Announcing Pappy's Kernel Seeds. <closed, use new thread>

pappy_mcfae · Last edited by pappy_mcfae on Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:36 pm; edited 2 times in total

After some discussion, and some work on my part, I have set up Pappy's Kernel Seeds; a site with pre-made kernel .config "seeds".

I have generated kernel configuration (.config) files for gentoo-sources kernels from 2.6.22-gentoo-r10 to 2.6.26-gentoo-r1, as well as some selected vanilla kernel versions (with more to come). You simply download the seed, rename it, configure it with the devices in your computer, compile, and install. There are more instructions on the page.

All questions and comments appreciated.

Blessed be!
Pappy

Mod Edit by NeddySeagoon
Moved from Kernel & Hardware to Unsupported Software.
As Pappy will be supporting this effort rather than Gentoo.
Good Luck!
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pappy_mcfae · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 7:46 am Post subject:

The Pappy's Kernel Seeds page is a little on the dull side. I'd like someone with an artistic bend to create a graphic for the page. I'm looking for something that engages the idea of a seed with either a computer inside, binary or hex code, or somehow brings forth the idea of a computerized seed. I prefer a more minimalist approach, but won't turn down seriously psychedelic if I think it's hot.

What do you get? Credit for your art on the web page, lots of people who need kernel seeds seeing your effort, and my never-ending gratitude. If interested, private message me, and I'll provide you with my email address for your submissions.

I thank all in advance for your time and effort.

Blessed be!
Pappy
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pappy_mcfae · Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 12:13 am Post subject:

I know some of y'all have been eating my porridge. You can admit it!

Blessed be!
Pappy
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uaeb · n00b Joined: 28 May 2008 Posts: 27

Hey Pappy,

Can I just ask, as I'm curious, why someone would benefit using one of these config's as a starting point over say a defconfig ?

pappy_mcfae · Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 5:48 am Post subject:

Absolutely! that's a great question. The reason is that defconfig gives you the setup for Linus Torvalds' machine(s). While all that is ok for him, I find that his settings are really conservative. He tends to turn on CPU scheduling, and other irritants. I can't believe he actually runs his systems like that, but that's what defconfig gets you.

My settings are more real world. I've helped out a lot of people by making functional kernel .configs for their systems, and generally, I am quite successful in said attempts. I don't think I've officially lost a patient yet, but there is that possibility. I am NOT perfect in any way, shape, or form.

I have been working with kernel sources since 2.6.26.18, which is what comes with Slackware-11. I've made a lot of observations, and done a LOT of experimentation with the systems I own since that time. The settings I put into the .configs are the settings I use for all of my machines, and they all run quite well, even the old P-III celeron with 256 Megs o' RAM.

Since I'm just arrogant enough to think I have something to offer, I decided to put my "talent" for playing with kernels out there for public consumption. Look at it as my unique way of not only demystifying the kernel for the n00b, but helping people get their systems running initially by eliminating the guesswork of the novice, or the bloat of genkernel. You just add your devices to the settings I use (or have in the past) daily, and generally, you wind up with an ass-kicker of a kernel.

You are, of course, completely free to do with the seed kernels as you wish. Another issue that I address in doing things this way is the principle of, "give a man a fish, you'll feed him for a day; teach him how to fish, and he can feed himself." I just offer better, more tasty fish; such is the hope.

Are the seeds perfect? Nope. I'm sure that some will look at the settings in bewilderment. I'm sure others will look and think I'm more a n00b than a veteran myself. Still others will see that there is method and merit in my madness. The good thing is there can be more than one path to get where you want to be.

They are what they are, an alternative to genkernel, with a more streamlined edge, and the ability built into the seeds to learn about the kernel; the heart of your O/S. I hope they are useful to those in need, and educational to those who are wondering what the kernel is really all about. I hope they are well received.

But if not, I'm ok with that as well. I will say this, so far they are moving a lot faster than my first CD. That's not saying much, though.

Biggest thanks to NeddySeagoon for the help and consideration in this project.

UPDATE! A whole slew of x86 vanilla source .configs has just hit the page (2.6.22.19, 2.6.25-2.6.25.17, 2.6.26-2.6.26.5). Check them out!

Blessed be!
Pappy
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asturm · Developer Joined: 05 Apr 2007 Posts: 9280

I'll risk taking a look at them to compare with my own minimal config.

pappy_mcfae · Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 5:15 pm Post subject:

Awesome! I hope you like.

Blessed be!
Pappy
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isilia · Apprentice Joined: 25 Feb 2008 Posts: 177

I'm not a kernel expert, but I do wonder why you turned Machine Check Exception off (in x86_64-gentoo-2.6.25-r7). Is it because of the bugs on some systems?

pappy_mcfae · Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:43 pm Post subject:

That's a left up to you option.

I have it turned off because I do not know who is going to use the kernel, or what kind of CPU they have. It is up to the user to set that option. Any driver or device I thought would be in danger of causing a conflict was turned off.

Also, part of the idea is to have the user search through the entirety of the kernel .config before you compile it, and turn on or off things as a means of experimentation. That, hopefully, gets questions asked, and some discussion happening. And it seems to be working.

Blessed be!
Pappy
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isilia · Apprentice Joined: 25 Feb 2008 Posts: 177

It seems like a rather dangerous option to have turned off "out of the box" to me. Most people would go over the entire .config file but I'm sure a few idiots wouldn't, which might result in unnecessary hardware failure (from overheating for example). Of course that would be their own fault in the end, but I'm sure there are more idiots out there who would not bother going through the file than there are "some new non-standard machine" users who would misconfigure this.

But that's your choice in the end!

Thanks for creating standard .config files, at least I can be sure I didn't seriously mess something up now.

pappy_mcfae · Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 7:12 pm Post subject:

Perhaps you are right. But, there comes a point when someone must take responsibility for their own mistakes in life.

At the moment, this is limited to the Gentoo community, I figure the aggregate IQ is a hell of a lot higher than at other sites. Therefore, even those who might not know as much as I about working with kernels will figure out that some options are better on than off, and they'll also note that where there was a choice that could cause problems, it was left turned off for the user to set up. And they can also refer to this discussion, and know that there's something about that mce they should look at.

I offer the kernel seeds as a streamlined alternative to genkernel. There are people here who should definitely use genkernel once or twice to at least get a feel for the kernel. Once that education has passed, then it's time to start manually configuring the kernel. The seed kernel makes that easier by trimming bloat and cutting down on conflicting drivers and/or settings.

Besides, the seeds were never intended to work out of the box, anyway. It is at least hoped that the past-the-genkernel-phase user knows they will have to do some bit of exploration within the seed kernel. That's part of the fun!

Blessed be!
Pappy
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pappy_mcfae · Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 7:44 am Post subject:

Still waiting for a willing artist.

Blessed be!
Pappy
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jsn · n00b Joined: 26 Dec 2005 Posts: 70 Location: Finland

pappy_mcfae · Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 8:17 pm Post subject:

At this point, I'm only looking for graphics. Since it's a business page (even if it's a free, non-profit business), I want it to look interesting, but not outlandish.

I'll gladly take a look at your ideas, though. Since I have people actually going to the site, I'd love to have it just a bit more visually interesting. So, send me a private message, I'll send you my email, and I'll take a look at your ideas.

Thanks so much for replying. You are a prince among men!

Blessed be!
Pappy
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MageSlayer · Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 10:48 am Post subject:

Well, predefined configs idea is ok, but maybe I would be better if you put some more informative description to your project?

-Are you going to tweak kernel for desktops or servers? (IMHO, desktop interactiveness is still the weak feature of Linux)
-Some exostic hardware or something?
-Filesystems tweaks?
etc.

Thanks.

pappy_mcfae · Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 7:22 pm Post subject:

The assumption is that the .configs I have set up are designed for desktop systems. I should have made that clear. Since most n00bs are just trying to get from the stage3 install to some form of X, it made sense to concentrate on that. Therefore, the .configs are configured for desktop systems.

EDIT:I updated the site to make it clearer that the seed kernels are set up for desktop usage. Thanks for bringing that point to my attention./EDIT

I may, in the future, do custom .configs for interested parties, using other kernel sources, and I will still continue to cruise the forums and help people with kernel problems as I find them. However, at the moment, the only updates I'm going to be adding to the page will be new .configs as new kernels come out, and artistic and copy additions and editing.

I may, in the future, expand the scope of what I'm doing. Most likely, I'll wait to expand until I am running the site on my own server here at home. For now, since I am on a limited bandwidth server, I prefer to keep things as simple as possible. It's respectful to the owner of the server, and to interested users.

Blessed be!
Pappy
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pappy_mcfae · Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 8:44 pm Post subject:

A big thanks to jsn for his graphic. You can check out jsn's site at feedimage.info He's got some pretty cool minimalist art there. I think I might grab one of his works for my old Toshiba. I'm getting tired of looking at it's wallpaper.

Please visit Pappy's Seed Kernels to check out the new graphic, and also to check out one (or more) of Pappy's Kernel Seeds.

Blessed be!
Pappy
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pappy_mcfae · Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 6:56 am Post subject:

UPDATE: 10-09-2008. Added .configs for: 2.6.25.18, 2.6.26.6, and 2.6.25-gentoo-r9 in both x86 and x86_64 flavors. Enjoy!

Blessed be!
Pappy
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monsm · Guru Joined: 26 Sep 2007 Posts: 467 Location: London, UK

Excellent idea, pappy. I will definitely give this a try next time. My editing of .config files have so far been limited to choosing the correct CPU and removing some device drivers I don't need.

I get a timeout when accessing the site just now, but I guess it will be back shortly...

If I should choose to use genkernel to compile it (to easy be able to generate the initramfs file I need) I can just save the .config under the correct name in /etc/kernels to make genkernel pick it up after I am finished editing it with menuconfig?

Mons

magemaster · n00b Joined: 20 Mar 2007 Posts: 20

Thank's pappy

I am compiling a kernel 2.6.25-gentoo-r8 right now using your .config right now.
I will update this thread with results soon.

EDIT
the system seems a little bit responsive...
But what really is good is the time saved configuring the kernel.

Thanks!

pappy_mcfae · Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 6:13 pm Post subject:

pappy_mcfae · Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 6:14 pm Post subject:

pappy_mcfae · Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 8:26 pm Post subject:

The .configs for 2.6.27 in both x86 and x86_64 flavors are now uploaded. I am currently running the x86 version with my devices, and so far, so good. I'm getting ready to set up the x86_64 for my Core2 Duo to see how it works.

Blessed be!
Pappy
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Gef · Apprentice Joined: 17 May 2008 Posts: 180 Location: France

pappy_mcfae · Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2008 7:37 am Post subject:

And the hits just keep on coming. 2.6.26-gentoo-r2 just hit portage, and the new .configs for it have just hit the site. Still waiting for the coming of 2.6.27-gentoo.

Blessed be!
Pappy
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