Change OVH linux kernel to a standard one

OVH servers come with a custom kernel provided by OVH. This kernel is compiled with a lots of functions deactivated like:

  • Virtualization components
  • Modules support

If you need those features, you will probably need to install a standard kernel not provided by OVH. For that, just follow the instructions below.

  • Install a standard linux kernel for Ubuntu (or any other distribution, but you’ll need to adapt commands):
apt-get install linux-image-server
  • Change boot order by adding a lower priority to the OVH one:
mv /etc/grub.d/06_OVHkernel /etc/grub.d/25_OVHkernel
  • Reload grub configuration on your system:
update-grub
  • Restart the server so it can restart on new kernel freshly installed:
reboot

Now, after reboot, you should see your new kernel loaded by typing the following command:

uname -r