* 1stFlight ! <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> Hey I'm getting ready to compile yet another kernel then it hits me,
> why are some things compiled as modules and others into the kernel? If
> I'm running a box with 128MB of ram does it really matter how large my
> kernel gets? How about if I've only got 32MB ? Is it faster to have
> some things run in the kernel? Please advise...thanks!
Things that have to run before the system has fully booted such as
ext2 filesystem, IDE, etc need to be compiled into the kernel, pretty
well anything else can go as modules.
The amount of RAM you have doesn't make much difference. The kernel
has to be under a certain size so it can boot. The Linux kernel
starts up in 16 bit mode (so it is restricted to 640k) then once the
system is up it switches to 32 bit mode. At least that is my
understanding anyway. And the best way to keep your kernel size down
is to use modules.
Yes there would be speed differences but I doubt that you would notice
if you have a reasonable system.
--
---Regards, Steve Youngs--------Email:-<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>---
| If Microsoft is the answer, then all I can say is that |
| you are asking the wrong question. |
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