Re: Quantifying the benefits of kernel recompiling

[jfm2@club-internet.fr]

> jfm2@club-internet.fr wrote:
> > 
> > I have seen in Slashdot than Infoworld has an article about kernel
> > compiling so I exploded.
> 
> One point about the infoworld article.  It says they meant to provide
> a feature that RedHat didn't provide by default.  I.e. SMP.
> 
> The article failed however to mention that SMP requires hand editing
> the Makefile.  
> 

I was not referring to very exotic features like SMP (2.0 is not so
good at it) or exotic peripherals hand built in laboratories.

I was referring to the garden variety user with garden variety
hardware who recompiles his kernel because a self appointed guru who
never looked at the source tells him it will make his system faster.

As I said memory savings tend to lose importance with today's boxes
and about the CPU optimization their influence will be minimal
except the case you are talking to a different endian box in a _very_
high speed network and that if you are on a low end box.

Taken to the worst you could perfectly do a recompilation where you
would only change processor type.  Manufactures hype enough about the
processor even the dumbest users knows about it.

> There are many little things that a Recompile will earn you and users
> will do well to take note.  Specifically if you have some device that 
> is just recently supported then you not only need to recompile but you 
> need to get a development Kernel and the peripheral software it needs.
> 

See above.  I referred to performance.

> Our Target audience however doesn't need to Recompile a RedHat system
> normally.  I like to think we are catering to those people who buy 
> $ 700 PCs to do little jobs like run a business.
> 

I think we must dispel the myth about "thou hast to recompile your
kernel".  Even a book like "Linux for dummies" bows to it.  This plays
into enemy's hands.

Official doctrine should be: "if you have above 16 Megs don't bother".


Also instead of telling people to learn how to recompile a kernel we
should tell it is to the guy of the distribution to leazrn this.

-- 
			Jean Francois Martinez

Project Independence: Linux for the Masses
http://www.independence.seul.org