Using xconfig to Configure the Kernel
For simplicity's sake, during this brisk walkthrough, we assume that you are using make xconfig. Prior to this point, we also assume that you have completed the first five steps in the kernel compilation checklist shown previously.
As you learned in the preceding section, you configure the kernel using make xconfig by making choices in several configuration subsection windows. Each subsection window contains specific kernel options. With hundreds of choices, the kernel is daunting to configure. We cannot really offer you detailed descriptions of which options to choose because your configuration will not match our own system and setup.
Table 36.1 provides a brief description of each subsection's options so that you can get an idea of what you might encounter. We recommend that you copy your kernel's .config file to /usr/src/kernels/linux-2.6 and run make xconfig from there. Explore all the options. As long as you do not save the file, absolutely nothing will be changed on your system.
TABLE 36.1 Kernel Subsections for Configuration
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Code maturity level options | Enables development code to be compiled into the kernel even if it has been marked as obsolete or as testing code only. This option should only be used by kernel developers or testers because of the possible unusable state of the code during development. |
| General setup | Contains several different options covering how the kernel talks to the BIOS, whether it should support PCI or PCMCIA, whether it should use APM or ACPI, and what kind of Linux binary formats will be supported. Contains several options for supporting kernel structures necessary to run binaries compiled for other systems directly without recompiling the program. |
| Loadable module support | Determines whether the kernel enables drivers and other nonessential code to be compiled as loadable modules that can be loaded and unloaded at runtime. This option keeps the basic kernel small so that it can run and respond more quickly; in that regard, choosing this option is generally a good idea. |
| Processor type and features | Several options dealing with the architecture that will be running the kernel. |
| Power management options | Options dealing with ACPI and APM power management features. |
| Bus options | Configuration options for the PCMCIA bus found in laptops and PCI hotplug devices. |
| Memory Technology Devices (MTDs) | Options for supporting flash memory devices, such as EEPROMS. Generally, these devices are used in embedded systems. |
| Parallel port support | Several options for configuring how the kernel will support parallel port communications. |
| Plug-and-play configuration | Options for supporting Plug and Play PCI, ISA, and plug-and-play BIOS support. Generally, it is a good idea to support plug-and-play for PCI and ISA devices. |
| Block devices | Section dealing with devices that communicate with the kernel in blocks of characters instead of streams. This includes IDE and ATAPI devices connected via parallel ports, as well as enabling network devices to communicate as block devices. |
| ATA/IDE/MFM/RLL support | Large collection of options to configure the kernel to communicate using different types of data communication protocols to talk to mass storage devices, such as hard drives. Note that this section does not cover SCSI. |
| SCSI device support | Options for configuring the kernel to support Small Computer Systems Interface. This subsection covers drivers for specific cards, chipsets, and tunable parameters for the SCSI protocol. |
| Old CD-ROM drivers | Configuration options to support obscure, older CD-ROM devices that do not conform to the SCSI or IDE standards. These are typically older CD-ROM drivers that are usually a proprietary type of SCSI (not SCSI, not IDE). |
| Multi-device support | Options for enabling the kernel to support RAID devices in (RAID and LVM) software emulation and the different levels of RAID. Also contains options for support of a logical volume manager. |
