On Tue, Jul 09, 2002 at 04:32:17PM -0700, G. L. `Griz' Inabnit wrote:
> Subsequently, I've been following the threads concerning pulling down the
> sources (apt-get -b source {package}) and building my own packages to insure
> that all of my existing software has the ability of using SMP support.
I'm fairly sure that 'SMP support' is meaningless for userspace
software, ie everything but the kernel. Dual processors means that the
kernel can run two processes at once, so if your software is
multi-threaded (maybe), or you're running more than one program at once
(all the time under Linux), you're taking advantage of the SMPness of
your system.
>
> My questions are:
>
> 1. Do I need to wipe and start over (fresh install)?
> if yes
> how far do i go on the install (cds) before i begin using source?
> if no
> what packages should I begin 'replacing' first? (for ease of upgrade)
If you're just re-compiling packages, then you shouldn't need to
reinstall, since Debian obviously lets you upgrade packages. You do
need to make sure that your custom, optimzed package has a greater
version number than the one it is supposed to replace, or you might end
up with apt trying to remove them and install official Debian packages.
> 2. How can I tell the software (via apt) that I want to use SMP?(makefile(s)?)
> (in sorcery there was one file built eary in the install that held all of
> the pertainant info)
You can speed up your compiles by running make with the '-j<n>' option,
which runs <n> compiles jobs at once. I've heard that num_procs+1 is
the way to go. I don't think Debian has a global configuration file for
make, so you'll need to set up an environment variable for make, I can't
remember what it is tho.
> 3. What is the best recommended way to do this? (or is there one?)
It's not recommended because it's a hug effort for (so I've heard) not
all that much gain. Very few programs are CPU-bound these days, and I'm
sure you'd know exactly which ones need help if it was big deal
(simulations or whatever).
If you still want to give it a go, have a look at pentium-builder, it's
meant for things sort of like this. I'm not sure how you plan to
recompile all of Debian tho. Maybe pbuilder will help. Be aware that
this is a massive undertaking, tho. Recompiling this much software will
take a long, long time. If you're tracking sid, then you'll be
recompiling packages each and every day.
>
> I'm not a newbie to Debian by any means, but I'm not completely comfortable
> compiling my own sources. Mainly just due to being lazy (and loving debian)
> up to this point. But, I've found that the more packages that I have that use
> the full power of the multi-processors, the faster the machine runs. (i'm a
> guy! i love having more power!)
Perhaps you could pick some especially big apps, and just recompile
them? KDE and GNOME might be prime candidates for this, but it might be
fiddly.
-rob
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