Re: [Sheflug] kernel compile woes....

[Alex Hudson <nospam [at] alexhudson.com>]

On Sun, May 20, 2001 at 06:43:00PM +0100, ross wrote:
> >  or is a module and you haven't setup
> > initrd.
> 
> how do i set up initrd.... i've never heard mention of it before?

mkinitrd :) Actually, I wouldn't bother if I were you, I'd just compile the
kernel properly. initrd (or, initial ram-disk) is a root device that is
loaded at boot time solely for the kernel to load modules from, so that it
can use a root device for which it doesn't have a driver. Generally used to
generate standard kernels which can be used for a number of tasks. In your
case, just compile in the root device drivers statically rather than as
modules - easier.

> oh.... i thought a smaller kernel was supposed to run faster?

No. The more stuff you compile into a kernel, the bigger it gets. That
doesn't magically slow down the speed of the kernel, unless the increased
footprint of the kernel causes substantially more cache misses (in low
memory computers, for example) or something, which is highly unlikely.
Compiling everything as modules means that it's not part of the kernel size
before you load the module anyway, so the footprint of the kernel is
directly proportional to the functionality you've requested of it. But, the
point is, the size of a program bears absolutely _no_ relation to the speed
of the program.

Cheers,

Alex.

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