4 This document is designed to provide a list of the minimum levels of
5 software necessary to run the 2.4 kernels, as well as provide brief
6 instructions regarding any other "Gotchas" users may encounter when
7 trying life on the Bleeding Edge. If upgrading from a pre-2.2.x
8 kernel, please consult the Changes file included with 2.2.x kernels for
9 additional information; most of that information will not be repeated
10 here. Basically, this document assumes that your system is already
11 functional and running at least 2.2.x kernels.
13 This document is originally based on my "Changes" file for 2.0.x kernels
14 and therefore owes credit to the same people as that file (Jared Mauch,
15 Axel Boldt, Alessandro Sigala, and countless other users all over the
18 The latest revision of this document, in various formats, can always
19 be found at <http://cyberbuzz.gatech.edu/kaboom/linux/Changes-2.4/>.
21 Feel free to translate this document. If you do so, please send me a
22 URL to your translation for inclusion in future revisions of this
25 Smotrite file <http://oblom.rnc.ru/linux/kernel/Changes.ru>, yavlyaushisya
26 russkim perevodom dannogo documenta.
28 Visite <http://www2.adi.uam.es/~ender/tecnico/> para obtener la traducción
29 al español de este documento en varios formatos.
31 Eine deutsche Version dieser Datei finden Sie unter
32 <http://www.stefan-winter.de/Changes-2.4.0.txt>.
34 Last updated: February 13, 2002
36 Chris Ricker (kaboom@gatech.edu or chris.ricker@genetics.utah.edu).
38 Current Minimal Requirements
39 ============================
41 Upgrade to at *least* these software revisions before thinking you've
42 encountered a bug! If you're unsure what version you're currently
43 running, the suggested command should tell you.
45 Again, keep in mind that this list assumes you are already
46 functionally running a Linux 2.2 kernel. Also, not all tools are
47 necessary on all systems; obviously, if you don't have any PCMCIA (PC
48 Card) hardware, for example, you probably needn't concern yourself
51 o Gnu C 2.95.3 # gcc --version
52 o Gnu make 3.77 # make --version
53 o binutils 2.9.1.0.25 # ld -v
54 o util-linux 2.10o # fdformat --version
55 o modutils 2.4.2 # insmod -V
56 o e2fsprogs 1.25 # tune2fs
57 o jfsutils 1.0.12 # fsck.jfs -V
58 o reiserfsprogs 3.6.3 # reiserfsck -V 2>&1|grep reiserfsprogs
59 o pcmcia-cs 3.1.21 # cardmgr -V
60 o PPP 2.4.0 # pppd --version
61 o isdn4k-utils 3.1pre1 # isdnctrl 2>&1|grep version
69 The gcc version requirements may vary depending on the type of CPU in your
70 computer. The next paragraph applies to users of x86 CPUs, but not
71 necessarily to users of other CPUs. Users of other CPUs should obtain
72 information about their gcc version requirements from another source.
74 The recommended compiler for the kernel is gcc 2.95.x (x >= 3), and it
75 should be used when you need absolute stability. You may use gcc 3.0.x
76 instead if you wish, although it may cause problems. Later versions of gcc
77 have not received much testing for Linux kernel compilation, and there are
78 almost certainly bugs (mainly, but not exclusively, in the kernel) that
79 will need to be fixed in order to use these compilers. In any case, using
80 pgcc instead of egcs or plain gcc is just asking for trouble.
82 Note that gcc 2.7.2.3 is no longer a supported kernel compiler. The kernel
83 no longer works around bugs in gcc 2.7.2.3 and, in fact, will refuse to
84 be compiled with it. egcs-1.1.2 has register allocation problems in very
85 obscure cases. We have ensured the kernel does not trip these in any known
86 situation. The 2.5 tree is likely to drop egcs-1.1.2 workarounds.
88 The Red Hat gcc 2.96 compiler subtree can also be used to build this tree.
89 You should ensure you use gcc-2.96-74 or later. gcc-2.96-54 will not build
92 In addition, please pay attention to compiler optimization. Anything
93 greater than -O2 may not be wise. Similarly, if you choose to use gcc-2.95.x
94 or derivatives, be sure not to use -fstrict-aliasing (which, depending on
95 your version of gcc 2.95.x, may necessitate using -fno-strict-aliasing).
100 You will need Gnu make 3.77 or later to build the kernel.
105 Linux on IA-32 has recently switched from using as86 to using gas for
106 assembling the 16-bit boot code, removing the need for as86 to compile
107 your kernel. This change does, however, mean that you need a recent
110 If you can, upgrade to the latest 2.9.5 or 2.1x binutils release. Older
111 releases such as 2.8, 2.8.xx, and the FSF's 2.9.1 should be avoided if
112 at all possible. The later releases of 2.9.1.0.x (anything where x >= 22)
113 can and do compile the kernel properly, but there are many benefits in
114 upgrading to 2.9.5 or 2.1x if you're up to it.
119 Architectural changes
120 ---------------------
122 DevFS is now in the kernel. See Documentation/filesystems/devfs/* in
123 the kernel source tree for all the gory details.
125 The Logical Volume Manager (LVM) is now in the kernel. If you want to
126 use this, you'll need to install the necessary LVM toolset.
128 32-bit UID support is now in place. Have fun!
130 Linux documentation for functions is transitioning to inline
131 documentation via specially-formatted comments near their
132 definitions in the source. These comments can be combined with the
133 SGML templates in the Documentation/DocBook directory to make DocBook
134 files, which can then be converted by DocBook stylesheets to PostScript,
135 HTML, PDF files, and several other formats. In order to convert from
136 DocBook format to a format of your choice, you'll need to install Jade as
137 well as the desired DocBook stylesheets.
142 New versions of util-linux provide *fdisk support for larger disks,
143 support new options to mount, recognize more supported partition
144 types, have a fdformat which works with 2.4 kernels, and similar goodies.
145 You'll probably want to upgrade.
150 If the unthinkable happens and your kernel oopses, you'll need a 2.4
151 version of ksymoops to decode the report; see REPORTING-BUGS in the
152 root of the Linux source for more information.
157 Upgrade to recent modutils to fix various outstanding bugs which are
158 seen more frequently under 2.4.x, and to enable auto-loading of USB
159 modules. In addition, the layout of modules under
160 /lib/modules/`uname -r`/ has been made more sane. This change also
161 requires that you upgrade to a recent modutils.
166 These changes to the /lib/modules file tree layout also require that
167 mkinitrd be upgraded.
172 The latest version of e2fsprogs fixes several bugs in fsck and
173 debugfs. Obviously, it's a good idea to upgrade.
178 The jfsutils package contains the utilities for the file system.
179 The following utilities are available:
180 o fsck.jfs - initiate replay of the transaction log, and check
181 and repair a JFS formatted partition.
182 o mkfs.jfs - create a JFS formatted partition.
183 o other file system utilities are also available in this package.
188 The reiserfsprogs package should be used for reiserfs-3.6.x
189 (Linux kernels 2.4.x). It is a combined package and contains working
190 versions of mkreiserfs, resize_reiserfs, debugreiserfs and
191 reiserfsck. These utils work on both i386 and alpha platforms.
196 PCMCIA (PC Card) support is now partially implemented in the main
197 kernel source. Pay attention when you recompile your kernel ;-).
198 Also, be sure to upgrade to the latest pcmcia-cs release.
203 A driver has been added to allow updating of Intel IA32 microcode,
204 accessible as both a devfs regular file and as a normal (misc)
205 character device. If you are not using devfs you may need to:
208 mknod /dev/cpu/microcode c 10 184
209 chmod 0644 /dev/cpu/microcode
211 as root before you can use this. You'll probably also want to
212 get the user-space microcode_ctl utility to use with this.
214 If you have compiled the driver as a module you may need to add
217 alias char-major-10-184 microcode
219 to your /etc/modules.conf file.
224 If you are running v0.1.17 or earlier, you should upgrade to
225 version v0.99.0 or higher. Running old versions may cause problems
226 with programs using shared memory.
234 The IP firewalling and NAT code has been replaced again. The new
235 netfilter software (including ipfwadm and ipchains backwards-
236 compatible modules) is currently distributed separately.
238 If you have advanced network configuration needs, you should probably
239 consider using the network tools from ip-route2.
244 The PPP driver has been restructured to support multilink and to
245 enable it to operate over diverse media layers. If you use PPP,
246 upgrade pppd to at least 2.4.0.
248 If you are not using devfs, you must have the device file /dev/ppp
249 which can be made by:
251 mknod /dev/ppp c 108 0
255 If you build ppp support as modules, you will need the following in
256 your /etc/modules.conf file:
258 alias char-major-108 ppp_generic
259 alias /dev/ppp ppp_generic
260 alias tty-ldisc-3 ppp_async
261 alias tty-ldisc-14 ppp_synctty
262 alias ppp-compress-21 bsd_comp
263 alias ppp-compress-24 ppp_deflate
264 alias ppp-compress-26 ppp_deflate
266 If you use devfsd and build ppp support as modules, you will need
267 the following in your /etc/devfsd.conf file:
274 Due to changes in the length of the phone number field, isdn4k-utils
275 needs to be recompiled or (preferably) upgraded.
277 Getting updated software
278 ========================
283 egcs 1.1.2 (gcc 2.91.66)
284 ------------------------
285 o <ftp://sourceware.cygnus.com/pub/gcc/releases/egcs-1.1.2/egcs-1.1.2.tar.bz2>
289 o <ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gcc/gcc-2.95.3.tar.gz>
293 o <ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/make/make-3.77.tar.gz>
297 o <ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/devel/binutils/>
304 o <ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/util-linux/>
308 o <ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/kernel/ksymoops/v2.4/>
312 o <ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/kernel/modutils/v2.4/>
316 o <ftp://rawhide.redhat.com/pub/rawhide/SRPMS/SRPMS/>
320 o <http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/e2fsprogs/e2fsprogs-1.25.tar.gz>
324 o <http://oss.software.ibm.com/jfs/>
328 o <http://www.namesys.com/pub/reiserfsprogs/reiserfsprogs-3.6.3.tar.gz>
332 o <http://www.sistina.com/lvm/>
336 o <ftp://pcmcia-cs.sourceforge.net/pub/pcmcia-cs/pcmcia-cs-3.1.21.tar.gz>
340 o <ftp://ftp.jclark.com/pub/jade/jade-1.2.1.tar.gz>
344 o <http://nwalsh.com/docbook/dsssl/>
348 o <http://www.urbanmyth.org/microcode/>
352 o <http://powertweak.sourceforge.net/>
359 o <ftp://ftp.samba.org/pub/ppp/ppp-2.4.0.tar.gz>
363 o <ftp://ftp.isdn4linux.de/pub/isdn4linux/utils/isdn4k-utils.v3.1pre1.tar.gz>
367 o <http://netfilter.filewatcher.org/iptables-1.2.tar.bz2>
368 o <http://netfilter.samba.org/iptables-1.2.tar.bz2>
369 o <http://netfilter.kernelnotes.org/iptables-1.2.tar.bz2>
373 o <ftp://ftp.inr.ac.ru/ip-routing/iproute2-2.2.4-now-ss991023.tar.gz>
375 Suggestions and corrections
376 ===========================
378 Please feel free to submit changes, corrections, gripes, flames,
379 money, etc. to me <chris.ricker@genetics.utah.edu>. Happy Linuxing!