v17.1 - The v17.x release continues with bugfixed builds

After a bit of hiccup, I am pleased to be back to announce the ongoing release of v17.x appliances. Because of the bug, the previously released v17.0 appliances have been patched with a bugfix and re-released as v17.1. They also include all the latest Debian packages.

Updated apps, new for v17.x

When the bug hit, there were 15 updated v17.0 appliances that had been built ready for release, but not yet published. We have patched these v17.0 ISOs too and included them in this v17.1 bugfix release. Here are the 15 new appliances to be released as v17.1:

B2evolution	CakePHP	CodeIgniter	e107
Elgg	Foswiki	Gallery	Ghost
Laravel	Leantime	Mattermost	Mibew
Omeka	ownCloud	Prestashop

Bugfixed v17.1 appliances

As per convention, and perhaps even more important that usual, here (in alphabetical order) are all the current v17.1 appliances:

Ansible	Asp-net-core	AVideo	B2evolution
Bookstack	CakePHP	CodeIgniter	Core
Django	DokuWiki	Drupal7	Drupal9
e107	Elgg	Foswiki	Gallery
Ghost	iceScrum	LAMPStack	Laravel
Leantime	LighttpdPHPFastCGIServer	LimeSurvey	Mahara
Mantis	Mattermost	MediaWiki	Mibew
NGINXPHPFastCGIServer	node.js	Omeka	OpenCart
OrangeHRM	ownCloud	phpList	Prestashop
Roundup	SilverStripe	Syncthing	TKLDev
Vanilla	XOOPS

What we've done and the implications

Essentially, we've just unpacked the ISOs and applied the bugfix as noted in the bug alert post. All available Debian updates were also installed and then the whole shebang repackaged as 'v17.1' iso.

So whilst v17.1 appliances are fixed and do not include the issue, the root cause of the bug is actually in our build infrastructure, namely fab. The bug causes the result noted in the blog post. So you could say that we've fixed the symptom, but not yet fixed the root problem.

The implication is that the bug still exists in TKLDev v17.1. So if you build ISOs with TKLDev, your ISOs will still be affected by this bug. Unfortunately, it won't be immediately obvious. It will only become a problem once the kernel is updated. We're working on a proper fix and once we have a good one and are happy that the root issue is resolved, we will release an updated TKLDev.

In the meantime, if you are building ISOs, or testing alternate builds (with the exception of LXC/PRoxmox builds - which don't include a kernel) then I suggest that you include the following at the bottom of your conf script:

apt-get update
apt-get remove -y live-tools
apt-get install --reinstall -y initramfs-tools
apt-get install -y di-live live-tools

This is only a temporary measure and once we fix fab, you will be able to install the bugfix via apt (and remove the above code from your conf script- or start again with a new TKLDev). This is far from ideal, but allows us to push forward with the v17.x release, whilst take the time to ensure a proper fix.

Feedback encouraged

Please let us know in the comments (below) how you go with these updated appliances. If you are using TKLDev to build and have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask. All feedback welcome.