Packaging the Linux kernel has always been an area of special concern for Red Hat, which makes up its own mind about which release to use and which improvements to consider for inclusion in its custom releases.
Sitting at the heart of every Linux OS distribution is a Linux kernel. When it comes
to the upcoming Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 6 release, the issue of which kernel is
being used is not a cut and dried answer, however.
RHEL 6 is currently
in its first beta release, with a feature freeze now in place. Currently, the
mainline Linux kernel is nearing its 2.6.34 release, while the most recent stable release
is
the 2.6.33 release, which came out in February. But instead of either sticking with
the 2.6.33 Linux kernel or holding out for 2.6.34, Red Hat is taking a different
approach.
“We do have pieces of 2.6.34, as well as the preceding kernel versions in RHEL 6,” Tim
Burke, vice president of platform engineering at Red Hat, told InternetNews.com.
“So there is no one ‘kernel version’ number that accurately represents the RHEL 6 kernel.
We take what is upstream; if there are pieces that are not mature, we disable them so
they don’t disrupt things; and there are some technology pieces that are further ahead
that we pull in.”
As a result of RHEL’s approach, its kernel is a hybrid of best-of-breed technologies.
And it’s in keeping with earlier Red Hat releases.
Read “The Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Kernel: What Is It?” at ServerWatch
