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Linux 2.2.20 is Out
piranha(jpl) writes: "I went to download 2.2.x from kernel.org and noticed 2.2.20 is out. I believe this is supposed to fix the security vulnerability found in 2.2.19. Surprised I didn't see it on the main Slashdot page."
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2.2.20pre11
o Security fixes
| Details censored in accordance with the US DMCA
Someone mind telling me why it's illegal to reveal what they fixed??
Becuase alot of people still use that kernel version. The nice people they are they like to keep do update even some of the older stuff also since they know some people still like using that kernel version.
We actually need two more bugs.
:)
2.2.22 is even better.
Okay, I'm kind of a newbie to Linux. I've been using Linux a little over a month, and I just finished compiling the latest stable 2.4 kernel. Now, tell me again why I'd want to take a step backwards? 2.4 is greater than 2.2.20 according to my math, which means it's better and more recent. So why are they still releasing 2.2? Is there some infighting in the Linux development world or something? Is this type of confusion (releasing 2.2.20 when 2.4 is already out) just one of the costs of the Open Source development methodology? I mean, you never hear about Microsoft releasing Windows 3.12 after Windows 95 is out.
Knowing Slashdot moderators, your comment will probably get modded as troll, but I'll answer anyway. Regarding your Windows example, you are incorrect. This is like Microsoft releasing SP6 for NT 4 after Windows 2000 is released. I'm fairly sure SP6 was released afterwards, but if not, they have still released updates to NT 4 after the release of Windows 2000. Just because a product isn't the latest code base doesn't mean it isn't still being used. Many people are still running NT 4, and need updates, like security fixes. There will still be updates to Windows 2000, even though Windows XP is out.
Even though 2.4 is "stable", it isn't "super stable" yet, and might not be for some time. I would guess that most people running Linux on non SMP production servers are using a 2.2 kernel, simply because it has been tested longer, and known to be stable. Then again, that's why many of us use FreeBSD on our production servers :) At this point, I would use a 2.2 kernel on any product boxes that were going to be running Linux. I've personally had problems with 2.4 on the boxes I use as workstations. For example, 2.4.7 would swap for hours when it ran out of memory. While you'd hope that never happens on a production server, many people can't afford to take that risk.
The current even numbered kernel, in this case 2.4, is the "stable" kernel, and the one behind it, in this case 2.2, is the "super stable" kernel.
There are tons of installing still using the 2.2 series. For example, my laptop, DNS / DHCP server and firewall. Most of the 1 disk firewall distros currently use the 2.2 series kernel. It will be quite a while before the start moving to 2.4.
There are also the types of people who won't move there production servers / workstations over to 2.4 becuase of VM issues, and becuase of how long its been around. I am one of those types when it comes to filesystems. My main server is running ext2, it will be at least another 2 years before I think about moving it to ReiserFS or ext3. My workstation is using ext3, becuase the important things (/home) are mounted via NFS.
Anyway, I could show you my friends work which has over 200 2.2 series machines. Running anything from rh 6.2, to debian 2.2. Just becuase something is newier or has a higher version number, doesn't mean its better.
until (succeed) try { again(); }
dude, that was not a kernel bug.
the problem is right in front of your monitor.