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diff --git a/includes/common/doc/FAQ/html/ch-kernel.html b/includes/common/doc/FAQ/html/ch-kernel.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5e88fad --- /dev/null +++ b/includes/common/doc/FAQ/html/ch-kernel.html @@ -0,0 +1,311 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0//EN"> + +<html> + +<head> + +<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> + +<title>The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ - Debian and the kernel</title> + +</head> + +<body> + +<p><a name="ch-kernel"></a></p> +<hr> + +<p> +[ <a href="ch-uptodate.en.html">previous</a> ] +[ <a href="index.en.html#contents">Contents</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-basic_defs.en.html">1</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-getting.en.html">2</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-compat.en.html">3</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-software.en.html">4</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-ftparchives.en.html">5</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html">6</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-pkgtools.en.html">7</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-uptodate.en.html">8</a> ] +[ 9 ] +[ <a href="ch-customizing.en.html">10</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-support.en.html">11</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-contributing.en.html">12</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-redistrib.en.html">13</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-nexttime.en.html">14</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-faqinfo.en.html">15</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-customizing.en.html">next</a> ] +</p> + +<hr> + +<h1> +The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ +<br>Chapter 9 - Debian and the kernel +</h1> + +<hr> + +<h2><a name="s-non-debian-kernel"></a>9.1 Can I install and compile a kernel without some Debian-specific tweaking?</h2> + +<p> +Yes. +</p> + +<p> +There's only one common catch: the Debian C libraries are built with the most +recent <em>stable</em> releases of the <strong>kernel</strong> headers. If you +happen to need to compile a program with kernel headers newer than the ones +from the stable branch, then you should either upgrade the package containing +the headers (<code>libc6-dev</code>), or use the new headers from an unpacked +tree of the newer kernel. That is, if the kernel sources are in +<code>/usr/src/linux</code>, then you should add +<samp>-I/usr/src/linux/include/</samp> to your command line when compiling. +</p> + +<hr> + +<h2><a name="s-customkernel"></a>9.2 What tools does Debian provide to build custom kernels?</h2> + +<p> +Users who wish to (or must) build a custom kernel are encouraged to download +the package <code>kernel-package</code>. This package contains the script to +build the kernel package, and provides the capability to create a Debian +kernel-image package just by running the command +</p> + +<pre> + make-kpkg kernel_image +</pre> + +<p> +in the top-level kernel source directory. Help is available by executing the +command +</p> + +<pre> + make-kpkg --help +</pre> + +<p> +and through the manual page <code>make-kpkg(1)</code>. +</p> + +<p> +Users must separately download the source code for the most recent kernel (or +the kernel of their choice) from their favorite Linux archive site, unless a +kernel-source-version package is available (where "version" stands +for the kernel version). +</p> + +<p> +Detailed instructions for using the <code>kernel-package</code> package are +given in the file <code>/usr/share/doc/kernel-package/README.gz</code>. +Briefly, one should: +</p> +<ul> +<li> +<p> +Unpack the kernel sources, and <samp>cd</samp> to the newly created directory. +</p> +</li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li> +<p> +Modify the kernel configuration using one of these commands: +</p> +<ul> +<li> +<p> +<samp>make config</samp> (for a tty one-line-at-a-time-interface). +</p> +</li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li> +<p> +<samp>make menuconfig</samp> (for an ncurses-based menu driven interface). +Note that to use this option, the <code>libncurses5-dev</code> package must be +installed. +</p> +</li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li> +<p> +<samp>make xconfig</samp> (for an X11 interface). Using this option requires +that relevant X and Tcl/Tk packages be installed. +</p> +</li> +</ul> + +<p> +Any of the above steps generates a new <samp>.config</samp> in the top-level +kernel source directory. +</p> +</li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li> +<p> +Execute the command: <samp>make-kpkg -rev Custom.N kernel_image</samp>, where N +is a revision number assigned by the user. The new Debian archive thus formed +would have revision Custom.1, e.g., +<samp>kernel-image-2.2.14_Custom.1_i386.deb</samp> for the Linux kernel 2.2.14 +on i386. +</p> +</li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li> +<p> +Install the package created. +</p> +<ul> +<li> +<p> +<samp>Run dpkg --install /usr/src/kernel-image-VVV_Custom.N.deb</samp> to +install the kernel itself. The installation script will: +</p> +<ul> +<li> +<p> +run the boot loader (grub, LILO or some other) if needed, +</p> +</li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li> +<p> +install the custom kernel in /boot/vmlinuz_VVV-Custom.N, and set up appropriate +symbolic links to the most recent kernel version. +</p> +</li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li> +<p> +prompt the user to make a boot floppy. This boot floppy will contain the raw +kernel only. See <a href="#s-custombootdisk">How can I make a custom boot +floppy?, Section 9.3</a>. +</p> +</li> +</ul> +</li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li> +<p> +To employ secondary boot loaders such as <samp>loadlin</samp>, copy this image +to other locations (e.g. to an <samp>MS-DOS</samp> partition). +</p> +</li> +</ul> +</li> +</ul> + +<hr> + +<h2><a name="s-custombootdisk"></a>9.3 How can I make a custom boot floppy?</h2> + +<p> +This task is greatly aided by the Debian package <code>boot-floppies</code>, +normally found in the <samp>admin</samp> section of the Debian FTP archive. +Shell scripts in this package produce boot floppies in the +<samp>SYSLINUX</samp> format. These are <samp>MS-DOS</samp> formatted floppies +whose master boot records have been altered so that they boot Linux directly +(or whatever other operating system has been defined in the syslinux.cfg file +on the floppy). Other scripts in this package produce emergency root disks and +can even reproduce the base disks. +</p> + +<p> +You will find more information about this in the +<samp>/usr/share/doc/boot-floppies/README</samp> file after installing the +<code>boot-floppies</code> package. +</p> + +<hr> + +<h2><a name="s-modules"></a>9.4 What special provisions does Debian provide to deal with modules?</h2> + +<p> +Debian's <code>modconf</code> package provides a shell script +(<samp>/usr/sbin/modconf</samp>) which can be used to customize the +configuration of modules. This script presents a menu-based interface, +prompting the user for particulars on the loadable device drivers in his +system. The responses are used to customize the file +<samp>/etc/modules.conf</samp> (which lists aliases, and other arguments that +must be used in conjunction with various modules) through files in +<samp>/etc/modutils/</samp>, and <samp>/etc/modules</samp> (which lists the +modules that must be loaded at boot time). +</p> + +<p> +Like the (new) Configure.help files that are now available to support the +construction of custom kernels, the modconf package comes with a series of help +files (in <samp>/usr/lib/modules_help/</samp>) which provide detailed +information on appropriate arguments for each of the modules. +</p> + +<hr> + +<h2><a name="s-removeoldkernel"></a>9.5 Can I safely de-install an old kernel package, and if so, how?</h2> + +<p> +Yes. The <samp>kernel-image-NNN.prerm</samp> script checks to see whether the +kernel you are currently running is the same as the kernel you are trying to +de-install. Therefore you can remove unwanted kernel image packages using this +command: +</p> + +<pre> + dpkg --purge --force-remove-essential kernel-image-NNN +</pre> + +<p> +(replace "NNN" with your kernel version and revision number, of +course) +</p> + +<hr> + +<p> +[ <a href="ch-uptodate.en.html">previous</a> ] +[ <a href="index.en.html#contents">Contents</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-basic_defs.en.html">1</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-getting.en.html">2</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-compat.en.html">3</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-software.en.html">4</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-ftparchives.en.html">5</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-pkg_basics.en.html">6</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-pkgtools.en.html">7</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-uptodate.en.html">8</a> ] +[ 9 ] +[ <a href="ch-customizing.en.html">10</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-support.en.html">11</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-contributing.en.html">12</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-redistrib.en.html">13</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-nexttime.en.html">14</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-faqinfo.en.html">15</a> ] +[ <a href="ch-customizing.en.html">next</a> ] +</p> + +<hr> + +<p> +The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ +</p> + +<address> +version 3.1.3, 25 April 2006<br> +<br> +Authors are listed at <a href="ch-faqinfo.en.html#s-authors">Debian FAQ Authors</a><br> +<br> +</address> +<hr> + +</body> + +</html> + |