Jeremy Katz wrote:
On Monday, January 19 2009, Avi Kivity said:
> Jeremy Katz wrote:
>
>> That said, we currently do install the PAE kernel if you have 4 GB+ of
>> RAM[1]. Switching to it by default is problematic because then we're
>> back to using different kernels for different cases
>>
> You have that now, don't you? One case for <4GB and one for >=4GB.
> Worse, if you install more memory, the kernel doesn't see it.
>
> Downgrading your CPU to one which does not support PAE should be rare.
>
Yes, but at least the "running a different kernel" case is currently the
relatively rare one.
It will become more and more frequent as machines get beefier. If we
switch to PAE, it will be the non-PAE case which is rare.
btw, what's wrong with running a different kernel? So long as the
configs match, there shouldn't be a difference in reliability.
>> and it also makes
>> the 'what do you with the live image' case a lot more complex.
>>
> I'd just go with PAE here.
>
Can't do so -- the live image is definitely used on a lot of hardware
that isn't PAE capable. Many/most Pentium M's didn't support it, the OLPC
doesn't[1]. And those are common hardware targets for the live image
So either put both kernels there, or the non-PAE kernel.
>> The _real_ fix here is to get PAE runtime much like was
finally done
>> with SMP :-)
>>
> Patches, as they say, are welcome.
>
Low-level x86 setup code isn't quite my forte... Hence I go for
goading others into doing it ;-)
I meant, "this requires a monumental amount of work".
> But you could install both kernels
> and have the bootloaded choose (sticks wax balls into ears).
>
Want to write code for syslinux and grub to do the auto-choosing?
Not really. I don't see it as particularly difficult.
With grub, you could use multiboot to add a module to select the correct
kernel, maybe.
I think Windows works this way, with the /PAE switch on the kernel
command line causing a different kernel to be loaded.
Then
we also have to figure out a way to shoe-horn another 50 MB of stuff
into the already full live image
Cut away the drivers for Infiniband and similarly useless hardware (for
livecds, that is). Put them in a separate subpackage or use
steam-powered rm -rf.
--
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