Debian i686 kernel compile?

[WhoIsThere]

For sake of a clear picture of the problem, pretend I don't know anything about compiling.

How would I re-compile my current kernel's source? It's the i686 optimized kernel I selected from the install disc.

[WhoIsThere]

Well, could someone at least tell me if this is still current, and applies?

HowToRebuildAnOfficialDebianKernelPackage - Debian Wiki

From what I read, it doesn't seem to jive with some other tutorials I've read on compiling the kernel, but they weren't for i686.

[elija]

Well,it's for kernel 2.6 and it's on the Debian wiki.

Speaking from experience with recompiling Slackware:

you probably want to try this on a machine you won't mind completely barfing.
don't do it in a hurry
don't do it drunk

[WhoIsThere]

you probably want to try this on a machine you won't mind completely barfing.

This isn't a problem, but it'd be nice to not waste my time.

don't do it drunk

D*mn, I was just thinking this would make it more bearable...

Anyone else done this before? At the very least, all I want to do is change the 686 kernel to PREEMPT, and the hz to 1000.

[reed9]

Are you referring to the rt-preempt patch?

If so there are prebuilt kernels available for debian.

Linux-RT for Debian

[WhoIsThere]

Are you referring to the rt-preempt patch?

If so there are prebuilt kernels available for debian.

Linux-RT for Debian

Nice..., thanks a lot. This will tide me over until I can get a custom compile ready.

[pfred1]

The source is the source. There is no tree optimized for the i686 or anything else for that matter. You have to configure the kernel if you want it optimized for anything. Though I suppose there are patches that claim to do this that or the other thing.

I've compiled a lot of kernels and I still don't claim to know a fraction about the process. But I know enough to build a kernel and get a machine to boot for whatever that is worth. I even know the Debian way of doing it.

There are a lot of web pages on the net that explain the process in general terms. Configuring an optimized kernel for your particular hardware setup is another matter entirely. There are guidelines but for me at least getting every option right is a matter of a lot of trial and error.

I will say this about building kernels try to learn how to append a different version onto the kernel you build so you can keep your present working one to boot with in case things go badly. Saying your kernel is critical can be a bit of an understatement in the world of computing.

Good luck.

pfred1@giga:~$ cd /usr/src/linux
pfred1@giga:/usr/src/linux$ wc -l .config
2806 .config

With that much to deal with you'll need it!

[pfred1]

I don't think preempt in the kernel is quite what I think of as realtime so maybe what I am familiar with it isn't valid but in my experience configuring actual RTAI realtime systems the Hz in the kernel has absolutely no affect at all on overall system latency.

Superficially you'd think it would but if you stop and think about it it can't. Because RT is ABSOLUTE worst case timing and Hz is just general system speed. So even if your system is fast and once a hour it hiccups say 24500ns then your base period is still 24500ns even if you generally run at 6000ns.

RT latency is completely hardware dependent in practical applications. Right now the Atom seems to be one of the best realtime platforms going.

[WhoIsThere]

Regardless of whether it improves the latency, I was told the Hz setting would help running Debian on an older PC.

If there isn't an optimized 686 kernel, why does my current running kernel report 2.6.32-5-686 as the version? I selected it from the Debian install disc that had either 2, or 3 kernel options. (386, 486?, 686)

All I need/want is the 686 kernel (optimized for my PC), and the 686 libc libraries (available in the repos).

[WhoIsThere]

Even if optimizing the kernel doesn't help, I'd prefer to see it for myself. Apparently... someone sees the use of having the default 686 kernels/libraries, even if the rest of the repos contain 386 apps. What I asked was simple ---- How do I compile the 686 flavor kernel myself?

I don't understand why I see so much resistance from people, when I ask about recompiling. All I receive are messages like 'don't waste your time', or 'read this doc here'. Well after reading the docs, I see no solution.

There's one distributed with the official Debian ISOs, so I'm unsure what the problem is here with asking how to rebuild it myself. A bit inefficient, but it's like asking each individual to reinvent the wheel on their own time? If someone know how to compile the Debian kernel, why don't they simple post their method?

The only conclusion I can draw is that they either don't know how to, or never have.