5.5. Creating a Custom Kernel RPM

Login to a compute node.

For example:

# ssh compute-0-0

Go to the directory where the Linux kernel source code resides:

# cd /usr/src/linux-2.4

Build your .config file.

We recommend that you copy the appropriate config file from the configs directory to .config, then edit it to suit your needs. For example, if you want to configure a kernel for a SMP-based i686:

# cp configs/kernel-2.4.21-i686-smp.config .config

To determine the processor architecture of the node, execute: # uname --processor

Build a kernel RPM based on your modified .config:

# make rpm

Copy the resulting RPM back to the Rocks distribution on the frontend.

The final lines of the make rpm command indicates the name of the resulting kernel RPM.

For example:

# scp /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i686/kernel-smp-2.4.20-19.7.i686.rpm \
	frontend-0:/home/install/contrib/enterprise/3/public/i386/RPMS/

Rebuild the distribution on the frontend:

# ssh frontend-0
# cd /home/install
# rocks-dist dist

Your new kernel is now applied to the Rocks distribution.

Test the new kernel by reinstalling a compute node:

# shoot-node compute-0-0

If the kernel works to your satisfaction, reinstall all the compute nodes that you want to run the new kernel.

Login to a compute node.

For example:

# ssh compute-0-0

Download the kernel source tarball from kernel.org. For example:

# cd /usr/src
# wget http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.4/linux-2.4.26.tar.bz2

Prepare the source tree.

# bunzip2 linux-2.4.26.tar.bz2
# tar vfx linux-2.4.26.tar
# rm linux-2.4
# ln -s linux-2.4.26 linux-2.4

Apply the Rocks RPM that allows for kernel RPM building (it is found on the frontend under /home/install/rocks-dist/...).

# rpm -Uvh --force \
http://frontend-0/install/rocks-dist/enterprise/3/en/os/*/RedHat/RPMS/rocks-kernel-*

Create a .config file and put it in /usr/src/linux-2.4.

It is required that the following configuration variables are present in the .config file: CONFIG_BLK_DEV_RAM=y CONFIG_BLK_DEV_RAM_SIZE=8192 CONFIG_BLK_DEV_INITRD=y

Build a kernel RPM:

# cd /usr/src/linux-2.4
# make rpm

Copy the resulting RPM back to the Rocks distribution on the frontend.

The final lines of the make rpm command indicates the name of the resulting kernel RPM.

For example:

# scp /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i686/kernel-smp-2.4.26-1.i686.rpm \
	frontend-0:/home/install/contrib/enterprise/3/public/i386/RPMS/

Rebuild the distribution on the frontend:

# ssh frontend-0
# cd /home/install
# rocks-dist dist

Your new kernel is now applied to the Rocks distribution.

Test the new kernel by reinstalling a compute node:

# shoot-node compute-0-0

If the kernel works to your satisfaction, reinstall all the compute nodes that you want to run the new kernel.