now installed on desktop images for
improved security. The Amazon abuse team has identified the Ubuntu
desktop images as a source of compromised systems. The cause for
this is believed to be unsecure passwords set by users, since the
desktop images have PasswordAuthentication enabled by default so
that the NX client can connect. The denyhosts package blocks ssh
attacks by adding remote systems to /etc/hosts.deny if they keep
failing password logins.
The published Ubuntu and Debian server images continue to have
PasswordAuthentication turned off by default for improved security.
If you choose to turn this on, I recommend installing a package like
denyhosts and using software like the following to generate secure
passwords:
sudo apt-get install pwgen
pwgen -s 10 1
The EC2 AMI tools have been upgraded to version 1.3-31780.
All software packages have been updated to versions current as of 2009-06-14.
Community support for Ubuntu on EC2 is available in this group:
Community support for Debian on EC2 is available in this group:
The 32-bit Debian squeeze images and the 32-bit Debian etch desktop image have not been updated yet due to problems with initial package installation. Images will be released when these issues are resolved.
The following enhancements have been made to the ec2ubuntu-build-ami software which is used to build Ubuntu and Debian images for EC2.
New --kernel and --ramdisk options have been added to specify AKI
and ARI. If you specify a different kernel, you should also specify
kernel modules with --package or install them with the --script
option.
Support has been removed for Ubuntu Edgy, Feisty, and Gutsy. These releases have reached their end of life. To improve the clarity of the code this software no longer supports building these images.
There has been a typo fix for $originaldir for folks who were using
the --script option.
There has been a typo fix for /dev/ptmx though it apparently had no
effect given how these images are built.
Thanks to Stephen Parkes and Paul Dowman for submitting patches.
Enjoy!
As you may have heard, Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty has been officially released by Ubuntu today, right on schedule:
Matching updates have been released for the Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty AMIs listed on:
Please note that we are still defaulting to Amazon’s 2.6.21fc8 kernel which is getting older and older for each new release of Ubuntu. Please do let the group know if you find incompatibilities with Ubuntu Jaunty other than the known problem that AppArmor is not enabled.
You might be able to run the 9.04 Jaunty image with the official Ubuntu 2.6.27 kernel (for Intrepid) which is currently in release candidate state from Canonical.
For what it’s worth, I still run Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Hardy on Amazon EC2 personally and for my company.
New updates have been released for all* of the Ubuntu and Debian AMIs listed on:
The primary enhancements in this release are:
The images which were experiencing problems with XFS and the Amazon 2.6.21fc8 kernel have been fixed by installing an XFS kernel module which matches Amazon’s kernel. This includes Ubuntu Intrepid, Ubuntu Jaunty, Debian Lenny, and Debian Squeeze.
The Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty image is using release candidate software. The official Jaunty release is expected April 23.
At the request of the Amazon security folks, ssh PasswordAuthentication has been disabled by default on the server images. Even though the base images have passwords disabled on the root account, some folks may be creating accounts with poor passwords susceptible to attacks. The desktop images require password authentication for NX (as far as I know) so please use secure passwords.
The desktop images have been upgraded to a recent version of NX Free Edition software.
This is the last published image for Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy. This version has reached its end of life on April 18 and should not be used any more unless you really need to test something on Gutsy and you aren’t going to leave it running long (no security patches available).
All of the AMIs are available in both the US and European regions.
Notes:
New updates have been released for the Ubuntu Jaunty AMIs on
Jaunty recently moved from “alpha” to “beta” in preparation for its official release as Ubuntu 9.04 next month.
For details on what is new in Jaunty, see:
This is beta software and is not suitable for production use.
All of the AMIs are available in both the US and European regions.
New updates have been released for all* of the Ubuntu and Debian AMIs listed on:
The primary enhancements in this release are:
Ubuntu Hardy and Intrepid have new apt sources.list pointing to the local EC2 mirrors provided by RightScale. Please let me know if you have any problems with updates.
Debian “lenny” has been released as the new “stable”. Debian “squeeze” is the new “testing”, so the latest Debian mapping is as follows:
squeeze - “testing” lenny - “stable” etch - “oldstable”
As always, “sid” is “unstable” and I can’t imagine why you would want to run this on EC2 unless you’re a Debian developer in which case you should probably built your own AMIs.
When I run “squeeze” it thinks that it is “lenny” (lsb_release -a). I assume that this is because it has just been branched from lenny but it’s possible that I didn’t build it correctly. Let me know if you have further information on this.
Notes:
The Ubuntu 6.10 Edgy and 7.04 Feisty AMIs are obsolete, unsupported, and are not updated.
The AMIs are in the process of being copied to eu-west-1 (Europe). Documentation will be updated soon.
New updates have been released for all* of the Ubuntu and Debian AMIs listed on:
The primary enhancements in this release are:
The EC2 AMI tools have been upgraded to 1.3-30748. This adds support for EC2 regions including the new eu-west-1 European region.
AMIs have been created for Ubuntu Jaunty Jackelope alpha (planned for release 2009-04). This is alpha software and is not suitable for production use.
All of the AMIs are available in both the US and European regions.
New updates have been released for all* of the Ubuntu and Debian AMIs listed on:
The primary enhancements in this release are:
The kernel modules for Amazon’s old 2.6.16 kernel are no longer included in the AMI. The images have been running for a while on Amazon’s 2.6.21 kernel by default and kernel modules are included for this version. If you need the 2.6.16 kernel modules they are available for download or you can build a new AMI with the kernel modules using the ec2-ubuntu-build-ami script on the above site.
The EC2 AMI tools have been upgraded to 1.3-26357. This has reduced the number of required patches down to one as Amazon continues to improve support for Ubuntu and Debian in these tools.
A new –arch option has been added based on a patch submitted by Don Spaulding II. This may help in building images for both 32- and 64-bit on the same system.
There have been no volunteers for building an automated AMI testing framework so not all of these 24 images have been tested. Please report quickly any problems you encounter and hold off a bit on upgrading to these in production environments.