Dear Gordan and Bjarne, Thank you for your replies. There don't seem to be any official CentOS kernel requirements, since the x86 users just use the CentOS kernel.
Of course once one has his device hacked it's trivial to test whether RedSleeve works with its kernel. Unfortunately on many devices the manufacturers make our lives so difficult that some hours of work are needed before you end up in a situation where you can swap the rootfs at will. For this reason it'd be nice to have some sort of indication whether it might be worth the effort, or not. Gordan, I agree that device howtos are very important. I would ask the authors if they could add some *uname -a* output to each howto: that would already help a lot. From these results we could maintain a table, as Bjarne suggests, of course with some kind of note that "if you find your version listed here it is not a guarantee that it will work, your results may vary because of device-specific modifications". It would also be great to distinguish which devices support "stock kernels" (RedSleeve), and which have "stuck kernels" (from the manufacturer). I think that should be immediately obvious from *uname -a* output? From the Wiki I currently get the impression that many of the currently documented devices actually work with the RedSleeve kernel. Thanks and best regards, Arnoud 2015-05-11 21:15 GMT+02:00 Gordan Bobic <[email protected]>: > Well, usually when I get a device working I document it on the wiki. > In each of those cases either the details of the kernel used are > provided, or it is the kernel the device shipped with. Usually the > latter. > > I think adding more howtos for different devices would be more > useful. > > Gordan > > > On 2015-05-11 18:59, Bjarne wrote: > >> If someone supply me with test data I would be happy to maintain a >> "tested on" table on redsleeve home page. >> >> BR, >> Bjarne >> >> >> On 11-05-2015 10:16, Gordan Bobic wrote: >> >>> On 2015-05-11 08:48, Arnoud Onnink wrote: >>> >>>> Dear RedSleeve users, >>>> >>>> Unfortunately many embedded GNU/Linux users have limited choice in >>>> what kernel version they want to run, due to manufacturer-specific >>>> hacks that can't be ported, binary-only drivers, missing sources (GPL >>>> violations), etc. At the moment there are a lot of otherwise perfectly >>>> hackable devices out there that are stuck on 2.6 series Linux. >>>> >>> >>> I am, indeed, painfully aware of that. >>> >>> For these users it would be very nice if distros like RedSleeve could >>>> be crystal clear on which kernels are supported, and which are not. On >>>> the Wiki I could not find such info. >>>> >>> >>> Perhaps I should put this on the wiki, I'm just not sure what the >>> wording should be. In a nutshell: >>> >>> 1) No kernels are supported - use and take your chances with whatever >>> you can get working. >>> 2) Most kernels will in fact work just fine. >>> >>> The general recommendation is to use whatever kernel shipped with >>> your device. Since most devices suitable for RedSleeve came >>> pre-configured with some kind of a Linux derivative, this generally >>> works for most people. Any kernel updates extracted from the device >>> manufacturer's firmware updates should equally work. >>> >>> The main caveat here is that most manufacturers of ARM based >>> devices either abandon any and all support of them as soon as the >>> product is out the door, or exit the market for whatever reason, >>> with the same end result. >>> >>> The main problem with using old, stagnant kernels, is that every >>> once in a while a kernel bug is discovered that can under certain >>> circumstances security implications. While these are almost never >>> directly exploitable remotely, it is nevertheless important to at >>> least be aware of potential problems and exercise appropriate care >>> if the device is exposed directly to the internet. >>> >>> Specifically, what is the minimal kernel version needed to run the >>>> RedSleeve rootfs? Are there any options that must be enabled? >>>> >>> >>> This is a good question, but unfortunately one that I cannot give >>> an actual specific answer to. EL6 ships with 2.6.32, so the bare >>> minimal requirements in terms of version are most definitely no >>> higher than that. Older kernels most likely work but I am not of >>> anyone having tested the actual lowest version limit that will work. >>> >>> In terms of build options, again, I don't think anyone ever looked >>> into it, but any kernel that shipped with any ARM device I have >>> tried using since work on the RedSleeve project began, even heavily >>> stripped down kernels from devices that only ship with Android or >>> NAS-es, or Chromebooks, has worked just fine. >>> >>> Given that this is generally pretty trivial to test when you are >>> getting your device up and running, the default advice to try the >>> kernel you have for the device first is generally sound. Once you >>> have something working, it is generally much easier to start >>> looking into what better kernel you might be able to build from >>> sources and get working. >>> >>> If anyone can supply me with this info (or a link), I will add it to >>>> the Wiki. I'm guessing it's going to be similar to the CentOS kernel >>>> requirements, but I may be wrong. >>>> >>> >>> Do you have a link to the list of CentOS kernel requirements? >>> I am curious becaue either that list is extremely basic, to the >>> point where every kernel that ships with any device I own fulfills >>> it, or the list is pessimistically large and the basic userspace >>> works just find with more cut down kernels. >>> >>> Gordan >>> _______________________________________________ >>> users mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> http://lists.redsleeve.org/mailman/listinfo/users >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> users mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://lists.redsleeve.org/mailman/listinfo/users >> > _______________________________________________ > users mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.redsleeve.org/mailman/listinfo/users >
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