312 lines
8.0 KiB
HTML
312 lines
8.0 KiB
HTML
<!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>
|
|
|