[Novalug] Kernel Compiles

[Bryan J. Smith]

What "takes too long"?  Don't understand.

If you want a "vanilla" kernel, just comment out all of the patches in the SRPM's
SPEC file.  You'll get a "vanilla" kernel.  If you want to replace the "vanilla"
kernel, then replace it in the SPEC file.

Of course, doing so will:  
- Utterly break the kABI (let alone API)
- Cause all sorts of patches to fail, rendering those fixes useless
  (and now you must track down if they were addressed in newer releases,
   and patch if not)
- Render various subsystems useless and/or totally broken
  (remember, Enterprise Linux is about all sorts of technical capabilities that
   are "afterthoughts" for most users and those foci ;)
- Possibly prevent your system from booting with it entirely
  (especially if you're using enterprise infrastructure and other init-time capabilities)

So, at some point, why not Fedora?  Seriously!  Fedora is not unstable, it just cycles
every (X+2)+1 month, so you shouldn't standardize on it more than 1 year at a
time.  Fedora is still built with the same, proven process as Red Hat Linux before
it (unit-integration-regression), and expands the community options for additional
maintainers.

Fedora(TM) exists where there is no commercial feasibility for Red Hat(R), or a
market Red Hat(R) is not interested in (e.g., content providers) or before Red Hat(R)
has turned a newer capability into a commercially feasible solution .  That's all.  It's
more than just a distro, it's an entire approach.  It's very reliable, mission-ready and
works well.  It keeps up with newer developments very well.

So why would you purposely break kABI and introduce countless integration issues
(let alone regressions) by continually rebasing the kernel in Enterprise Linux, instead
of just using Fedora?  Seriously scratching my head there.  Unless, of course, you
believe the non-user comment that Fedora is somehow "unstable," which I haven't
heard out of people for years now (and, thank God, is largely removed).

You can't get the ultimate in integration testing and regression avoidance by rebasing
software regularly.  That's Software Engineering 101.  Has nothing to do with stability.

 


----- Original Message ----
From: "jecottrell3 at comcast.net" <jecottrell3 at comcast.net>
To: Bryan J. Smith <b.j.smith at ieee.org>
Cc: novalug <novalug at calypso.tux.org>; Maxwell Spangler <maxlists at maxwellspangler.com>
Sent: Tue, April 13, 2010 6:52:44 PM
Subject: Re: [Novalug] Kernel Compiles

Good Posting.

So if I understand you correctly, I should...

[1] start with the existing RHEL kernel for the currect distribution
[2] go find the appropriate patches to add the functionality I need
[3] integrate it into the current SRPM process (patchN+1)
[4] build a new kernel

You're Absolutely Correct. This is the Right Way to do it.

Except that it takes too long. I'd rather

[A] Try a kernel from a newer distro
[B] See if I can shoehorn it into an existing distribution.
[C] Hope that it works
[D] Be Lucky

I claim that with close relatives in the Fedora/RHEL family, there is a High Chance of Success.