Linux agent installation errors

This topic covers errors that you might encounter during or after installing the AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery agent on Linux source servers. Each section describes an error message, its cause, and the resolution.

Error: Root privileges required

Error message: You need to have root privileges to run this script

Cause: You ran the installer without root or sudo privileges.

Resolution: Run the installer with sudo:

$ sudo ./aws-replication-installer-init

Error: Invalid disk path format

Error message: Installation fails when you specify disks to replicate.

Cause: Apostrophes, brackets, or non-existent paths were used in the disk list.

Resolution: Use comma-separated paths only. Do not include quotes, brackets, or spaces. For example:

/dev/sda,/dev/sdb

Error: Kernel headers version mismatch

Error message: Cannot find kernel headers or the driver build fails during installation.

Cause: The agent builds a kernel driver at install time. This requires kernel-devel (RHEL/CentOS/SUSE) or linux-headers (Debian/Ubuntu) matching the exact running kernel version.

Resolution: Complete the following steps to install the correct kernel headers.

1. Check the running kernel version:

   $ uname -r

2. Check installed headers:

   • RHEL/CentOS/SUSE:

     $ rpm -qa | grep 'kernel.*devel'

   • Debian/Ubuntu:

     $ dpkg -l | grep linux-headers

3. Check whether the header directory is a symlink. If it is a symlink, remove it:

   • RHEL/CentOS/SUSE:

     $ ls -l /usr/src/kernels

   • Debian/Ubuntu:

     $ ls -l /usr/src

   If a symlink exists, remove it with rm.

4. Install the correct headers:

   • RHEL/CentOS:

     $ sudo yum install kernel-devel-$(uname -r)

   • SUSE:

     $ sudo zypper install kernel-default-devel=$(uname -r | sed "s/-default//")

   • Debian/Ubuntu:

     $ sudo apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r)

5. If the headers are not available in your configured repositories, download them manually from one of the following sources:

   • RHEL/CentOS/SUSE: rpm.pbone.net

   • Debian: packages.debian.org

   • Ubuntu: packages.ubuntu.com

Note

Multiple kernel-headers versions can coexist safely. Installing new headers does not affect the running kernel.

Error: Connection timed out during installation

Error message: urlopen error [Errno 110] Connection timed out

Cause: Outbound TCP port 443 is blocked between the source server and AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery endpoints.

Resolution: Verify that your firewall or security group allows outbound traffic on port 443 to the following endpoints:

• drs.region.amazonaws.com

• s3.region.amazonaws.com

Test connectivity with the following command:

$ curl -v https://drs.region.amazonaws.com

Error: GLIBC version not found

Error message: version 'GLIBC_2.7' not found (required by ./aws-replication-installer-64bit)

Cause: The operating system is unsupported or too old for the agent binary.

Resolution: Verify that your operating system is supported. For more information, see Supported Linux operating systems.

Error: Unsupported Linux kernel version

Error message: Your Linux kernel version is not supported

Cause: The running kernel is not compatible with the AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery replication driver.

Resolution: Check the supported kernels list. If your kernel is listed but the error persists, ensure that the matching kernel headers are installed. For more information, see the Error: Kernel headers version mismatch section.

Error: gcc not found

Error message: gcc was not found and could not be automatically fetched

Cause: The gcc compiler is required to compile the replication driver but is not installed, and the installer could not fetch it from the configured repositories.

Resolution: Install gcc manually:

• RHEL/CentOS/Amazon Linux:

  $ sudo yum install gcc

• Debian/Ubuntu:

  $ sudo apt-get install gcc

• SUSE:

  $ sudo zypper install gcc

Error: Permission denied when loading kernel driver

Error message: insmod: ERROR: could not insert module ./aws-replication-driver.ko: Permission denied or Operation not permitted

Cause: SELinux, Secure Boot, or endpoint protection software is blocking kernel module insertion.

Resolution: Identify which mechanism is blocking the module and apply the corresponding fix.

SELinux

Check SELinux status:

$ sestatus

Fix the security context on the driver module:

$ restorecon /lib/modules/*/extra/aws-replication-driver.ko

Secure Boot

Check Secure Boot status:

$ mokutil --sb-state

If Secure Boot is enabled, you must disable it to use the agent.

Important

Consult your security team before disabling Secure Boot.

Antivirus or endpoint protection

Check your endpoint protection software and add AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery components to the allow list.

Error: Failed to create system user

Error message: Failed to set system user permissions: "getpwnam(): name not found: aws-replication"

Cause: The agent cannot create the aws-replication user because /etc/passwd, /etc/group, or /etc/shadow have the immutable attribute set.

Resolution: Remove the immutable attribute, install the agent, then re-apply the attribute.

1. Check for the immutable attribute:

   $ lsattr /etc/passwd /etc/group /etc/shadow

2. Remove the immutable attribute:

   $ sudo chattr -i /etc/passwd /etc/group /etc/shadow

3. Run the agent installer.

4. Re-apply the immutable attribute after the installation completes.

Important

The immutable attribute might be intentional security hardening. Consult your system administrator before removing it. Re-apply the attribute after installation.

Error: Failed to map segment from shared object

Error message: error while loading shared libraries: libz.so.1: failed to map segment from shared object

Cause: The /tmp directory is mounted with the noexec option.

Resolution: Use one of the following options:

• Option 1: Temporarily remount /tmp with execute permissions:

  $ sudo mount /tmp -o remount,exec

• Option 2: Set the TMPDIR environment variable to a directory with execute permissions:

  $ TMPDIR='/path/to/exec/dir' sudo ./aws-replication-installer-init

Note

The noexec option on /tmp is a common security hardening measure. The TMPDIR alternative avoids modifying mount options.

Error: Multipath disk detection failure

Error message: The installer does not correctly identify disks on a multipath-configured server.

Cause: Automatic disk detection cannot resolve multipath device mappings.

Resolution: Specify disks explicitly with the --devices and --no-prompt options:

$ sudo ./aws-replication-installer-init \
    --region region \
    --aws-access-key-id key \
    --aws-secret-access-key secret \
    --devices /dev/sda,/dev/mapper/mpatha \
    --no-prompt

If the installation still fails, add the --force-volumes option.

Important

The --force-volumes option disables automatic disk detection. Manually verify that all required disks are included in the --devices list.

Error: PowerPath multipath detected

Error message: The installation detects EMC PowerPath.

Cause: PowerPath block-level I/O management conflicts with the AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery replication driver.

Resolution: Contact AWS Support for guidance on installing the agent on PowerPath-configured servers. Use the --force-volumes option as a potential workaround.

Error: Driver compiled for a different kernel

Error message: The agent log shows that the driver was compiled for a different kernel version and cannot load.

Cause: The kernel was updated (for example, through yum update or automated patching) after the agent driver was originally built. This commonly occurs when significant time passes between failover and failback.

Resolution: Reboot the server to load the current kernel, then reinstall the agent. On a recovery instance, reboot and reinstall the agent as a recovery instance.

Error: Oracle ASM Filter Driver conflict

Error message: The agent cannot be installed on this server because Oracle ASM Filter Driver is active

Cause: Oracle ASM Filter Driver (ASMFD) conflicts with the AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery replication driver at the block device level.

Resolution: Deactivate ASM Filter Driver, reboot the server, then run the installer. You can reactivate ASMFD after replication is active.

Important

Consult your DBA before disabling ASMFD.