32 bit AMI registration boot problem: explaination and possible solutions

[David Gay]

Hi -- these beta AMIs need to be done today. 64 bit base AMIs have been successfully uploaded, but I *still* haven't nailed the problem with the 32 bit registration method. Or rather, I've isolated the problem, but haven't found a solution. Searching the net has not been going well with this particular issue, as most people don't seem to deal with 32 bit images much anymore, and barely any EC2 instance types even support the architecture anymore.

I've written up a little problem statement with few solutions. If anyone has experience with this stuff or ideas/input, it's greatly welcomed.

Problem
-------

64 bit base image works 100% fine, 32 bit image fails to boot with a probable
kernel issue.

System Log
----------

The below log likely indicates the attempted use of an invalid kernel. However,
I _do_ properly specify the AKI of the proper architecture and region.

http://ur1.ca/ioklt

Givens
------

1.  I register AMIs based on an EBS volume snapshot.

2.  You cannot have an instance that is both 32 bit architecture and
    EBS-optimized.

3.  I use a 64 bit "utility instance" (so that I can use EBS backing) to write
    the 32-bit raw image file to a secondary volume.

    3a. That volume is necessarily EBS, as previously mentioned.

4.  The registered 32 bit AMI is tested by spinning up a 32 bit instance
    (non-EBS) based on the AMI I register from the snapshotted EBS volume. (I
    assume this is where the problem stems from, AKA, maybe you can't register a 32
    bit AMI based on an EBS-backed volume?)

5.  64 bit cloud base AMI registers perfectly fine with this same setup (of
    course, I use all 64 bit instances and kernel IDs for this process).

Hopeful Solution
----------------

There _is_ some sort of way to get a 32 bit AMI registered and bootable with
this EBS method.

Less-nice Solution
------------------

Do an instance store backed registration manually with a manifest file for the
32 bit images only. *I don't have experience with instance store registration,
so help would be welcome, though I can probably figure it out*.

Last-ditch Solution
-------------------

I've been lead to believe that other folks like kushal may have been able to
register the 32 bit AMIs succesfully just by straight up using the ec2 command
line tools. If you have a good method for this, send it my way, and I'll run it
locally to ensure that we have 32 bit beta AMIs today, since this is sort of the
hard deadline.

Thanks for reading this longer email!

-- oddshocks