Lecture #14 The Linux Kernel

Learner Outcomes

• Recompile the Linux Kernel from source code.
• Install a new kernel and make it optionally bootable from LILO
• Compile and install dynamically loadable kernel modules

Activities

• Download the most recent stable version of the kernel.
• Run xconfig to configure a kernel build.
• Compile the kernel source code and copy the new compressed kernel to the /boot directory.
• Reconfigure grub.conf to allow booting from the new kernel.

The Linux Kernel

1. Kernel Background
   • Downloading the Kernel
     • www.kernel.org
     • Users can download either: *.tar.bz2 or *.tar.gz
     • Uncompress and extract in /usr/src directory
     • Make backup before extracting over existing source tree
   
   
2. Upgrading to a New Kernel
   • Configuring the Kernel
     • make config
     • make menuconfig
     • make xconfig
   • Compiling the Kernel
     • make dep
     • make clean
     • make bzImage
     • make modules
     • make modules_install
   
   
3. Patches
   • Applying a Kernel Patch
     • Steps and commands for downloading a patch
   • Installing the Kernel
     • Compiling with bzImage
     • The zImage file
     • Letting LILO know
   
   
4. Kernel Configuration Options
   • Code maturity level options
   • Loadable module support
   • Processor type and features
   • General setup
   • Memory Technology Devices
   • Plug n Play configuration
   • Block devices
   • Networking options
   • Telephony support
   • ATA/IDE/MFM/RLL support
   • SCSI support
   • I2O device support
   • Network device support
   • Amateur radio support
   • IrDA (infrared) support
   • ISDN subsystem
   • Old CD-ROM drivers (not SCSI, not IDE)
   • Character devices
   • Multimedia devices
   • File systems
   • Console drivers
   • Sound
   • USB support
   • Kernel hacking