Re: Compiling the Kernel
Hi,
Here follows the readme file for kernel-package, which should
help creating your own kernel image deb package.
manoj
$Id: README,v 1.3 1997/06/25 07:33:26 srivasta Exp $
This is the Debian Linux packaging scripts for the Linux kernel.
This package has been put together by Manoj Srivastava <srivasta@debian.org>.
INSTALLATION NOTES:
To use this package to create kernel-image packages, you need to get
the kernel source (available from your favorite Linux archive),
unpack your kernel somewhere. Preferably somewhere other than
/usr/src/linux (more on this later).
Before you go any further, please allow me to point out that you need to
have a few other packages installed before you can compile your own kernels
(it is difficult to compile anything without a compiler ;-).
Firstly, you will need gcc, the libc development package (libc5-dev at
the time of writing), and, on Intel platforms, bin86. [If you use the
menuconfig target of make, you will need ncursesX.X-dev, and make xconfig
also requires tkX.X-dev, and other packages these depend on]
The packages suggested are:
devel: gcc, libc5-dev, binutils, make, and, for intel x86 platforms,
bin86 (non-intel platforms don't need this).
interpreters: gawk.
base: gzip, shellutils, and grep.
Of course, pretty gui front ends to kernel configuration require more
packages, but they are not strictly essential (though quite nice really).
For the Brave and the impatient:
1% cd <kernel source tree>
2% make config # or make menuconfig or make xconfig and configure
3% make-kpkg clean
4% make-kpkg -r=custom.1.0 kernel_image
5% dpkg -i ../kernel-image-X.XXX_1.0_<arch>.deb
6% shutdown -r now # If and only if LILO worked or you have a means of
# booting the new kernel. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!
Unpacking kernel sources:
-------------------------
On a debian system, /usr/src/linux always either contains
include/{linux,asm} or points to a directory which contains
those subdirectories, usually a directory with the full kernel
source or a directory with just the kernel headers.
Debian has standardized on /usr/src/linux being a link (that is the
case if you install released debian kernel packages, and has been
for a while now).
If you like living on the edge and compiling your own kernel
packages ;-), you have to follow the convention of letting
/usr/src/linux be a link, and unpack the pristine kernel sources
someplace else.
Some of the suggestions about where to unpack the kernel packages are
a) /tmp/linux
b) /var/tmp/linux
c) /usr/src/linux-X.X.XX; where X.X.XX is the version number of the
kernel. Remember to re-link /usr/src/linux to point to this
directory, like: (cd /usr/src; rm linux; ln -s linux-X.X.XX)
In any case, choose a partition that has a large amount of free space,
since recent kernels, unpacked, run to about 23MB, and you need more
than double that in order to create kernel-image, kernel-source, and
the tar file (that is, if you choose to build everything together with
the dist target in debian.rules -- say if you want, for whatever
reason, to run dchanges on the files created). I needed nearly 60MB to
create the full spectrum of packages for version 1.99.7 (and doubtless
this size will go up in the future).
Now, cd linux (wherever you have created the kernel sources).
The version number is deduced from the kernel Makefile directly. to
ensure that the version numbers are in sync(1), so you don't have to
worry about that.
It has been suggested that you renumber the revision number in such a
way that a generic kernel image package will not override the custom
package while using dselect (or dpkg -BOGiE). You may also do this on the
fly by setting the DEBIAN_REVISION environmental variable.
The revision number (the argument supplied after the --revision flag)
has certain constraints: it may contain only alphanumerics and the
characters + . (full stop, and plus) and should contain a digit.
NOTE: No hyphens allowed. (Look at Chapter 5 of the Programmers manual
for details)
This is because dpkg imposes an ordering on version numbers, so that
it can tell whether packages are being up or downgraded and so that
dselect can tell whether a package it finds available is newer than
the one installed on the system.
I've found that using a two-level scheme where the major level starts
with a letter nicely does the job, (--revision custom.Y, so the image
package become kernel-image-X.X.XX-custom.Y.deb), and dselect and dpkg
-BOGiE will refuse to downgrade to a generic kernel (don't give the
BGO arguments to dpkg if you actually do want to downgrade later).
You may also place long term directives (like your name and email
address) in the file /etc/kernel-pkg.conf. Putting your name and
address in that file is a good idea, to remind you that this is not an
official package, unless, of course, you happen to be the maintainer
(Hi Herbert). The file /etc/kernel-pkg.conf is actually a Makefile
snippet included during the kernel packages build process, and hence
you may put any legal Makefile directive in that file (just make very
sure you know what you are doing ;-).
At the moment, the user modifiable variables supported are:
maintainer: Local kernel-* package maintainer
email: The email address of that person.
pgp: Name to search for in the pgp database _iff_ separate
modules (like pcmcia etc) are being built in
/usr/src/modules/*. Can be set from environment
variable PGP_SIGNATURE. Defaults to maintainer.
debian: The Debian revision of the kernel packages. Can be set
from the environment variable DEBIAN_REVISION, defaults
to 1.00.
image_in_boot: Set to True if you want the kernel image symlink (vmlinuz)
and System.map symlink in /boot rather than the default /.
Can be set from the environment variable IMAGE_IN_BOOT.
defaults to undefined.
kimage: The kernel image type (i.e. zImage or bzImage). Can be
set from the environment variable IMAGE_TYPE. Defaults
to bzImage.
The value of a variable can be set so:
a) Defaults exist in the rules file. These are the values used if no
customization is done.
b) Variables can be set in the config file /etc/kernel-pkg.conf.
These values over ride the defaults.
c) Variables can also be set by setting a corresponding environment
variable. These values over ride the config file and the defaults
d) Using make-kpkg options, or, if using the rules file directly, on
command line ( # xxx/rules DEBIAN_REVISION=2.0a kernel_image). This
over rides all the above methods.
Please see kernel-pkg.conf (5).
To generate a new kernel image, just run
% make-kpkg clean
% make-kpkg -revision custom.1.0 kernel_image
This will create a default kernel image (as in the image package or
available on the boot disks. The kernel image package produced will
offer you a chance to create a boot disk, or to run LILO, but the
default is not to do either, and you may choose to ignore these
friendly overtures by the postinst.
If you want a custom kernel, you may generate a config file by any of
these methods (just follow the directions).
% make config # Boring old tty based method
or
% make menuconfig # curses based menu driven method (uses color if
you have any)
% make xconfig # An X window system based method -- make sure
you are running X windows when you call this.
All these methods ultimately generate a .config file. If you already
have a .config file, just copy it to this directory, and you are go.
With a custom .config file in place (created as above) run again:
% make-kpkg clean
% make-kpkg -revision custom.1.0 kernel_image
To create a source or header package, run
% make-kpkg clean
% make-kpkg -revision custom.1.0 kernel_source
% make-kpkg -revision custom.1.0 kernel_headers
Note: You only need one of these.
Similarly, the documentation package is built by:
% make-kpkg -r=custom.1.0 kernel_doc
Or if you want to generate the whole package,
% make-kpkg -revision custom.1.0 -signature "Your pgp id" dist
Note that this needs a pgp key.
A note on LILO: the kernel-image install-scripts arrange to have
/vmlinuz and /vmlinuz.old point to the latest kernel image and the
next most recent one, respectively. You may choose to have LILO take
advantage of this by putting image = /vmlinuz and image = /vmlinuz.old
lines in your lilo.conf (please read documentation on LILO for
details)
Conversely, people who wish to tightly control the versions in
LILO.conf (believe me, people, this gets to be a pain in the neck
fast) can use image = /boot/vmlinuz-X.X.XX.
So that loadlin people don't feel left out, all this talk about LILO
does not mean to ignore loadlin, you can use the generated
kernel-image just as easily (simply ignore the fol-de-rol with sym
links in /). for instance, you could:
[1]% dpkg -BRGiE kernel-image-X.X.XX,
and then
[2]% cp /boot/vmlinuz-X.X.XX <place where loadlin needs image>
[3]% echo '' > /boot/vmlinuz-X.X.XX
So you don't have the image taking up space, but still leave a
target for the /vmlinuz symlink.
Have fun,
Manoj Srivastava
Foot note 1:
For an explanation on why this synchronization is required, consider
this. The kernel knows what version it is, as given in the kernel
Makefile as the variables VERSION, PATCHLEVEL, and SUBLEVEL. It will
look for the modules in /lib/modules/$VERSION.$PATCHLEVEL.$SUBLEVEL.
The debian scripts think they know what the kernel version is, as
given in the Debian file rules as the variable v (near the top). It
then proceeds to put the modules in /lib/modules/$v. So, it is
essential that the kernel (Makefile) and the Debian script (rules)
agree about the version number, or the kernel will never figure out
where the Debian scripts hid the modules. So change the version
number in the file rules (v = X.X.XX) to be the same version as
given in the kernel Makefile (this will be
$VERSION.$PATCHLEVEL.$SUBLEVEL).
--
Manoj Srivastava <srivasta@debian.org>
PGP Key ID: 1024/C7261095
Key fingerprint = CB D9 F4 12 68 07 E4 05 CC 2D 27 12 1D F5 E8 6E
--
``After all, 13 years of being battered, pushed and otherwise
tormented is a long, long time. On the other hand ... you can't
expect me just to run away,'' he said. L.A. Police Chief Darryl
Gates, as quoted in the UPI story, "L.A. police chief rejects
suggestion of retirement", 7/9/91
Manoj Srivastava <url:mailto:srivasta@acm.org>
Mobile, Alabama USA <url:http://www.datasync.com/%7Esrivasta/>
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