Date: Sun, 10 Dec 2006 16:53:28 +0100 From: Erik Trulsson <ertr1013@student.uu.se> To: Lane <lane@joeandlane.com> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Advantages of trimmed kernel? Message-ID: <20061210155328.GB28750@owl.midgard.homeip.net> In-Reply-To: <200612100919.59564.lane@joeandlane.com> References: <200612100905.30430.kirk@strauser.com> <200612100919.59564.lane@joeandlane.com>
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On Sun, Dec 10, 2006 at 09:19:59AM -0600, Lane wrote: > On Sunday 10 December 2006 09:05, Kirk Strauser wrote: > > Are there any real advantages to building a kernel stripped of unused > > drivers, especially when running it on a fairly large machine? For years, > > I've been dutifully removing device drivers (or more recently, including > > GENERIC and using 'nodevice') for everything I don't have. But does this > > actually do anything useful, or am I just tilting at windmills? > > > > I know the definitive answer would be to run benchmarks both ways, but I > > don't really have the option of pulling down a production machine just for > > this. > Kirk, > > I don't expect there is only one answer to your question. The issue is > broader, I think, than just the relative speed and performance improvements > achieved by running a lean kernel. > > You say that you can't afford to take a production machine down, but consider > this: What if you trimmed all of the "fat" from the kernel on a server, and > then the server's nic goes bad. Suppose that as a stop-gap measure you pull > an old isa nic from out of the closet, install it, and then boot the > server ... only to realize that your nic is not supported by the kernel that > you dutifully trimmed. In which case it is a good thing that most drivers are available as modules so that you can load them even if the driver is not included in the kernel. > > I think it is especially important to keep the kernel as flexible as possible, > since you may have to install the OS on any given machine without the luxury > of recompiling. > -- <Insert your favourite quote here.> Erik Trulsson ertr1013@student.uu.se
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