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azlin os-update

Update Ubuntu system packages on azlin VMs for security and stability.

Description

Run Ubuntu package updates (apt update && apt upgrade) on VMs. Apply security patches, update system libraries, and maintain VM health.

Usage

azlin os-update VM_NAME [OPTIONS]

Arguments

  • VM_NAME - VM to update (name, session, or IP)

Options

Option Description
--timeout SECONDS Command timeout (default: 300)
--reboot Reboot VM after updates if required
--resource-group, --rg TEXT Azure resource group
-h, --help Show help message

Examples

Update Single VM

azlin os-update my-dev-vm

Output: 

Updating Ubuntu packages on 'my-dev-vm'...

Connecting to VM...
✓ Connected

Running: sudo apt update
Hit:1 http://azure.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy InRelease
Get:2 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy-security InRelease [110 kB]
Fetched 1,234 kB in 2s (617 kB/s)
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
36 packages can be upgraded.

Running: sudo apt upgrade -y
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
The following packages will be upgraded:
  libssl3 openssl python3 ...
36 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove

Unpacking libssl3 (3.0.2-0ubuntu1.12) ...
Setting up libssl3 (3.0.2-0ubuntu1.12) ...
Processing triggers for libc-bin ...

✓ Update complete!
  Packages upgraded: 36
  Time: 3m 42s

No reboot required.

Update with Reboot

# Reboot if kernel was updated
azlin os-update prod-vm --reboot

Output: 

...
✓ Update complete!
  Packages upgraded: 42
  Kernel updated: 5.15.0-91 -> 5.15.0-92

Reboot required. Rebooting VM...
✓ VM rebooted successfully.
  New kernel: 5.15.0-92

Update with Custom Timeout

# Allow more time for large updates
azlin os-update my-vm --timeout 600

Update by Session Name

azlin os-update my-project

Update by IP

azlin os-update 20.12.34.56

Common Workflows

Monthly Maintenance

# Update all VMs
for vm in $(azlin list --format json | jq -r '.[].name'); do
  echo "Updating $vm..."
  azlin os-update $vm
done

Pre-Deployment Updates

# Update and reboot before deployment
azlin os-update prod-api --reboot

# Wait for VM to come back online
sleep 60
azlin connect prod-api

Security Patch Schedule

# Create update script
cat > ~/monthly-updates.sh << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
# Monthly security updates

REPORT_FILE="/tmp/update-report-$(date +%Y%m%d).txt"

echo "Security Update Report - $(date)" > "$REPORT_FILE"
echo "========================================" >> "$REPORT_FILE"

for vm in $(azlin list --format json | jq -r '.[].name'); do
  echo "Updating $vm..." | tee -a "$REPORT_FILE"
  azlin os-update $vm --timeout 600 >> "$REPORT_FILE" 2>&1
  echo "" >> "$REPORT_FILE"
done

echo "Update complete: $REPORT_FILE"
EOF

chmod +x ~/monthly-updates.sh

# Schedule via cron (first Sunday of month at 2 AM)
# 0 2 1-7 * 0 ~/monthly-updates.sh

Fleet Updates

# Update all production VMs
azlin list --tag env=production --format json | \
  jq -r '.[].name' | \
  xargs -I {} azlin os-update {} --timeout 600

# Or use fleet command (if available)
azlin fleet update --tag env=production --os-packages

What Gets Updated

The command runs:

sudo apt update          # Refresh package lists
sudo apt upgrade -y      # Install available updates

Updated components: - System libraries (glibc, openssl) - Linux kernel (if available) - Development tools (gcc, python3) - Security patches - Bug fixes

NOT updated: - azlin development tools (use azlin update instead) - User-installed packages from source - Docker containers - Node.js packages - Python packages

Reboot Requirements

Some updates require reboot: - Kernel updates - Core system libraries - Security patches affecting running services

Check if reboot needed: 

# On VM
azlin connect my-vm
[ -f /var/run/reboot-required ] && echo "Reboot required"

Performance

Package Count Update Time
0-10 packages 1-2 minutes
10-50 packages 2-5 minutes
50-100 packages 5-10 minutes
100+ packages 10-20 minutes

Includes download and installation time

Best Practices

Update Schedule

  • Development: Monthly or as needed
  • Staging: Weekly
  • Production: Monthly with testing

Testing

# Test updates in dev first
azlin os-update dev-vm

# Then staging
azlin os-update staging-vm

# Finally production (off-hours)
azlin os-update prod-vm --reboot

Backup Before Major Updates

# Create snapshot before updating
azlin snapshot create prod-vm

# Update
azlin os-update prod-vm

# If issues, restore
# azlin snapshot restore prod-vm prod-vm-snapshot-...

Troubleshooting

Update Timeout

Problem: Update times out.

Solution: 

# Increase timeout
azlin os-update my-vm --timeout 900

# Or SSH and update manually
azlin connect my-vm
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Package Lock Held

Problem: "Could not get lock" error.

Solution: 

# Wait for other apt processes to complete
azlin connect my-vm
sudo lsof /var/lib/dpkg/lock-frontend
# Kill if safe, or wait

Failed Package Updates

Problem: Some packages fail to update.

Solution: 

azlin connect my-vm
sudo apt --fix-broken install
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

See Also