Differences between two Ubuntu Server 14.04.3 installations

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I have a server at my house that runs Ubuntu server 14.04.3 LTS right now.

george@sf1:~$ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description:    Ubuntu 14.04.3 LTS
Release:        14.04
Codename:       trusty

I also rent one from OVH that supposedly runs the same thing; I selected 14.04 LTS when I ordered it.

george@daisy:~$ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description:    Ubuntu 14.04.3 LTS
Release:        14.04
Codename:       trusty

Now… why are there minor differences between the two? The first thing I notice is different kernels:

george@sf1:~$ uname -r
3.19.0-49-generic

george@daisy:~$ uname -r
3.14.32-xxxx-grs-ipv6-64

Why are they not on the same kernel version, and what is the difference between the two? What are those letters after the version on daisy (instead of generic)?

Also, this may be totally related, but in using common unix tools like ps I get different outputs on each machine. So on sf1, ps -ef gives me all processes on the system whereas on daisy it gives me just processes that my current user is running. Does the different kernel version affect the utilities installed on it?

Is it possible to update the kernel on daisy? Would it change anything?

Answer

OVH puts a custom kernel on their Ubuntu servers (source). Here is how to install the generic one. I’m not sure what all the letters in the name mean, but probably, “grs” indicates support for Global Resource Serialization, “ipv6” indicates support for IPv6, and “64” indicates 64-bit.

As for why ps -ef is giving you different outputs, I’m not sure exactly, but it could be that OVH puts a non-standard version on their servers.

Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : Georges Pompidou , Answer Author : wjandrea

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