What does smp mean?

[Chris Stark]

Leandro Melo wrote:
> When i but my system, grub shows me 3 options for o.s. They are 
> - fedora core (2.6.5-1.358smp)
> - fedora core up (2.6.5-1.358)
> - other
> What's a smp kernel? What are exactly the diferences between these 2
> fedora versions?
> 
SMP = symmetric multiple processors.

If you have a P4 with hyperthreading turned on, the system appears to be 
a virtual dual processor. The SMP kernel will take advantage of this 
virtual second processor while the UP kernel (Uni-Processor) will not.

Whether or not you see a noticeable change in performance will likely 
depend on the applications you use, but that said, I use the SMP kernel 
on my P4 machine.

-- 
Chris Stark
Musician, Linux User, Grad Student
http://chrisstark.com