Error: DM multipath kernel driver version too old

  • 7008914
  • 29-Jun-2011
  • 27-Apr-2012

Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 Service Pack 3
Novell Open Enterprise Server 2 (OES 2) Linux Support Pack 2
Novell Open Enterprise Server 2 (OES 2) Linux Support Pack 3

Situation

After updating to kernel version 2.6.16.60-0.79.1, multipath commands fail with the following message:

DM multipath kernel driver version too old

Resolution

To resolve this issue, upgrade to at least kernel version 2.6.16.60-0.81.2, which was released on July 2, 2011. This kernel version can be found on the Novell Patch Finder, or through the online update tool.

If manually downloading the updated kernel, the following RPM command will install the new kernel alongside the existing kernels:
rpm -ivh kernel-smp-2.6.16.60-0.81.2.x86_64.rpm

Additional Information

The multipath ioctl interface version was changed in the new kernel version. This change exposed a bug in the version handling routine of the multipath library, which prevents the multipath daemon from initializing.