Few Queries

[recklinux]

can anybody tell :-
what is SMP kernel ??
what are loadable kernel modules ??
and Unix(tm) systems ??

[jcliburn]

can anybody tell :-
what is SMP kernel ??
what are loadable kernel modules ??
and Unix(tm) systems ??

SMP = symmetric multiprocessor; multiple CPU cores on a single chip, or multiple CPU chips in a single node or operating system image. An SMP kernel is a kernel that can run on multiple CPUs.

Loadable kernel modules. Once upon a time, the Linux kernel was compiled inline with all its supporting drivers and components. This was and is called a monolithic kernel. As more and more drivers were added to body Linux, the monolithic approach became unmanageable. Why have a kernel that includes a compiled-in driver for a Realtek 8169 gigabit ethernet NIC (and the 100+ other NICs that have Linux drivers) when you've got a single Via Velocity 6122 NIC in your machine? Now throw in drivers for all the different sound cards, printers, modems, disk drives, usb devices, and anything else you might hang onto or insert into your computer, and you begin to see the problem. Enter the modular kernel. You load only the modules you need, and no more.

Unix. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix .