Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 -- Etch-And-A-Half Release Notes

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Content will be revealed when Debian GNU/Linux etch-and-a-half is released.

Overview

Additional packages have been added in the Debian 4.0r4 point release to increase the set of hardware supported by Debian 4.0 (etch). This includes packages based upon the Linux 2.6.24 kernel and additional drivers for the X window system. Installation of these additional packages is not required and will not occur by default. This update represents no change to the support of previously available packages.

The existing 2.6.18-based kernel will continue to be the default kernel for the etch release.

Newly available packages

linux-2.6.24
New linux-image and supporting packages have been added to take advantage of many new and updated device drivers. See the Limitations section of this document for more information.
xserver-xorg-video-intel
A new X driver has been included to add support for the 965GM, 965GME, G33, Q35, Q33 and GM45 (PCI ids 0x2A02, 0x2A12, 0x29B2, 0x29C2, 0x29D2 and 0x2A42) devices. Some cards that were previously supported by the xserver-xorg-video-i810 driver may perform better with the xserver-xorg-video-intel driver. This includes the 945GM, 946GZ, 965G and 965Q devices.

Updated etch packages

Some existing etch packages have been updated to add support for new hardware and for compatibility with the 2.6.24 kernel:

aboot
Support for booting recent kernels.
sysvinit
Updated shutdown command to properly shutdown disks.
wireless-tools
Inaccurate incompatibility warning removed.
firmware-nonfree
Firmware blobs for use with 2.6.24 kernel added.
xserver-xorg-video-nv
An updated X driver has been included to add support for previously unsupported NVIDIA graphics adapters (notably the GeFORCE 8 series). The updated xserver-xorg-video-nv package provides support for NVIDIA Riva, TNT, GeFORCE and Quadro cards.

Installing the Etch-And-A-Half release

Starting from this release, there are now two methods for installing the 4.0 (etch) release of Debian.

Install using Debian 4.0 (etch) installer
If your hardware is sufficiently supported by the standard etch installer you may choose to use standard etch install media to initially install your system and then later migrate to the etch-and-a-half kernel. This option is best for users who already have a system installed with etch or do not wish to obtain new installation media but would like to add additional hardware that is only supported by the etch-and-a-half kernel.
Information on obtaining and using the Debian 4.0 (etch) installer is available here.
Install using current Debian lenny installer
Beginning with Beta 2, the lenny installer features an install kernel that is very similar to the etch-and-a-half kernel and has a compatibility mode for installing the etch release. This option is best for users with hardware that is supported by the etch-and-a-half kernel but is not supported by the default etch installer. Information on obtaining and using a lenny-based installer to install etch-and-a-half is available here.

Limitations

Debian does not guarantee that all hardware that is supported by the default etch 2.6.18 kernel is also supported by the 2.6.24 kernel, nor that all software included in etch will work correctly with the newer kernel.
Migrating from the 2.6.18 etch kernel to the 2.6.24 etch-and-a-half kernel will work in many cases, but is not guaranteed to succeed. Upgrades from both the 2.6.18 and 2.6.24 kernels to the kernel provided by the next stable release (lenny) will be supported.
Not all features of the etch 2.6.18 kernel are available in the 2.6.24 images, this includes the Xen and linux virtual server flavors.
Out-of-tree kernel module source packages that were provided in etch are not guaranteed to function properly with the 2.6.24 kernel.

Hardware-specific Notes

Broadcom NetXtreme II network controllers
The bnx2 driver for Broadcom NetXtreme II network controllers has been modified to load firmware files from the filesystem. These firmware files are provided in the firmware-bnx2 package in the non-free section of the archive. Systems that require the bnx2 driver must have the firmware-bnx2 package installed to function with the 2.6.24 etch-and-a-half kernel. These devices will not be available at installtime when using a Debian lenny-based installer.
Intel 3945/4965 wireless network adapters
Systems that use an Intel 3945 or 4965 based wireless network adapter must have the corresponding firmware files installed for these adapters to function with the 2.6.24 etch-and-a-half kernel. These firmware files are provided in the firmware-iwlwifi package in the non-free section of the archive. For information about migrating from the ipw3945 driver to the iwl3945 driver you should review the transition information.
Cirrus Logic Sound Fusion sound devices
The snd-cs46xx driver is no longer available in the etch-and-a-half kernel due to legal issues.
ARM ip32x (Thecus N2100, IO-Data GLAN Tank)
- A problem in the r8169 network driver has been fixed that would cause NFS problems on the Thecus N2100 (see bug #452069).
- The Thecus N2100 now correctly powers off.
- Support for the sensor chip to control the fan is now included thanks to Riku Voipio.
ARM ixp4xx (Linksys NSLU2)
- A new Ethernet driver, written by Krzysztof Halasa, is included. This driver is included in the mainline kernel whereas the driver used in the old kernel for etch (2.6.18) is no longer maintained.
- A kernel crash with bitmapped md device has been fixed (see bug #443373).
- More modules have been activated, for example more netfilter modules.
SRM-based Alpha systems
aboot, the bootloader for alpha machines that use SRM firmware, has been updated to support booting recent linux kernel images. If you are performing a new etch install of your system using the Debian lenny-based installer, an updated aboot package will automatically be used. To migrate an existing etch system to the 2.6.24 etch-and-a-half kernel, you must update to the latest aboot package in etch and manually update the boot block on your disk with the swriteboot command. See swriteboot(8) for more information.