Hi,
I currently have a few CentOs 4.X servers running the latest stock 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp kernel.
I notice kernel.org are now up to version 2.6.18 and many people are using the 2.6.17.11
Does anyone have any opinions with regards to the 17.11 and .18 kernels? I'm led to believe the latest centos stock kernels are the same anyway as are the backported Redhat ones.
I'd be interested to read other peoples take on this, I note CentOs do not advocate anything other than the yum release and I was advised in the CentOs IRC channel to use the recommended version. I also do not want to end up constantly updating insecure kernels, although unfortunately there are always going to be vulnerabilities posted I'd like to minimize maintenance.
Thanks
Stephanie
Steph wrote:
Hi,
I currently have a few CentOs 4.X servers running the latest stock 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp kernel.
I notice kernel.org are now up to version 2.6.18 and many people are using the 2.6.17.11
Does anyone have any opinions with regards to the 17.11 and .18 kernels? I'm led to believe the latest centos stock kernels are the same anyway as are the backported Redhat ones.
I'd be interested to read other peoples take on this, I note CentOs do not advocate anything other than the yum release and I was advised in the CentOs IRC channel to use the recommended version. I also do not want to end up constantly updating insecure kernels, although unfortunately there are always going to be vulnerabilities posted I'd like to minimize maintenance.
There is nothing really "wrong" with using a newer kernel. It just requires more work on your part. The beauty of the stock binaries (including the kernel) is that you can simply type "yum update blah" and know with a fairly high degree of certainty that the system will continue to work, that relevant security fixes have been maintained, dependencies with other programs maintained, etc. If you roll your own kernel from more recent virginal source, it is still likely to work fine, but you will have to mind all those other issues yourself. Unless you have some device that isn't working properly with the stock kernel, it probably isn't worth the hassle of doing things yourself.
Cheers,
On Mon, 25 Sep 2006, chrism@imntv.com wrote:
Steph wrote:
I currently have a few CentOs 4.X servers running the latest stock 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp kernel.
I notice kernel.org are now up to version 2.6.18 and many people are using the 2.6.17.11
Does anyone have any opinions with regards to the 17.11 and .18 kernels? I'm led to believe the latest centos stock kernels are the same anyway as are the backported Redhat ones.
There is nothing really "wrong" with using a newer kernel. It just requires more work on your part. The beauty of the stock binaries (including the kernel) is that you can simply type "yum update blah" and know with a fairly high degree of certainty that the system will continue to work, that relevant security fixes have been maintained, dependencies with other programs maintained, etc. If you roll your own kernel from more recent virginal source, it is still likely to work fine, but you will have to mind all those other issues yourself. Unless you have some device that isn't working properly with the stock kernel, it probably isn't worth the hassle of doing things yourself.
Actually, it might be very wrong to run a newer kernel. Sometimes interfaces with the kernel change and tools/libraries need to be updated to accomodate this change. You' cannot be sure of that unless you have a good understanding of those changes. (Especially for enterprise/production usage)
The fact that you ask that question is probably a good indication for me to advise not to change from a CentOS supported kernel. (unless you know what you're doing but since you did ask the question... :))
Kind regards, -- dag wieers, dag@wieers.com, http://dag.wieers.com/ -- [all I want is a warm bed and a kind word and unlimited power]
Thank you for your comments guys, I appreciate your input.
Dag, I didn't ask as to whether or not I should use this kernel, I was asking for opinions on it. I'm looking into compiling my own and understand the dependencies involved with Redhat backported issues.
Thanks again.
Stephanie.
-----Original Message----- From: centos-bounces@centos.org [mailto:centos-bounces@centos.org] On Behalf Of Dag Wieers Sent: 25 September 2006 15:01 To: CentOS mailing list Subject: Re: [CentOS] 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp
On Mon, 25 Sep 2006, chrism@imntv.com wrote:
Steph wrote:
I currently have a few CentOs 4.X servers running the latest stock 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp kernel.
I notice kernel.org are now up to version 2.6.18 and many people are
using
the 2.6.17.11
Does anyone have any opinions with regards to the 17.11 and .18 kernels? I'm led to believe the latest centos stock kernels are the same anyway
as
are the backported Redhat ones.
There is nothing really "wrong" with using a newer kernel. It just
requires
more work on your part. The beauty of the stock binaries (including the kernel) is that you can simply type "yum update blah" and know with a
fairly
high degree of certainty that the system will continue to work, that
relevant
security fixes have been maintained, dependencies with other programs maintained, etc. If you roll your own kernel from more recent virginal source, it is still likely to work fine, but you will have to mind all
those
other issues yourself. Unless you have some device that isn't working properly with the stock kernel, it probably isn't worth the hassle of
doing
things yourself.
Actually, it might be very wrong to run a newer kernel. Sometimes interfaces with the kernel change and tools/libraries need to be updated to accomodate this change. You' cannot be sure of that unless you have a good understanding of those changes. (Especially for enterprise/production usage)
The fact that you ask that question is probably a good indication for me to advise not to change from a CentOS supported kernel. (unless you know what you're doing but since you did ask the question... :))
Kind regards, -- dag wieers, dag@wieers.com, http://dag.wieers.com/ -- [all I want is a warm bed and a kind word and unlimited power] _______________________________________________ CentOS mailing list CentOS@centos.org http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
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chrism＠imntv.com -
Dag Wieers -
Steph