how to Update a LINUX KERNEL
 

hi all

i hope any one o fu can help me.. i wana update the LINUX KERNEL which is the best and easy way of doing it..

folowing is the issue which on which i need ur help: and plz any one also mention its advntage /disadvntge?


The current operating system state Red Hat AS 4.0

“linux 2.6.9-5 ELsmp #1 SMP web JAN 5.19.30:30 EST 2005 I686 I386“



There is a need to update the Kernel version to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 4.0 AS/ES Updates 4
2.6.9-42.EL (up, smp, hugemem)


so i am looking reply from u guys

thanx in advance..

if posible can any 1 also mail me on
shirazs@hotmail.com...

regards

SHIRAZ

The simplest way would be to use RHN to update the system. I haven't had a problem on my systems with updating the kernel with the exception of some management agents.

thanx for the prompt reply..

but can u tell me some steps of it or some CLI steps? as i have never used this RHN b4 :-(

do i need to download some patches for it? to update the kernel? or wht exactly!!! keeping in mind i m a newbie ;-)

Here is the RHN quickstart guide. It should be able to help you get up and running with very little effort. https://rhn.redhat.com/rhn/help/quickstart.jsp

is this RHN will update the kernel too? or only other packages?

It will update the kernel as well as all other updated packages and modules.

It's a package manager, or sort of, so it knows what packages you have installed and queries the server for updates, and if it finds any, lets you install them. A package is a .rpm file which contains something: a program, a kernel or something else - including all the files needed, and instructions where to copy them when the package is being "installed", plus possibly some pre/post-install scripts to be run if needed. Therefore a kernel package doesn't differ from all the rest packages, except for the content. When you install a kernel package, or have RHN or some other package management tool install it for you (RHN not only installs/upgrades it, but also checks if it depends on other packages and install/upgrades them too), the needed files for the new kernel are copied to the right places on your system (kernel to /boot for example). In your case it will, if I'm right, also update your bootloader's configuration file to include the new kernel there.

RHN is a good choice in your case, and the easiest if you're fine with a stock kernel. If you need a customized one, you'll need to compile one from source (you may use the existing kernel's configuration as a base, and modify that), in which case you can either use source code from kernel.org or use a .src.rpm (source RPM) package from Fedora reposities. I don't deal with .src.rpms (because I don't use rpm distributions right now), but it's not difficult, and neither is compiling and installing from kernel.org sources. But like I said, if you don't have any explicit needs to compile it from source, you can just just the update option of RHN.

hi zyglog ... thanx alot

and hi BOUNCER.. cool ..thanx alot man.. u did realy gr8 help 4 me..

now one more stupid qustion i wana knwo :-)

from RHN i can choose my self wat packges i wana install? or RHN will install what ever packages it will get.. i mean if i jst wana instal only some specific pakage wil it alow me to install or i have to install all the package which it will get to upgrade it for my system???


sorry 4 bothering ;-)

tahxn dude..

You can chose the packages that you want RHN to update, as long as they are not dependencies for other packages. Although, that is normally not a problem with Up2Date.

Please, oh please, spell the words out properly... :(

farslayer, as much as I hate it we need to learn it. I see more of it all the time and now I treat it as a puzzle trying to figure it out. I am waiting till someone designs a kernel that understand script written in the "new language". (If they do they need to put a bunch of man pages with it)

There's no need for 'L337 5p34k' in any of these forums and especially not in the Enterprise section, imho....

save that junk for IM, texting, and IRC... hard enough following people that have difficulties with english we don't need people intentionally complicating things..

Just call me an old stick in the mud :p

OMG!!!!

Becoz of my weird English words pplz got a new topic to fight over it.. cool.. means I m the one who can put people on fire 
So I think I must stop posting here so people can live here with peace… peace 4 all ….

But as it’s my life so I am gona post my LAST—N=question here 

Well after updating from RHN do I need to COMPILE the kernel or do we need to make it?
As we do when we manually COMPILE or MAKE da kernel? Or some things like this..???[/I]

I have been asking so many questions coz I was bit busy so couldn’t try all these stuff, but will try all these stuff myself on coming Monday so that I am able to this on the real server...

Thanks to all guys who have been replying here and also to those guys who have improved my words that how to spell them properly

Thanks to all

no post???
pplz got afraid from my question?

Hardly my friend.

To answer your question, no you do not need to recompile the kernel. Up2date will install the kernel for you, and should set it as the default boot kernel in grub.