EFS Systems on a Linux Base: Getting Started

Chapter 2. Practical planning 13

system is still considered to be Red Hat 9.0, but with a different kernel. Alternately, you may

rebuild the kernel that was provided with your distribution but with different kernel options

selected.

In most cases, the stock kernel with the Red Hat release may be all you need. In other cases,

you

must rebuild the kernel because the stock kernel does not provide the options you need.

We know of the following cases in which you

must rebuild the stock Red Hat 9.0 kernel:

򐂰 If an SMP machine is used for FLEX-ES

򐂰 If some of the newer Ethernet adapters are used, especially 1000BaseT models

򐂰 If large server memory is to be used, where

large means 1 GB or more

򐂰 If new RAID or LVM modules are to be integrated in the kernel

At the time of writing, we used or tried the following releases (with their stock kernels) with the

indicated results. In all cases, the kernel may need to be upgraded, rebuilt, or both for the

reasons just mentioned.

򐂰 Red Hat Linux 7.2: This release works well for older systems, including ThinkPads through

T21 models. The standard graphics driver does not work with later ThinkPads, or with

ThinkPad docking stations. This was a solid release that was used with many

Server-based FLEX-ES installations. If appropriate graphics drivers are installed, it is still

a good release.

򐂰 Red Hat Linux 7.3: The stock kernel does not work with FLEX-ES and we do not

recommend this release.

򐂰 Red Hat Linux 8.0: The stock kernel works well. We recommend that you use this release

unless your PC has USB 2.0 ports. This release does not work with USB 2.0 ports.

򐂰 Red Hat Linux 9.0: The stock kernel works well with FLEX-ES Release 6.2.11 and later.

(Earlier FLEX-ES releases require a kernel rebuild to use this Red Hat release.) This

release does not work correctly with some PCMCIA cards. (You can find more information

about this on Red Hat Web sites.) A kernel rebuild may be necessary for some ThinkPad

Ethernet adapters.

It is important to understand the criteria we use to recommend a Linux distribution and

release. The sole concern here is to build a small S/390, where Linux is one of the building

elements. We are not concerned with other uses of Linux, and these recommendations

would probably be different if we were interested in other Linux uses. We strongly suggest

that, if you want to work with Linux for purposes other than FLEX-ES, you build

another Linux

system. For that system, you can install whatever distributions and releases you wish.

2.1.3 Newer hardware and Linux

PC hardware changes quickly. Commonly available Linux distributions and their stock kernels

may not support the latest hardware. Sometimes this can be fixed by rebuilding the kernel (or

a newer kernel) with different options.

1

Sometimes it can be fixed by installing new device

drivers (if you can obtain them).

Particular areas of concern are: the processor (which must be absolutely compatible with

Pentium 3 or Pentium 4), graphics chips (the most common problem), USB 2.0 interfaces,

RAID adapters, LAN adapters (there are always new ones), and memory size (a relatively

new concern).

These are generally Linux issues. For the most part, if Linux is working properly with the

hardware, then these issues are transparent to FLEX-ES. However, FLEX-ES requires some

1

A frequent question is, “Why not include all the options in the kernel?” The answer is that some may be mutually

exclusive and, ignoring this, it would make the kernel quite large. Do not confuse the selection of kernel options with

the selection of Red Hat installation options.