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Linux Kernel 2.4.21 Released
An anonymous reader writes "After > 6 months of waiting, 2.4.21 is here. Lots of cleanups, and a patch which gives a MAJOR boost to the 'feel' of the system under heavy disk IO, especially on IDE systems. As usual, available from your local kernel.org mirror or ftp.COUNTRYCODE.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.4/! Tidbit: 'Current bandwidth utilization 131.72 Mbit/s '." See the Changelog for new stuff.
Now to attempt to get it before it's slashdotted.
I was seriously starting to think the 2.4 series was dead in preparation for 2.6.0. The ChangeLog is impressive though.
Phathead
I wonder if they are planning on an official BitTorrent.
The IT section color scheme sucks.
Oh man! My 286 just finished compiling 2.4.20!
or
Oh man! I was downloading at 4000 K/sec before this story showed up. Thanks a lot Slashdot!
Random is the New Order.
Instead of downloading the entire kernel, download just the patch file if you are running the previous version. Then patch your source tree using:
/usr/src/linux /blah/patch-2.4.21.bz2|patch -p1
cd
bzcat
make oldconfig
Im in charge of keeping production servers up to date. Im using a 2.4.20-rc7.
should I go up tp 2.4.21
How often should I build the new kernels for production servers (should I even be using 2.4? ie, stick with 2.2)
Thanks for the Help!
Sigs are dangerous coy things
SCO won't be offering this new kernel for existing Caldera Linux users then?
http://www.de.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.4/Cha ngeLog-2.4.21
for example.
ftp needs much more time and authentication stuff for login, commandos and so forth.
fr
jp
and so on...
Ha, I'm glad I have a life, unlike you losers! Knock yourselves out compiling the newest kernel; I'll be out having a blast with my girlfriend in my Porsche.
(Okay, okay; I'm sitting at home in my underpants reloading slashdot to see if new stories are posted. I'll go download it now.)
Actually, that was released May 27th.
when our AIX licenses expire today.
$ cd /path/to/kernel :)
$ make menuconfig # Replace menuconfig with xconfig if you want
-Select the options you need in your kernel and save it
$ make dep bzImage
-Look in arch//boot/ for the bzImage file
-Install it for your favourite bootloader (grub/lilo) and reboot machine
-gloat
There is no patch for stupidity
Visit my blog
I have two systems that receive heavy use. Both of them are often used for ripping and the dual processor system is used for encoding. Whenever either of these systems is under heavy load, and I rip a DVD or image a CD, weird things happen. I get IO timeouts and sometimes even lock ups. Under normal load, there is absolutely no trouble at all, except with the dual processor system. That machine does filesystem crypto and thus, it's processors are quite stressed by cryptoloop processes whenver the disks are active. Dumping a disc to a filesystem on that box sometimes produces annoying problems. I've had solid lock ups, inability to unmount and eject discs because processes won't release them, and sometimes even X just stops responding.
Both systems are running 2.4.20. Now, question: are problems like these resolved in 2.4.21 with these IO fixes? Remember, the drives doing the reading are probably fine. The one machine has two, a DVD-ROM and a CD-RW, and the other has a DVD+-RW. All three drives cannot possibly be faulty, nor can both IDE controllers. The problem has got to be with software. I cannot think back to when this began, but it may have been for the life of 2.4.20.
So is there been something screwy with the IDE-CD subsystem in Linux lately?
Join Tor today!
$ cp linux-2.4.20/.config linux-2.4.21/
$ cd linux-2.4.21
$ make oldconfig
But does it run linux?
In Soviet Russia, beowulf clusters imagine YOU!
Hoping RH pushes updated kernels for RH9. Piss-poor IDE disk performance is my one big gripe with my Linux boxen at the moment; whole machine feels like shit when something heavy is running the disk in the background. :(
All joking aside, I was in the middle of compiling 2.4.20 when I saw this article...
wget will work just as well for http and anonymous ftp transfers. even a little faster for ftp, since it's less letters :).
Man, can't a guy download a kernel via FTP without a bunch of armed dudes storming the place? Those SCO guys just don't know when to give it up.
Please help metamoderate.
make oldconfig
That will only prompt you for new stuff, rather than go back through every single option.
When there's a compelling reason to upgrade. Those fall into two categories:
Any other reason is superfluous, especially for a server machine.
The kernel config writes a .config file in the source root. Use that. If you patch rather than grabbing completely new sources, you won't even need to worry about copying that file around (unless you do a make mrproper, which you probably don't need to do unless stuff starts breaking during compile).
Years ago, back when the kernel was being updated nearly every other week rather than once every few months (2.0/2.2 time frame), I would always download the very latest kernel and compile that. Coincidentally, I was also learning Linux at the time, so I didn't mind spending time on stuff like that, and I was in school which meant a lot more free time. These days, my only linux box is a server, so unless there's a security fix I'm inclined to just leave the box alone. It's certainly easer not to upgrade than it is to upgrade.
Grsecurity has released a version for 2.4.21. I highly recommend it, especially for production environments with multiple users. I have found the ability to limit outgoing sockets by group invaluable.
Contact Me (got tired of viruses emailing me).
When is it worth upgrading kernel versions?
This seems to be frequent question. I'd say that you don't need to compile new kernel until the old one doesn't have the xyz feature that you need and/or you feel that the new kernel is far more reliable and faster.
In other words: some still use 2.2 series because there is no reason (for them) to upgrade.
Remember that you can use modules to get that xyz feature..
Wait, recompile my kernel on Friday the 13th? I think not ....
KARMA TAG! You're it.
Um, can I get mine without the SCO code, please? That Darrell McBride is a scary man:
I'll second that. I noticed after going to 2.4.20 that whenever I burn a CD(and this is on an 8x writer, not exactly 'fast'), the CPU(Athlon 1.5ghz) goes to 30%, all of it system time-and the system slows to a crawl, cursor jumping and everything-which is new- and I've got 32bit IO and unmasked IRQs set on all my IDE devices....
Please help metamoderate.
Is there a way I can easily use the old configuration? Any HOW-TO on this?
Copy the old arch/$(ARCH)/config.in file to the new tree and 'make oldconfig'
Sure, running an RC on a production box isn't really bright, but instead of explaining that (and yes, it really shouldn't have to be explained), the typical response to any such Linux-related questions usually is something to the effect of "You're a fucking moron, RTFM".
Not a good way to establish the Linux community as a helpful technical resource, my friends.
There's a Mercedes gap too. I want one and can't afford one, but it's not government's job to do anything about it.
That a new kernel comes out on Friday the 13th.
From the Release notes:
> o [Bluetooth] Use very short disconnect timeout for SCO connections.
> o [Bluetooth] Kill incoming SCO connection when SCO socket is closed.
> o [Bluetooth] Support for SCO (voice) over HCI USB
Are these the lines SCO's bitching about?
If the following are true, then the high CPU usage is expected:
-You have an IDE CD burner
-You are using IDE-SCSI emulation
-You are burning a CD with a blocksize other than 2048 (such as redbook audio, or (S)VCD, etc..)
If the above are all true, the ide-scsi emulation reverts to PIO mode. Supposedly this will be fixed for 2.6
From the Release notes:
> o [Bluetooth] Use very short disconnect timeout for SCO connections.
> o [Bluetooth] Kill incoming SCO connection when SCO socket is closed.
> o [Bluetooth] Support for SCO (voice) over HCI USB
Are these the lines SCO's bitching about?
Nope. SCO in the bluetooth world means Synchronous Connection Oriented link.
Used mostly with bluetooth wireless handsfree devices.
signatures pending - ansa@kos.to - (dont mail there)
Your writing on a Linux machine now?
Yippie! 2.4.21 is finally here! :) (I got it about an hour before the /. story showed up.)
:)
:) I'm going to try to get Slackware running on it. :)
They now have Opteron support in there.. I knew it was in the pre, I was just wondering if the new kernel or the rest of my hardware would show up first. I have everything for a dual Opteron system, except the processors and case. I'm so anxious, I'm going to burst.
( ) 386
( ) 486
( ) 586/K5/5x86/6x86/6x86MX
( ) Pentium-Classic
( ) Pentium-MMX
( ) Pentium-Pro/Celeron/Pentium-II
( ) Pentium-III/Celeron(Coppermine)
( ) Pentium-4
( ) K6/K6-II/K6-III
( ) Athlon/Duron/K7
(X) Opteron/Athlon64/Hammer/K8
( ) Elan
( ) Crusoe
( ) Winchip-C6
( ) Winchip-2
( ) Winchip-2A/Winchip-3
( ) CyrixIII/VIA-C3
( ) VIA-C3-2
I'm going to be a compiling fool when the rest of the parts show up.
Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
Hopefully, by 2.6 SCO will actually TELL US what code got copied, so we can change the comments and variable names so it doesn't match anymore...
Make me a friend and I'll mod you up
linux-2.4.21.tar.gz.torrent
He could be running a 386 emulator on his 286.
;)
Or maybe he's cross-compiling.
Or...
Shut up
http://osiris.978.org/~brianr/torrent/linux-2.4.21 .torrent
From their page:So, if your normal kernel build command is:then, your ccache version of that command would be:Trust me, it will save you a lot of time, especially if you are constantly tweaking your config settings and recompiling all the time.
If you compile as root, usually the cache directory will be
You can tell ccache to only reserve so much disk space for itself by issuing a command to reserve 100M.
Corporate Gadfly
Jonathan Archer: the most beaten up Enterprise captain in Star Trek history
Just apply the Host AP patch and your Prism cards will work just fine.
Homepage
- Removed offending SCO source code.
- Replaced offending SCO source code with ASCII art of a middle finger.
Why would anyone download multiple Debian CDs before installing? That just doesn't make sense. The most you should download is a 150 meg bootable CDROM image, then let the rest of the packages you want come over HTTP when you choose to install them.
Debian prides itself on an enormous amount of packages... nearly twice as many, counting bytes, as RedHat provides. To attempt to download "a copy of Debian" is wrong and wasteful. The fun of Debian comes in when you decide, on the spur of the moment, to try some exotic free software program and can apt-get it in a much less time that it would take to even figure out the name of the RPM you'd need to install on a "normal" Linux system.
Even if the desired install computer doesn't have fast internet access, burning 7 CDs is excessive. There probabably won't even be 2 CDs worth of packages you really want to install. Of the top ten largest packages in Debian, six of them are only desirable for hardcore software developers.
Just finished reviewing the ChangeLog. Did anything not get touched this time? Good lord, there are arcnet patches in here.
Also, when does Alan Cox sleep? Prehaps he's a new form of undead with an affinity for coding? Maybe he has cloned himself a few times? Alan, however you're doing it, we appreciate all of your hard work. Now go take a nice, long nap.
the no
- Because I've never used Debian before, I may fsck it up and wanna reinstall (I'm not a guru by any stretch of the imagination -- the Unix shell scripting course I just finished last quarter still gives me nightmares...)
- I like hard copies. I have a shelf full of downloaded and paid-for CD's of Linux software... probably about 100 discs of Linux software altogether.
- And last but not least, because I can!
Debian prides itself on an enormous amount of packages... nearly twice as many, counting bytes, as RedHat provides. To attempt to download "a copy of Debian" is wrong and wasteful.Lots of packages = Choice. I like choice
The fun of Debian comes in when you decide, on the spur of the moment, to try some exotic free software program and can apt-get it in a much less time that it would take to even figure out the name of the RPM you'd need to install on a "normal" Linux system.
Yes, I have heard of the great "apt-get" and will definitely exercise it a bit. I don't know why you have a problem with the naming of RPMs. I find that it is usually the same as the program or package name. Then again, I've been dealing with RPMs almost entirely since '97, when I started out on RH 5.2 Matter of fact, RPMs are a nice idea, just implemented somewhat wrong, IMHO.
Even if the desired install computer doesn't have fast internet access, burning 7 CDs is excessive. There probabably won't even be 2 CDs worth of packages you really want to install. Of the top ten largest packages in Debian, six of them are only desirable for hardcore software developers.
I'm used to swapping 3 discs around during an install... I started out with RedHat & Mandrake...
Anywho, it's pointless, as the downloads are already finished. I've already started burning the images to disc.
Well, I didn't look too hard into it (sorry, I'm at work and it's not exactly priority), but the Changelog doesn't mention emu10k1 or anything about soundblasters. Do you know if you can make the problem happen on other video players, xine, aviplay, xanim, etc.?
Also, you might want to give the ALSA drivers a chance. The new kernels are pushing it as the new sound architecture for Linux, and sometimes they make a big difference. Besides, having everything set up for ALSA and running properly will make it easier to move on to 2.6 kernels.
Like I said in my first post, compiling a kernel for a computer of your computer's stature is a matter of copying the old config, checking to see if there's anything else you need to change, and then waiting for a couple minutes. Work a little Grub/Lilo magic, and shzaam!, new kernel. You could be telling me if the new kernel helps within a half hour if you started soon.
If nothing else, IDE I/O is always a good thing to work on. My lowly laptop is definitely getting a 2.4.21, if not a 2.5. It takes me a tad longer; I use the cryptoapi modules and that always seems to take extra time.
Downloading from kernel.org at 57.12 K/s... which is just about as fast as my ADSL link can gulp it down. People, you're not doing your duty! Melt that server!... as soon as my download finishes, that is.
Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
The Linux Progress Patch for 2.4.20 still works with this IF you do the following....
Use 2.4.20 source
patch for LPP
patch to 2.4.21
Voila... that nice Purdy linux boot screen is still there for your relatives that ball up on the floor crying when the boot messages start flying...
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
The fun of Debian comes in when you decide, on the spur of the moment, to try some exotic free software program and can apt-get it in a much less time that it would take to even figure out the name of the RPM you'd need to install on a "normal" Linux system.
;)
As in, "Tank, I need a pilot program for a V-212 helicopter."
I always forget to install wget until I type it in and realize I haven't installed it. Five seconds and one apt-get later, I can just hit up twice and enter once.
Yes, I have heard of the great "apt-get" and will definitely exercise it a bit.
Even if you install packages from CD-Rom, you'll use the same interface as if you were getting it live from HTTP. The only difference is that it'll prompt you to insert the right disc first... and since most packages are small, it'll often take more time for you to find the disc than to just get it from the server.
You didn't mention if you had downloaded the stable or testing Debian... testing is generally prefered, because it's not as painfully obselete. If you value stability, "stable" is good of course. But if you want to have fun and experiment, then newer is better. And if you're using "testing", then you'll probably want to keep up with changes made after the CDs were burnt. Debian "testing" CD-Roms go obselete really fast.
I don't know why you have a problem with the naming of RPMs. I find that it is usually the same as the program or package name.
RPM names also contain at least the version string, and often an indication of which architecture the software will run on. Sometimes supported OS versions are mixed in too. For example, when I tried to install a package on a Red Hat system, I had to download that RPM. Then go to install it, and find out I needed multiple other RPMs first, which need even more RPMs to work.
The point of apt-get is you, the installing user, never even see the *.deb file that the package actually comes in. The hunt for dependencies is completely hidden from you.
Of course, RedHat users can optionally run apt-get themselves, but that's not formally supported by the distribution developer.
I won't go into the whole problem of not getting *.deb files for new, bleeding edge software. It's an accepted fact that Debian users who wish to try something brand-new will be compiling it themselves.
If you do then you should also get Jeff Garzik's new sata as scsi stack patch and use that.
The module-init-tools link is valid, but you really should read this if you want to try 2.5 and haven't been following the development.
-- Will program for bandwidth
Having said that, I agree that it's highly unlikely that the patch will cleanly install against a vendor kernel, since they usually have lots of little mods in them.
.src.rpm for the RedHat kernel, you will actually get the original .tar.bz2 file and all the individual patches. So it would be no problem to patch against that.
If you install the
Do you care about the security of your wireless mouse?
One can download the nvidia driver from ftp://download.nvidia.com (the website only seems to link an "installer" version, which was irritating)
Now I'm happily runny mozilla-xft without those buggy artifacts the nv driver has-- and GL is always nice...
1. just get over it already and download the stupid patch version
2. ????????
3. PROFIT!!!!!
Dang, I need a beowulf cluster to compile this new kernel! I oughta get a soviet russian to do it for me. All your base are belong to slashdotted kernel.org!
Ahhh, feel the karma burnin'...
Ron Paul 2012