Feature request: please do a version update

[Oliver Leitner]

the version of libvirt, that comes with current ubuntu 16.04 lts seems to be a bit far from current.

in ubuntu lts:

version 1.3.1

current:

version 1.3.3

there have been enhancements and changes in pretty much every subpart since the release of 1.3.1, the community will hugely benefit from this.

[Serge Hallyn (serge-hallyn)]

1.3.4 is in yakkety. To get 1.3.3 into 16.04 would be a rather large change to do in an SRU. I'm inclined to say 'no', but will leave this open for others to consider.

[Oliver Leitner (shadow333)]

thank you for the fast answer, serge,

if its impossible to update ubuntu lts, is there a ppa i should specifically follow if i want current functionality in libvirt/virt-manager/qemu?

look, ive been running from source custom compiles of all these packages with trusty for the past 6 years, id just love to know if theres a cleaner way of doing it.

[Serge Hallyn (serge-hallyn)]

The cloud archive is the generally recommended way to get newer
releases of libvirt (and other cloud software) in older supported
releases.

@jamespage may be able to tell you when a cloud archive for yakkety
will be set up for 16.04.

Note, there *is* a process for keeping software in sync across
releases. However given the number of pieces which depend upon
libvirt, and the degree to which libvirt changes over time, I don't
know that it can qualify.

[Oliver Leitner (shadow333)]

thank you once again for your answer, serge,

looking forward for that "cloud archive" thing...

i am sure this list is pretty subjective, but while i was running a custom compile of my "personal libvirt/qemu/spice" toolbox, i had the following in my list of stuff to git pull and comile:

libvirt
qemu
virt-viewer
virt-manager
spice-protocol
spice-client
usbredir

i was able to grab almost all the development headers needed via apt build-dep ..., only the celt lib does seem to be fairly dead in ubuntu, or at least it is not up to the state that spice needs, so i disabled it via configure flag.

maybe this helps a bit further... if you need any more info, please let me know.

[James Page (james-page)]

We've opened the Newton Cloud Archive for Ubuntu 16.04 LTS; however we won't as a matter of course just update everything to the latest and greatest versions from yakkety.

There is a cost for everything we add to the UCA in terms for security and bug support over its 18/36 month support lifetime so unless there is a compelling reason to add newer versions of libvirt, qemu etc... we won't automatically add them.

[Oliver Leitner (shadow333)]

Hi James,

i totally agree, lts has to stand for something.

actually theres multiple:

enhanced 3d gl support in qemu (through virtio drivers, im not into that vfio stuff...)
more options in virt-manager, allthough i agree, those dont form a reason for an update in an lts either, especially since libvirt devs are actively holding back on adding features until theyre proven stable enough.

bahh, i guess its time to wait until this whole thing settles a bit, theres so much going on in virtualisation right now...

i guess ill go edge again on my workstation.

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. However, I am closing it because the bug has been fixed in the current version of Ubuntu.

This is a significant bug in Ubuntu. If you need a fix for the bug in previous versions of Ubuntu, please perform as much as possible of the SRU Procedure [1] to bring the need to a developer's attention.

[1]: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/StableReleaseUpdates#Procedure