Container management with LXC
Program Management and Updates
Using the container console, update the installed packages in the usual way with apt-get update
followed by apt-get upgrade
. By using the package manager, you can install additional software packages from the listed sources. To access a wider program selection, add the desired repositories to the /etc/apt/sources.list
file in the container (Listing 4). You do not need to start the updates from within the running container: You can also do this with lxc-attach
from the host [3].
Listing 4
Adding Repositories
Preferably, you should run the updates in one fell swoop on the host system. In Listing 5, the shell script updates the host, terminates all active containers, and then restarts them individually for updating. The -qq
switch that follows apt-get
suppresses all output – use it only after a successful test run. The same applies for -y
("yes"), which waives all commands without prompting. The lxc-wait
command in the update loop ensures that the container is ready for operation.
Listing 5
Updating Host System
Future
In the Debian Administrator's Handbook [4] you will find some valuable information on using LXC with Debian and Debian-based distributions. Additionally, you can find detailed information about the network configuration for containers online [5], as well on display redirection for GUI applications [6].
Infos
- LXC: https://linuxcontainers.org
- LXC in the Debian wiki: https://wiki.debian.org/LXC
- Software updates for containers: http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/how-to-update-debian-or-ubuntu-linux-containers-lxc
- Debian handbook: https://debian-handbook.info/browse/en-US/stable/sect.virtualization.html#sect.lxc
- Network setup with LXC: http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/50201/how-to-configure-external-ip-addresses-for-lxc-guests
- Display redirection for GUI applications: https://newspaint.wordpress.com/2015/09/14/how-do-i-get-x11-applications-running-in-a-lxc-container/
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