Bug#1081754: systemd: "kernel-install add-all" fails due to Debian not having vmlinuz where it expects

[Luca Boccassi]

Control: tags -1 wontfix
Control: close -1

On Sun, 15 Sep 2024 00:13:16 +1000 Russell Coker <russell at coker.com.au>
wrote:
> Package: systemd
> Version: 256.6-1
> Severity: normal
> 
> # kernel-install add-all
> Not adding version '6.10.9-amd64', because kernel image not found.
> Not adding version '6.9.10-amd64', because kernel image not found.
> No kernels to install found.
> 
> The above is what happens in a typical Debian system, what I expect
is that it
> will just find the kernels and install them.
> 
> When I created symlinks from /lib/modules/6.9.10-amd64/vmlinuz to
> /boot/vmlinuz-6.9.10-amd64 and from /lib/modules/6.10.9-amd64/vmlinuz
to
> /boot/vmlinuz-6.10.9-amd64 it worked as desired.
> 
> One could argue that this is a bug in the Debian kernel packages for
not having
> such a symlink.  But I think that the current situation with kernel
packages is
> adequate and systemd in Debian should be patched to work with it.

It has been requested many times that the kernel packages ship files
under /usr/ instead of /boot/, as it would bring many benefits:

https://lists.debian.org/debian-kernel/2022/09/msg00062.html

Two years ago I implemented it and the POC was working fine:

https://salsa.debian.org/kernel-team/linux/-/merge_requests/570

but a kernel maintainer rejected the change, saying that a "proper fix
was being worked on". That was 2 years ago, nothing has happened so
far.

Please bring this up with the kernel maintainers, if you wish to do so.
Sorry, but I am not willing to patch and maintain debianisms into
systemd to work around issues in other packages.