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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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<!-- $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/gentoo-kernel.xml,v 1.59 2010/04/18 04:30:46 nightmorph Exp $ -->
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<!DOCTYPE guide SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd">
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<guide>
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<title>Gentoo Linux Kernel Guide</title>
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<author title="Author">
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<mail link="swift@gentoo.org">Sven Vermeulen</mail>
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</author>
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<author title="Contributor">
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<mail link="lostlogic@gentoo.org">Brandon Low</mail>
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</author>
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<author title="Editor">
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<mail link="dsd@gentoo.org">Daniel Drake</mail>
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</author>
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<author title="Editor">
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<mail link="carl@gentoo.org">Carl Anderson</mail>
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</author>
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<author title="Editor">
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<mail link="peesh@gentoo.org">Jorge Paulo</mail>
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</author>
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<author title="Editor">
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<mail link="bennyc@gentoo.org">Benny Chuang</mail>
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</author>
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<author title="Editor">
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<mail link="greg_g@gentoo.org">Gregorio Guidi</mail>
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</author>
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<author title="Editor">
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<mail link="fox2mike@gentoo.org">Shyam Mani</mail>
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</author>
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<author title="Editor">
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<mail link="nightmorph@gentoo.org">Joshua Saddler</mail>
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</author>
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<abstract>
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This document gives you an overview on all kernel sources that Gentoo
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provides through Portage.
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</abstract>
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<!-- The content of this document is licensed under the CC-BY-SA license -->
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<!-- See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5 -->
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<license/>
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<version>1.25</version>
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<date>2010-04-17</date>
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<chapter>
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<title>Introduction</title>
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<section>
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<body>
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<p>
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As with everything else in Gentoo Linux, the philosophy of the Gentoo
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Kernel team is to give you, the user, as much freedom of choice as
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possible. If you take a look at the output of <c>emerge -s sources</c>
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you see a large variety of kernels to choose from. In this document,
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I will attempt to give you a brief rundown of the goals of each of the
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patch sets, which we at Gentoo design, and also explain the other kernel
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sources we make available to you.
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</p>
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<p>
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Linux 2.4 is maintained by Willy Tarreau. Linus Torvalds, the original creator
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of Linux, handed maintainership of the Linux 2.4 branch over to Marcelo Tosatti
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when Linus went off to start developing the newer 2.6 kernel tree. Marcelo did a
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fine job of keeping 2.4 stable and secure, and has since handed over
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maintainership to Willy. Note that only security and bug fixes are accepted into
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the 2.4 kernel tree. Actual development happens in the Linux 2.6 kernel tree.
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</p>
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<p>
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Linux 2.6 is maintained by Andrew Morton, who works closely with Linus
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Torvalds to deliver a fast, powerful, and feature-packed Linux kernel.
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Development is happening at incredible pace and this kernel tree is now very
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mature.
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</p>
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<p>
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Some of the more uncommon system architectures are not fully compatible with
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Linux 2.6, and some users prefer the tried-and-tested Linux 2.4 kernel. However,
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please note that Linux 2.4 is currently not being developed further - only bug
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and security fixes are being included in the newer releases. If you are able to,
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we suggest that you upgrade to Linux 2.6. You may find the <uri
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link="/doc/en/migration-to-2.6.xml">migration document</uri> useful.
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</p>
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</body>
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</section>
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</chapter>
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<chapter>
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<title>Supported kernel packages</title>
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<section>
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<title>genkernel</title>
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<body>
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<p>
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<c>Genkernel</c> is a kernel toolset that can be used to autodetect your
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hardware and configure your kernel automatically. This is usually recommended
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for users who do not feel comfortable about compiling a kernel manually.
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</p>
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<p>
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For more information, please read the <uri link="/doc/en/genkernel.xml">Gentoo
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Linux Genkernel Guide</uri>.
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</p>
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</body>
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</section>
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<section>
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<title>General purpose: gentoo-sources</title>
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<body>
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<p>
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For most users, we recommend the <c>gentoo-sources</c> kernel.
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<c>gentoo-sources</c> is a kernel based on Linux 2.6, lightly patched to fix
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security problems, kernel bugs, and to increase compatibility with the more
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uncommon system architectures.
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</p>
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<p>
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The <c>gentoo-sources</c> package absorbs most of the resources of the Gentoo
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kernel team. They are brought to you by a group of talented developers, which
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can count on the expertise of popular kernel hacker Greg Kroah-Hartman,
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maintainer of udev and responsible for the USB and PCI subsystems of the
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official Linux kernel.
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</p>
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</body>
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</section>
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<section>
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<title>For servers: hardened-sources</title>
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<body>
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<p>
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<c>hardened-sources</c> is based on the official Linux kernel and is targeted at
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our users running Gentoo on server systems. It provides patches for the various
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subprojects of Gentoo Hardened (such as support for <uri
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link="http://www.nsa.gov/selinux/">LSM/SELinux</uri> and <uri
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link="http://grsecurity.net">grsecurity</uri>), together with
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stability/security-enhancements. Check
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<uri>http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/hardened/</uri> for more information.
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</p>
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<impo>
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This kernel provides powerful patches for enhanced security. Please read the
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<uri link="/proj/en/hardened/">documentation</uri> before you use it.
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</impo>
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</body>
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</section>
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<section>
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<title>Architecture dependent kernels</title>
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<body>
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<p>
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<c>cell-sources</c>, <c>mips-sources</c>, <c>sparc-sources</c>, and
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<c>xbox-sources</c> are, as their names suggest, patched to run best on specific
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architectures. They also contain some of the patches for hardware and features
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support from the other patch sets mentioned above and below.
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</p>
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</body>
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</section>
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</chapter>
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<chapter>
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<title>Unsupported kernel packages</title>
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<section>
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<body>
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<p>
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Now I'm going to try to briefly describe some of the other
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<path>sys-kernel/*-sources</path> which you saw scroll by when you ran
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<c>emerge -s sources</c>. Let's take them in alphabetical order. These
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kernels are provided as a courtesy only and the various patch sets are not
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supported by the Gentoo team.
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</p>
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</body>
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</section>
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<section>
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<title>git-sources</title>
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<body>
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<p>
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The <c>git-sources</c> package tracks daily snapshots of the upstream
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development kernel tree. You should run these kernels if you are interested in
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kernel development or testing. Bugreports should go to the <uri
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link="http://bugzilla.kernel.org/">Linux Kernel Bug Tracker</uri> or LKML
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(Linux Kernel Mailing List).
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</p>
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</body>
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</section>
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<section>
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<title>mm-sources</title>
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<body>
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<p>
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The <c>mm-sources</c> are based on the <c>vanilla-sources</c> and contain
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Andrew Morton's patch set. They include the experimental and bleeding-edge
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features that are going to be included in the official kernel (or that are
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going to be rejected because they set your box on fire). They are known to be
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always moving at a fast pace and can change radically from one week to the
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other; kernel hackers use them as a testing ground for new stuff.
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</p>
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<p>
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If you really want to live on the edge and you think
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<c>vanilla-sources</c> are for wussies, then try out
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<c>mm-sources</c>. Be warned that this kernel is highly experimental and
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doesn't always work as expected.
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</p>
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</body>
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</section>
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<section>
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<title>openvz-sources</title>
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<body>
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<p>
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OpenVZ is a server virtualization solution built on Linux. OpenVZ creates
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isolated, secure virtual private servers (VPSs) or virtual environments on a
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single physical server enabling better server utilization and ensuring that
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applications do not conflict. For more information, see
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<uri>http://www.openvz.org</uri>.
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</p>
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</body>
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</section>
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<section>
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<title>tuxonice-sources</title>
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<body>
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<p>
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The <c>tuxonice-sources</c> (formerly <c>suspend2-sources</c>) are patched with
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both genpatches which includes the patches found in gentoo-sources, and <uri
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link="http://www.tuxonice.net">TuxOnIce</uri> which is an improved
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implementation of suspend-to-disk for the Linux kernel, formerly known as
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<e>suspend2</e>.
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</p>
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<p>
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This kernel is recommended for laptop users who often rely on being able
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to suspend their laptop and resume work elsewhere.
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</p>
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</body>
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</section>
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<section>
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<title>usermode-sources</title>
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<body>
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<p>
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<c>usermode-sources</c> are the User Mode Linux kernel patches. This
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kernel is designed to allow Linux to run within Linux to run within Linux
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to ... User Mode Linux is intended for testing and virtual server support.
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For more information about this amazing tribute to the stability and
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scalability of Linux, see <uri>http://user-mode-linux.sourceforge.net</uri>.
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</p>
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<p>
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For more information on UML and Gentoo, read the
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<uri link="/doc/en/uml.xml">Gentoo UML Guide</uri>.
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</p>
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</body>
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| 270 |
</section>
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<section>
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<title>vanilla-sources</title>
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<body>
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<p>
|
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The next kernel sources that many of you will probably be familiar with as Linux
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users are the <c>vanilla-sources</c>. These are the official kernel sources
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released on <uri>http://www.kernel.org/</uri>. Please note that we do not patch
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these kernels at all - these are purely for people who wish to run a completely
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unmodified Linux kernel. We recommend that you use <c>gentoo-sources</c>
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instead.
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</p>
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<p>
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Two versions of the kernel can be found under this package: 2.4 and 2.6.
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</p>
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</body>
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| 289 |
</section>
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<section>
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<title>zen-sources</title>
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<body>
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<p>
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<c>zen-sources</c> is designed for desktop systems. It includes code not found
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in the mainline kernel. The zen kernel has patches that add new features,
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support additional hardware, and contain various tweaks for desktops.
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</p>
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</body>
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| 301 |
</section>
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<section>
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<title>ck-sources</title>
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<body>
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<p>
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<c>ck-sources</c> is Con Kolivas's kernel patch set. This patchset is primarily
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designed to improve system responsiveness and interactivity and is configurable
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for varying workloads (from servers to desktops). The patchset includes a
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different scheduler, BFS, designed to keep systems responsive and smooth even
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when under heavy load. Support and information is available at
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<uri>http://kernel.kolivas.org</uri> and in <c>#ck</c> on <c>irc.oftc.net</c>.
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</p>
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</body>
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</section>
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</chapter>
|
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<chapter>
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<title>Previously provided kernel packages</title>
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<section>
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<title>aa-sources</title>
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<body>
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<p>
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<c>aa-sources</c> was a heavily modified kernel with all kinds of patches.
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The upstream maintainer has stopped releasing kernel patchsets, this package
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was removed as it went out of date.
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</p>
|
| 330 |
|
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</body>
|
| 332 |
</section>
|
| 333 |
<section>
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<title>alpha-sources</title>
|
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<body>
|
| 336 |
|
| 337 |
<p>
|
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<c>alpha-sources</c> was a 2.4 kernel with patches applied to improve hardware
|
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compatibility for the Alpha architecture. These patches have been developed
|
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and included in the mainline kernel. Alpha users can now run any recent kernel
|
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with no need for extra patches.
|
| 342 |
</p>
|
| 343 |
|
| 344 |
</body>
|
| 345 |
</section>
|
| 346 |
<section>
|
| 347 |
<title>development-sources</title>
|
| 348 |
<body>
|
| 349 |
|
| 350 |
<p>
|
| 351 |
<c>development-sources</c>, the official 2.6 kernel from kernel.org, can now
|
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be found under the <c>vanilla-sources</c> package.
|
| 353 |
</p>
|
| 354 |
|
| 355 |
</body>
|
| 356 |
</section>
|
| 357 |
<section>
|
| 358 |
<title>gentoo-dev-sources</title>
|
| 359 |
<body>
|
| 360 |
|
| 361 |
<p>
|
| 362 |
<c>gentoo-dev-sources</c>, a 2.6 kernel patched with bug, security and
|
| 363 |
stability fixes, can now be found under the <c>gentoo-sources</c> package.
|
| 364 |
</p>
|
| 365 |
|
| 366 |
</body>
|
| 367 |
</section>
|
| 368 |
<section>
|
| 369 |
<title>grsec-sources</title>
|
| 370 |
<body>
|
| 371 |
|
| 372 |
<p>
|
| 373 |
The <c>grsec-sources</c> kernel source used to be patched with the latest
|
| 374 |
grsecurity updates (grsecurity version 2.0 and up) which included, amongst
|
| 375 |
other security-related patches, support for PaX. As grsecurity patches are
|
| 376 |
included in <c>hardened-sources</c>, this package is no longer in Portage.
|
| 377 |
</p>
|
| 378 |
|
| 379 |
</body>
|
| 380 |
</section>
|
| 381 |
<section>
|
| 382 |
<title>hardened-dev-sources</title>
|
| 383 |
<body>
|
| 384 |
|
| 385 |
<p>
|
| 386 |
<c>hardened-dev-sources</c> can now be found under the <c>hardened-sources</c>
|
| 387 |
package.
|
| 388 |
</p>
|
| 389 |
|
| 390 |
</body>
|
| 391 |
</section>
|
| 392 |
<section>
|
| 393 |
<title>hppa-sources</title>
|
| 394 |
<body>
|
| 395 |
|
| 396 |
<p>
|
| 397 |
<c>hppa-sources</c> was a 2.6 kernel with patches applied to improve hardware
|
| 398 |
compatibility for the HPPA architecture. These patches have been developed
|
| 399 |
and included in the mainline kernel. HPPA users can now run any recent kernel
|
| 400 |
with no need for extra patches.
|
| 401 |
</p>
|
| 402 |
|
| 403 |
</body>
|
| 404 |
</section>
|
| 405 |
<section>
|
| 406 |
<title>rsbac-dev-sources</title>
|
| 407 |
<body>
|
| 408 |
|
| 409 |
<p>
|
| 410 |
The <c>rsbac-dev-sources</c> kernels can now be found under the
|
| 411 |
<c>rsbac-sources</c> package.
|
| 412 |
</p>
|
| 413 |
|
| 414 |
</body>
|
| 415 |
</section>
|
| 416 |
<section>
|
| 417 |
<title>rsbac-sources</title>
|
| 418 |
<body>
|
| 419 |
|
| 420 |
<p>
|
| 421 |
<c>rsbac-sources</c> was a 2.6-based kernel. It contained patches to use Rule
|
| 422 |
Set Based Access Controls (<uri link="http://www.rsbac.org">RSBAC</uri>). It has
|
| 423 |
been removed due to lack of maintainers. Use <c>hardened-sources</c> if you need
|
| 424 |
additional security features.
|
| 425 |
</p>
|
| 426 |
|
| 427 |
</body>
|
| 428 |
</section>
|
| 429 |
<section>
|
| 430 |
<title>selinux-sources</title>
|
| 431 |
<body>
|
| 432 |
|
| 433 |
<p>
|
| 434 |
<c>selinux-sources</c>, a 2.4 kernel including lots of security enhancements,
|
| 435 |
has been obsoleted by security development in the 2.6 tree. SELinux
|
| 436 |
functionality can be found in the <c>hardened-sources</c> package.
|
| 437 |
</p>
|
| 438 |
|
| 439 |
</body>
|
| 440 |
</section>
|
| 441 |
<section>
|
| 442 |
<title>sh-sources</title>
|
| 443 |
<body>
|
| 444 |
|
| 445 |
<p>
|
| 446 |
<c>sh-sources</c> was a 2.6 kernel with patches applied to improve hardware
|
| 447 |
compatibility for the SuperH architecture. These patches have been developed
|
| 448 |
and included in the mainline kernel. SuperH users can now run any recent kernel
|
| 449 |
with no need for extra patches.
|
| 450 |
</p>
|
| 451 |
|
| 452 |
</body>
|
| 453 |
</section>
|
| 454 |
<section>
|
| 455 |
<title>uclinux-sources</title>
|
| 456 |
<body>
|
| 457 |
|
| 458 |
<p>
|
| 459 |
The <c>uclinux-sources</c> are meant for CPUs without MMUs as well as embedded
|
| 460 |
devices. For more information, see <uri>http://www.uclinux.org</uri>. Lack of
|
| 461 |
security patches as well as hardware to test on were the reasons this is no
|
| 462 |
longer in the tree.
|
| 463 |
</p>
|
| 464 |
|
| 465 |
</body>
|
| 466 |
</section>
|
| 467 |
<section>
|
| 468 |
<title>win4lin-sources</title>
|
| 469 |
<body>
|
| 470 |
|
| 471 |
<p>
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| 472 |
<c>win4lin-sources</c> were patched to support the userland win4lin tools
|
| 473 |
that allow Linux users to run many Microsoft Windows (TM) applications
|
| 474 |
at almost native speeds. This was removed due to security issues.
|
| 475 |
</p>
|
| 476 |
|
| 477 |
</body>
|
| 478 |
</section>
|
| 479 |
</chapter>
|
| 480 |
</guide>
|
Parent Directory
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