Mr Zesty's Brain Dump: Linux Kernel Upgrade

Linux Kernel Upgrade

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Upgrading the Linux Kernel

cd /usr/src
Download the latest (stable) kernel from:
lynx ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/v2.4
[ Even numbered kernels are stable 2.0.x, 2.2.x, 2.4.x - odd numbers are development 2.1.x, 2.3.x ]
rm the symlink linux which points to the old kernel version:
rm linux
tar xvzf linux-2.4.x.tar.gz
[ the tar file contains linux/* hardcoded - so it will overwrite your existing kernel source if you don't remove the symlink first ]
mv linux linux-2.4.x
recreate the symlink:
ln -s linux-2.4.x linux
cd /usr/src/linux
run:
make menuconfig
and set all the kernel options
[ There is also 'make xconfig' if you're runng X-Windows, and 'make config' which just asks you a list of questions -- old and crusty, and no way to move back to the previous quesiton ]
You will have to reconfigure /etc/lilo.conf if you're on a RedHat system, because it doesn't follow standards....
```
RedHat:
image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.2.14-5.0
      label=linux
      initrd=/boot/initrd-2.2.14-5.0.img
      read-only
      root=/dev/sda1

Change it to:
image=/vmlinuz
      label=linux
      read-only
      root=/dev/sda1
```
[ /dev/sda1 is the first SCSI drive, /dev/hda1 is the first IDE drive ]
I often set up 2 images so that I can go back to the old kernel incase I goofed up the configuration....
If you are using a 2.2 kernel, you should increase the number of processes limit above 512. Edit the /usr/src/linux/include/linux/tasks.h file, and set NR_TASKS to something more reasonable like 2048.
If this is the first time you are compiling this source tree, run a make dep first. Now run
make modules && make modules_install && make bzlilo
Be sure to grab and install the latest version of the modutils from:
ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/kernel/modutils/v2.4/