Upgrading Kernel For First Time.
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From: Grant on 25 Jan 2010 14:46 On Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:47:52 +0000 (UTC), Douglas Mayne <invalid(a)invalid.com> wrote: >On Sun, 24 Jan 2010 14:59:19 -0800, r00f wrote: > >> Hallo! I use slackware 12.2 the kernel i use is 2.6.27.7-smp. and i want >> to compile 2.6.32.5 kernel. It is my first time that i will "play" with >> this thing and i m little afraid of it.. So..can you make it little >> friendly to me? Have you suggest me anything or do you know a good >> tutorial to follow...? Is there something that i have to be careful ? >> >> Thanks for any of your answers..! >> >Kernel 2.6.32.5 is now part of the development tree at slackware -current. And now 2.6.32.6 is out ;) Happens to Pat a lot. > >You can compile the source using this .config: ><mirror>::/slackware/slackware-current/source/k/config-generic-2.6.32.5 I don't see the point in updating to latest kernel with general (distro) ..config that tries to please everyone. Hmm, unless you have hardware requiring latest kernel drivers? Grant. -- http://bugs.id.au
From: Douglas Mayne on 25 Jan 2010 15:16 On Tue, 26 Jan 2010 06:46:16 +1100, Grant wrote: > On Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:47:52 +0000 (UTC), Douglas Mayne > <invalid(a)invalid.com> wrote: > >>On Sun, 24 Jan 2010 14:59:19 -0800, r00f wrote: >> >>> Hallo! I use slackware 12.2 the kernel i use is 2.6.27.7-smp. and i >>> want to compile 2.6.32.5 kernel. It is my first time that i will >>> "play" with this thing and i m little afraid of it.. So..can you make >>> it little friendly to me? Have you suggest me anything or do you know >>> a good tutorial to follow...? Is there something that i have to be >>> careful ? >>> >>> Thanks for any of your answers..! >>> >>Kernel 2.6.32.5 is now part of the development tree at slackware >>-current. > > And now 2.6.32.6 is out ;) Happens to Pat a lot. > Oh, well...make oldconfig >> >>You can compile the source using this .config: >><mirror>::/slackware/slackware-current/source/k/config-generic-2.6.32.5 > > I don't see the point in updating to latest kernel with general (distro) > .config that tries to please everyone. > It could be a good learning exercise for the OP. That is a good introduction for compiling a kernel which will most likely result in a working kernel- by using a "known good" config. > > Hmm, unless you have hardware requiring latest kernel drivers? > The default kernel is really "good enough" for a lot of purposes. It saves "fighting the current" too much. One thing which helps a lot is using the modular kernel configuration. That is the best of both worlds- support is there when needed, and uses no memory otherwise. The module loads only when specific the specific hardware is present for which a kernel module is associated. That said, see final comment below. > > Grant. > Note: Comments inline. I am not running the latest kernel, but beyond slack 13's default. I posted this earlier with some changes to the default slackware kernel: http://groups.google.com/group/alt.os.linux.slackware/msg/4a3dd18f105aab79 -- Douglas Mayne
From: Grant on 25 Jan 2010 16:50 Apologies for jumping out killfiles ;) On Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:16:59 +0000 (UTC), Douglas Mayne <invalid(a)invalid.com> wrote: >On Tue, 26 Jan 2010 06:46:16 +1100, Grant wrote: > >> On Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:47:52 +0000 (UTC), Douglas Mayne >> <invalid(a)invalid.com> wrote: >> >>>On Sun, 24 Jan 2010 14:59:19 -0800, r00f wrote: >>> >>>> Hallo! I use slackware 12.2 the kernel i use is 2.6.27.7-smp. and i >>>> want to compile 2.6.32.5 kernel. It is my first time that i will >>>> "play" with this thing and i m little afraid of it.. So..can you make >>>> it little friendly to me? Have you suggest me anything or do you know >>>> a good tutorial to follow...? Is there something that i have to be >>>> careful ? >>>> >>>> Thanks for any of your answers..! >>>> >>>Kernel 2.6.32.5 is now part of the development tree at slackware >>>-current. >> >> And now 2.6.32.6 is out ;) Happens to Pat a lot. >> >Oh, well...make oldconfig A little more involved, and no 'make oldconfig' ;^) ~$ cd linux/ ~/linux$ mv linux-2.6.32.5a linux-2.6.32.6a ~/linux$ ls -l ~/linux$ cd linux-2.6.32.6a ~/linux/linux-2.6.32.6a$ zcat /home/common/linux/patch-2.6.32.5.gz |patch -p1 -R ~/linux/linux-2.6.32.6a$ zcat /home/common/linux/patch-2.6.32.6.gz |patch -p1 ~/linux/linux-2.6.32.6a$ time make -j3 ~/linux/linux-2.6.32.6a$ bk # bk script does 'make install', lilo, reboot Note that most of the above is either mouse highlight and paste, plus tab completion for the long pathname, so it's far less typing than what's shown here. I'm planning to update my kernel build scripts and repost them, removing linux-2.4 support as well as the remote compile stuff I've not used for years. It was easier to dump the very slow boxes. >>> >>>You can compile the source using this .config: >>><mirror>::/slackware/slackware-current/source/k/config-generic-2.6.32.5 >> >> I don't see the point in updating to latest kernel with general (distro) >> .config that tries to please everyone. >> >It could be a good learning exercise for the OP. That is a good >introduction for compiling a kernel which will most likely result in a >working kernel- by using a "known good" config. >> >> Hmm, unless you have hardware requiring latest kernel drivers? >> >The default kernel is really "good enough" for a lot of purposes. It >saves "fighting the current" too much. One thing which helps a lot is >using the modular kernel configuration. That is the best of both worlds- >support is there when needed, and uses no memory otherwise. The module >loads only when specific the specific hardware is present for which a >kernel module is associated. That said, see final comment below. Modular kernel if you look after a lot of machines? 'Cos I only have a few machines here, they each get a custom kernel. At the moment I'm only keeping two machines up-to-date. Some stuff is modules where it makes sense, like USB mass storage or loopback mounts. Other stuff I'm not sure of, or rarely used is modules. I don't do initrd. > >I am not running the latest kernel, but beyond slack 13's default. I >posted this earlier with some changes to the default slackware kernel: > >http://groups.google.com/group/alt.os.linux.slackware/msg/4a3dd18f105aab79 Yes, VM timing issues -- one of the areas where tracking latest -stable kernel may be a good idea. Of course this depends on number on machines you're looking after. Grant. -- http://bugs.id.au/
From: Blikje Ham on 26 Jan 2010 15:17 The main problem with building your own kernel is the occasional f**-up you make, and then your system won't boot. Therefore, like others have pointed out, always make sure you have a working kernel as a backup in your lilo config. What I did when I started building a kernel myself was beginning with the default kernel. Then strip out all the things I am certain I don't want/need to use. What is the point of having WiFi when you only use a cabled network. Or what is the use of having IrDA in your kernel, when you don't have devices that use it. After having stripped your kernel of the obvious 'useless' stuff, go on with really tuning the kernel. Put some stuff as module in your kernel, boot it and see if the module needs to be loaded for your system to function properly. If you repeat that step with different drivers etc., you will end up with the bare minimun for your system. I use the `make menuconfig` option for configuring my kernel. It has a great help section for each option you can select. Read those pieces of text. It will give you an understanding of what everything is for. One more thing: be careful about the drivers for your filesystem. If you accidently remove them, or make them a module, your system won't boot; it will need that module to load the filesystem where your modules are. There is nothing like the satisfaction after you've compiled your kernel and it works! And if it doesn't work, and you forgot to keep the working kernel, there is always a rescue CD and `chroot` etc. Greets, Blikjeham
From: tapp on 26 Jan 2010 17:15
Blikje Ham <blikjeham(a)vierkleurenspreeuw.nl> [Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:17:59 +0000] > What I did when I started building a kernel myself was beginning with > the default kernel. Then strip out all the things I am certain I don't > want/need to use. [...] I agree, this is what I did as well. For the OP this would mean: Install the kernel source package for 2.6.27.7-smp, the one you are currently running. cd to the folder, do a "cp .config .config.orig" to save the original configuration, so you can later do a diff with your own .config, which is interesting. Then run "make xconfig" (my favorite) and be prepared to spend about 2 hours checking out all kernel internals. Apart from deselecting unneeded options, consider settings like optimizations for your CPU and the tickless timer. If your kernel boots and runs, check the dmesg, and also diff the current bootdmesg to the one you had from the last boot with the stock kernel (from /var/log/) - very interesting. After that, compile the new kernel you downloaded. Copy your .config to the new source tree (so none of your work from before is lost), "make oldconfig". Most times the preselected "N" answer is OK, but you'll see interesting new options. As your conf from before was working, the new kernel should run without problems. > There is nothing like the satisfaction after you've compiled your kernel > and it works! Well, maybe it's not THAT intense ;-) , but yes, you now have a better grasp of the "black box" that is running your OS. For additional fuzzy feeling, change the kernel version suffix to something personal, so it appears when you type "uname -a". ;-) I.G. |