When to Re-Compile Kernel??????????? 1

[100mbs]

I have been running Solaris for years and we are now putting some Linux (redhat) servers in our network.

I have a question.

How do i know when i need to re-compile the kernel?

I installed some applications from HP's website (support pack) but i am going to be installing patches etc in the coming days.

With Solaris we dont need to worry about this because the kernel is dynamic.

Also can you post ways to actually re-compile the kernel?

Thanks for your help.

 

[BadBigBen]

When:

1. you want kernel driver support for new hardware.
2. your kernel is a security risk.
3. BUG FIXES (I would consider this one the most viable reason as to why you'd want to).
4. when you want to stay on the bleeding edge of technology.
5. just for the heck of it.
etc.

but:

in a server environment you want stability, so I would conjecture that the vanilla kernel would be the safest to use, for compatibility sake as well...


how (just some starting points, I would look at the RH Forum for ways they do it):

manual way:

http://www.digitalhermit.com/linux/Kernel-Build-HOWTO.html

RH way:
How To Install and Update A Redhat Linux Kernel RPM

http://www.yolinux.com/TUTORIALS/LinuxTutorialKernelRpmInstall.html

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.

 

[SamBones]

If you have RedHat Network Support, the easiest way is to just update your kernel via RHN. The command "up2date" can do it for you.

 

[QatQat]

HI 100mbs,


you recompile your kernel:

1) when you need some modules that are not available in the standard kernel.
2) when you want to trim the vanilla kernel in order to make it leaner and therefore more stable a faster.

Recompiling the kernel is not to stay on the bleeding edge of technology. For that purpose you may just update it. Recompiling the kernel with support for non-included experimental modules will keep you on the bleeding edge but with a very unstable system.

You may need to recompile your kernel in case of evident bugs when patches are already available but not yet included in a fresher kernel in the update repository of your distro. this should never happen if you use any of the main distributions.

To recap, when stability and performance are your main priorities then it is a good thing to do.
if you know in advance the tasks your server will be called to serve you may cut down the number of kernel modules to a third of the original (and that's not a bad thing).

QatQat



If I could have sex each time I reboot my server, I would definitely prefer Windoz over Linux!

 

[QatQat]

Hi 100mbs,

recompiling a kernel is a different thing from updating a kernel. According to your post you requested info about when to re-compile a kernel, not when to update it.

QatQat

If I could have sex each time I reboot my server, I would definitely prefer Windoz over Linux!