kernel upgrades

[mdulcey at pryder.pn.com (Mark J. Dulcey)]

On Thu, 14 Mar 1996, Derek Atkins wrote:

> > ok kernel kowpersons if I want to upgrade from kernel rev 1.2.8 to kernel
> > rev 1.3.72 how much do I need to change?
> 
> I would recommend that you only upgrade to 1.2.13 unless you really
> need to use features that exist in the 1.3 development kernels.
> 
> As for what you need to upgrade, theoretically all you should need
> toupgrade is the kernel itself.  However you may need to upgrade
> applications which use kernel features, like ipfw, multicast, etc.

Actually, the 1.3 kernels are pretty stable now.  There are potentially a 
number of good reasons to upgrade, including support for new network and 
sound cards, and support for SMB and AppleTalk protocols in the main 
kernel sources.

There are a couple of things besides the kernel that you have to replace 
if you upgrade; for example, the old versions of ps and top got broken 
somewhere in the fifties, and PPP and FTape were broken by 1.3.33.  New 
versions of these things ONLY work with new kernels unless you apply 
patches to 1.2.13, making another good reason to upgrade (if you want 
FTape support for Travan drives, for example).