Question: Linux kernel releases and Fedora kernel RPMs...

[Andrew Farris]

On Wed, 2004-04-14 at 12:21 -0700, Paul Heinlein wrote:

> On Wed, 14 Apr 2004, Michael A. Peters wrote:
> 
> > What I have found is that you can take the redhat kernel config, get
> > vanilla kernel source, and run "make oldconfig" using the new kernel
> > source - and be just fine.
> 
> You've done that successfully with Red Hat 9 or Fedora Core 1? I
> thought at least two things would break:
> 
> 1. NTPL, not patched into the vanilla 2.4 tree, afaik
> 
> 2. The O_DIRECT patch/hack that allows rpm (actually, the underlying
>    Berkeley DB) to work correctly.

I did that frequently, noticing no major breakage due to these.

In response to the original question, it is common for Red Hat to
back-port patches for security vulnerabilities and major breakages.
They do this so that the released kernel can remain stable (at the basic
version it was released) and still correct any known problems that
subsequent versions find / fix.  If you examine the
kernel-<version>.src.rpm you'll find those patches applied during the
build process.  I would not expect to see released 2.4.25 kernels, but
any security problems that require attention will likely generate a
fresh kernel build that is patched instead -- keep in mind that FC1 does
have a short lifespan that is nearing its end.

-- 
Andrew Farris, CPE senior (California Polytechnic University, SLO)
fedora at andrewfarris.com :: lmorgul on freenode
"The only thing neccessary for the triumph of evil is for good men
to do nothing." (Edmond Burke)