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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> |
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<!DOCTYPE guide SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd"> |
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<!-- $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/gentoo-kernel.xml,v 1.62 2010/09/06 05:55:00 nightmorph Exp $ --> |
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|
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<guide> |
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<title>Gentoo Linux Kernel Guide</title> |
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|
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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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|
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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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|
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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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|
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<version>4</version> |
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<date>2012-04-26</date> |
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|
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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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|
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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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|
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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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|
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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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|
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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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|
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</body> |
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</section> |
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</chapter> |
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|
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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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|
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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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|
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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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|
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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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|
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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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|
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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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|
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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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|
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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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|
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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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|
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</body> |
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</section> |
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<section> |
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<title>ck-sources</title> |
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<body> |
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|
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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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|
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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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|
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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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|
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</body> |
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</section> |
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<section> |
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<title>xen-sources</title> |
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<body> |
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|
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<p> |
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<c>xen-sources</c> lets you run multiple operating systems on a single physical |
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system. You can create virtual environments in which one or more guest operating |
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systems run on a <uri link="http://www.xensource.com">Xen</uri>-powered host |
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operating system. |
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</p> |
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|
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<p> |
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For more information on Xen and Gentoo, read the <uri |
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link="/doc/en/xen-guide.xml">Gentoo Xen Guide</uri>. |
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</p> |
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|
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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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|
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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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|
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</body> |
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</section> |
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</chapter> |
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|
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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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|
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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 kernel team. |
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</p> |
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|
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</body> |
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</section> |
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<section> |
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<title>pf-sources</title> |
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<body> |
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|
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<p> |
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The <c>pf-sources</c> kernel brings together parts of several different kernel |
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patches. It includes the BFS patchset from <c>ck-sources</c>, the |
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<c>tuxonice</c> patches, <uri link="http://www.linuximq.net">LinuxIMQ</uri>, and |
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the <uri |
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link="http://algo.ing.unimo.it/people/paolo/disk_sched/patches/">BFQ</uri> I/O |
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<uri |
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link="http://kerneltrap.org/Linux/Budget_Fair_Queuing_IO_Scheduler">scheduler</uri>. |
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</p> |
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|
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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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|
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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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|
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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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|
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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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|
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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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|
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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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|
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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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|
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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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|
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</body> |
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</section> |
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<section> |
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<title>vanilla-sources</title> |
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<body> |
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|
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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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|
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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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|
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</body> |
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</section> |
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<section> |
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<title>zen-sources</title> |
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<body> |
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|
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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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|
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</body> |
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</section> |
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</chapter> |
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|
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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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|
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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> |
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|
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</body> |
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</section> |
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<section> |
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<title>alpha-sources</title> |
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<body> |
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|
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<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. |
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</p> |
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|
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</body> |
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</section> |
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<section> |
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<title>development-sources</title> |
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<body> |
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|
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<p> |
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<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. |
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</p> |
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|
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</body> |
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</section> |
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<section> |
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<title>gentoo-dev-sources</title> |
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<body> |
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|
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<p> |
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<c>gentoo-dev-sources</c>, a 2.6 kernel patched with bug, security and |
| 375 |
stability fixes, can now be found under the <c>gentoo-sources</c> package. |
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</p> |
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|
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</body> |
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</section> |
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<section> |
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<title>grsec-sources</title> |
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<body> |
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|
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<p> |
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The <c>grsec-sources</c> kernel source used to be patched with the latest |
| 386 |
grsecurity updates (grsecurity version 2.0 and up) which included, amongst |
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other security-related patches, support for PaX. As grsecurity patches are |
| 388 |
included in <c>hardened-sources</c>, this package is no longer in Portage. |
| 389 |
</p> |
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|
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</body> |
| 392 |
</section> |
| 393 |
<section> |
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<title>hardened-dev-sources</title> |
| 395 |
<body> |
| 396 |
|
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<p> |
| 398 |
<c>hardened-dev-sources</c> can now be found under the <c>hardened-sources</c> |
| 399 |
package. |
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</p> |
| 401 |
|
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</body> |
| 403 |
</section> |
| 404 |
<section> |
| 405 |
<title>hppa-sources</title> |
| 406 |
<body> |
| 407 |
|
| 408 |
<p> |
| 409 |
<c>hppa-sources</c> was a 2.6 kernel with patches applied to improve hardware |
| 410 |
compatibility for the HPPA architecture. These patches have been developed |
| 411 |
and included in the mainline kernel. HPPA users can now run any recent kernel |
| 412 |
with no need for extra patches. |
| 413 |
</p> |
| 414 |
|
| 415 |
</body> |
| 416 |
</section> |
| 417 |
<section> |
| 418 |
<title>mm-sources</title> |
| 419 |
<body> |
| 420 |
|
| 421 |
<p> |
| 422 |
The <c>mm-sources</c> were based on the <c>vanilla-sources</c> and contained |
| 423 |
Andrew Morton's patch set. They includde the experimental and bleeding-edge |
| 424 |
features that were going to be included in the official kernel (or that were |
| 425 |
going to be rejected because they set your box on fire). They were known to be |
| 426 |
always moving at a fast pace and can change radically from one week to the |
| 427 |
other; kernel hackers used them as a testing ground for highly experimental new |
| 428 |
stuff. |
| 429 |
</p> |
| 430 |
|
| 431 |
</body> |
| 432 |
</section> |
| 433 |
<section> |
| 434 |
<title>rsbac-dev-sources</title> |
| 435 |
<body> |
| 436 |
|
| 437 |
<p> |
| 438 |
The <c>rsbac-dev-sources</c> kernels can now be found under the |
| 439 |
<c>rsbac-sources</c> package. |
| 440 |
</p> |
| 441 |
|
| 442 |
</body> |
| 443 |
</section> |
| 444 |
<section> |
| 445 |
<title>rsbac-sources</title> |
| 446 |
<body> |
| 447 |
|
| 448 |
<p> |
| 449 |
<c>rsbac-sources</c> was a 2.6-based kernel. It contained patches to use Rule |
| 450 |
Set Based Access Controls (<uri link="http://www.rsbac.org">RSBAC</uri>). It has |
| 451 |
been removed due to lack of maintainers. Use <c>hardened-sources</c> if you need |
| 452 |
additional security features. |
| 453 |
</p> |
| 454 |
|
| 455 |
</body> |
| 456 |
</section> |
| 457 |
<section> |
| 458 |
<title>selinux-sources</title> |
| 459 |
<body> |
| 460 |
|
| 461 |
<p> |
| 462 |
<c>selinux-sources</c>, a 2.4 kernel including lots of security enhancements, |
| 463 |
has been obsoleted by security development in the 2.6 tree. SELinux |
| 464 |
functionality can be found in the <c>hardened-sources</c> package. |
| 465 |
</p> |
| 466 |
|
| 467 |
</body> |
| 468 |
</section> |
| 469 |
<section> |
| 470 |
<title>sh-sources</title> |
| 471 |
<body> |
| 472 |
|
| 473 |
<p> |
| 474 |
<c>sh-sources</c> was a 2.6 kernel with patches applied to improve hardware |
| 475 |
compatibility for the SuperH architecture. These patches have been developed |
| 476 |
and included in the mainline kernel. SuperH users can now run any recent kernel |
| 477 |
with no need for extra patches. |
| 478 |
</p> |
| 479 |
|
| 480 |
</body> |
| 481 |
</section> |
| 482 |
<section> |
| 483 |
<title>uclinux-sources</title> |
| 484 |
<body> |
| 485 |
|
| 486 |
<p> |
| 487 |
The <c>uclinux-sources</c> are meant for CPUs without MMUs as well as embedded |
| 488 |
devices. For more information, see <uri>http://www.uclinux.org</uri>. Lack of |
| 489 |
security patches as well as hardware to test on were the reasons this is no |
| 490 |
longer in the tree. |
| 491 |
</p> |
| 492 |
|
| 493 |
</body> |
| 494 |
</section> |
| 495 |
<section> |
| 496 |
<title>win4lin-sources</title> |
| 497 |
<body> |
| 498 |
|
| 499 |
<p> |
| 500 |
<c>win4lin-sources</c> were patched to support the userland win4lin tools |
| 501 |
that allow Linux users to run many Microsoft Windows (TM) applications |
| 502 |
at almost native speeds. This was removed due to security issues. |
| 503 |
</p> |
| 504 |
|
| 505 |
</body> |
| 506 |
</section> |
| 507 |
</chapter> |
| 508 |
</guide> |
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