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Re: [Sheflug] Kernals (was re: System Bus)
> I have just been reading this thread, I just wondered if all distributuions were "vendor" kernals?
> And am I also right in thinking you can change the kernal your system is running?
> It might seem a daft question but I never realised you could swap/change parts of the linux os which were so fundemental to it running.
> Cheers
> Doug
>
[[snip HTML attachment. Bad and wrong. ]]
Nope, not all distrs use patched kernels - Slackware uses a stock kernel.
SuSE and Redhat patch/modify it to make their own value added kernel.
Debian I don't know, but I think it's like slackware using an untainted
kernel. Can't speak for other dists as I don't know them :)
You can change the kernel your system is running, but unless you know what
you need to configure to build the thing, you can make your system unusable
(e.g., by leaving out the drivers for the keyboard - rather fundamental :) ).
I've used a self-built stock kernel for years - mostly as I've got all
sorts of esoteric hardware, plus it means I can cut out a lot of the crud
that could otherwise be installed. If you're not comfortable with building,
then stick with the default if it does what you want :)
The really fundamental parts of the kernel you can't swap out (i.e., the
task scheduler and the memory management) but both of them can be tweaked
through /proc/sys/*. Everything else is pretty much drivers, and their
associated parameters[1].
Chris...
[1] I'm ignoring the fact that some fundamental things can be changed, like
target CPU parameters and upper limit for memory... :) but they won't break
the system[2]
[2] Though I've never tried building a kernel set to P4 and sticking it on
a 386. I suspect it won't work :) But I suppose CPU choice is a "type of"
driver :)
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