Chapter 30. Upgrading the Kernel

The Red Hat Linux kernel is custom built by the Red Hat kernel team to ensure its integrity and compatibility with supported hardware. Before Red Hat releases a kernel, it must first pass a rigorous set of quality assurance tests.

Red Hat Linux kernels are packaged in RPM format so that they are easy to upgrade and verify. For example, when the kernel RPM package distributed by Red Hat, Inc. is installed, an initrd image is created; thus, it is not necessary to use the mkinitrd command after installing a different kernel. It also modifies the boot loader configuration file to include the new kernel if either GRUB or LILO is installed.

This chapter discusses the steps necessary to upgrade the kernel on an x86 system only.

	Warning
	Building a custom kernel is not supported by the Red Hat Linux Installation Support Team. For more information on building a custom kernel from the source code, refer to Appendix A Building a Custom Kernel.