jen_kernel patchset

Read about stability and experimental

Repository:
http://jftp.medozas.de/SUSE-11.1
rsync://ftp5.gwdg.de/linux/misc/suser-jengelh/SUSE-11.1

FAQ — 2.6.33.x

What's in it?

Cool stuff: RT patch, Xen, Colored Kernel message Output, ISOFS write bit, VT preferences through sysfs, ttyrpld rpldhk driver, THKD (prevent disk heads from unloading), keep CD tray unlocked, 2009s leap second fix, TCP-Hybla selected, NF 2.6.35 Preview, 1G LOWMEM, XZ-compressed kernel.

Compatibility

This version is still in preparation.

Changes

kernel-source is no longer needed; development files are now in kernel-devel.

FAQ — 2.6.31.x

What's in it?

RT patch, Colored Kernel Message Output, ISOFS Write Bit, VT Preferences settable through sysfs, ttyrpld rpldhk driver, do-not-lock-cdrom-tray, Leap Second Fix (to the infamous New Year 2009's crash), XZ-compressed kernel.

Assured compatibility

2.6.31-jen93 works with:

kernel-source changes

Things moved around — you now need kernel-flavor-devel to be able to build modules.

kernel-flavor changes

The package split into kernel-flavor-base and kernel-flavor-extra that SUSE made in 11.1 — which I never took into my packages, by the way — was annulled again 11.2.

Trying to run make/oldconfig/archconfig fails

The kernel-source package provides a sparse source, much like Fedora's kernel-devel package. That is, only the source files (mostly header files) that are needed for external module compilation are included. More often than not, users have repeatedly screwed their kernel source installations, so the side effect of not being able to run oldconfig/cloneconfig is a welcome one.

Trying to build external modules fail

Some module packages, even if they are generally compatible with 2.6.31, make a total mess out of their build system and thusly can fail. One example is when they try to look for source files they should never be touching in the first place (usbip did this).

Other packages, such as nvidia, need a bunch of extra parameters if it does not find the locations correctly (hell know why). I have no idea what crime they commited, but at least I worked around it with my .src.rpms of it.

Many modules compile without extra work — such as ndiswrapper, lirc, etc. As do nvidia and vmware, as far as kbuild is concerned, the "fixed RPMs" mentioned above relate to its RT kernel capability.