Kernel and RHEL version bindings

[achak01]

Can any one here tell me if there is any dependency on OS version with Linux kernel version. Means which versions OF RHEL will give support to which kernel versions.?

[meton_magis]

With RHEL (or any distro that doesn't rely on you compiling your own kernel ) I would not compile your own kernel unless you have a specific reson for doing so. If your looking to upgrade your kernel, as root, run
`yum update kernel` without the quotes.
It will give you whatever the newest kernel available that has been tested by redhat.

There ARE restrictions on what kernel redhat (the company) will support, but in theory RHEL (the distro) will support any kernel you compile, so long as you include all options and modules that are required, and dont include anything that causes incompatabilities, which brings in my first suggestion. Unless you NEED to upgrade your kernel, don't do it. There are no gains that you can get that would offset the possible problems you can't predict.

However, if your looking to just play around, I'd suggest a different distro. I'm experienced with redhat systems, and suggest them for anyone learning GNU/Linux, but they are not the prime choices for REALY learning and tinkering with the Linux kernel.

If you did have a particular need for compiling your own kernel, you should post that question instead, and probably get a better answer as to how to fix your current problem.

[Rubberman]

What meton_magis said. However, I don't suggest building different kernels for RHEL, but Fedora may be a different matter. Another distribution that is good for kernel experimentation is Gentoo since the entire distribution is built by you - that's their philosophy, that by building the entire system, including kernel, with the options the user wants, you get a more compact, efficient, and easily customizable system.

One final suggestion is to use VM-based systems for experimentation. IE: install as stable a base system as you can, such as RHEL or CentOS 5.3. Then, you can build various distributions in virtual machines and experiment with new kernels and learn how it all works without placing your host system in jeapordy. That's what I do, and it works really nicely. If you "screw the pooch", you can revert your VM to the last good saved snapshot and voila! you have traveled back in time... .