[techtalk] 2.4.2 kernel dodgy? and double messages

[Jeff Dike]

akkana at shallowsky.com said:
> Where's a good source for learning which kernels are considered stable
> and what problems one might encounter which a particular version?  (I
> thought 2.4.2 was supposed to be pretty solid, so I've been running it
> now on all my machines.) 

That's a bit tough.  I'm on the kernel list, so I have a pretty good idea
who's complaining about what parts of what kernels.  If you want to deal with
a couple hundred messages a day, feel free to sign up.

If you don't, the best sources of information after the kernel list that I know
of are Kernel Traffic (http://kt.zork.net/kernel-traffic/latest.html), which 
summarizes the most interesting threads on the list during the previous week, 
and the kernel page of lwn (last week's - http://lwn.net/2001/0802/kernel.php3).

They won't directly tell you what kernels are dodgy, but they will tend to
mention prominent problems, so if you read them consistently, you will notice
that some kernels seem to generate more complaints than others.

Also, if you want a random set of instant opinions about what kernels to use
and what kernels to avoid, #kernelnewbies on irc.openprojects.net is an IRC
channel devoted to discussion of the kernel.  It would be a fine place to ask
questions like that.

Having dumped on the stock 2.4.2, I should mention that the same might not be
true of the RH6.2 kernel.  Red Hat's kernel hackers apparently spent a lot of
time auditing the kernel, fixing anything that even looked like a potential
problem, so it could easily be better than the stock Linus 2.4.2.

And I had no problems with it in the short period of time between installing
RH6.2 and updating the kernel to a stock 2.4.6.

				Jeff