Building a custom Redhat kernel

[Net Llama!]

On 12/11/2005 11:13 AM, Collins Richey wrote:
> On 12/11/05, David Bandel <david.bandel at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Folks,
>>
>> OK, I'm frustrated.
>>
>> I need to build a custom RH kernel (actually it's a Whitebox Linux 3.0
>> distro).  Client insists on using this distro, but needs virtual
>> servers (hence a patch).
>>
>> Problem:
>> Original kernel is 2.6.9-smp-EL.  Patch only supports 2.6.12.4.
>> Building 2.6.12.4 w/ or w/o patch results in kernel panic (I've tried
>> initrd and compiling in required modules with the same results).
>>
>> Problem is use of GRUB (no LILO! not even as an option), and
>> /etc/fstab and GRUB use of root=LABEL=/ nonsense.  I can't see how the
>> system knows /dev/sda3 == /.
>>
> 
> 1. The problem is not grub vs. lio, but disk labels. Just use 'tune2fs
> -L xxxxxxx to set the disk label for each partition to the names in
> the /etc/fstab lines. For example, on our systems at work 'tune2fs -L
> /boot  /dev/sda1', 'tune2fs -L /  /dev/sda1', etc.

But that should already be the case if all is well with the default 
shipping kernel.

> 
> 2. Is your system actual scsi or SATA based? We discovered when
> generating a custom kernel at work, that it does not work to build in
> the SATA modules. We had to generate these as modules and then
> 'mkinitrd ,<ick-a-name-for-the-output> <kernelname>.

That's not universally true.  I've successfully booted 2.6.x kernels to 
SATA drives without an initrd.  Also, the kernel build process should 
create the initrd as part of 'make all'.

-- 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
L. Friedman                       	       netllama at linux-sxs.org
LlamaLand		 		http://netllama.linux-sxs.org

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