Re: most lightweight debian server

paragasu wrote:

i will love to find out all the option available. I just one to ask one more thing. i hope it
is not too much. Isn't the kernel have modular support. able to load and unload the
needed and unneeded modules on the fly?
How much is the improvement compare to the strip down version of kernel compared
to the modular version in term of performance? (i know disk space is out of question,
strip down produce small kernel size)


The kernel itself it not especially modular. However, there are many, many options to leave unnecessary code out of it.

The device drivers are the exception. The kernel was improved a long time ago to allow the loading of drivers as modules. Unloading has been possible, but it had to be done explicitly. Now the kernel can be configured to load and unload modules automatically. Be sure and enable that option when you are configuring your version of the kernel. (Well, maybe. That option will make the kernel bigger. It might be better to load and unload modules manually. Hmmmmm...)

The size of the kernel isn't the only factor. Many things require "kernel memory". The kernel keeps housekeeping information. For instance, the scheduler needs to keep track of how recently a thread has had the CPU (to prevent starvation). A simpler scheduler may use less memory, because it keeps track of fewer statistics.

All of these things I mentioned are merely examples. Other people can advise you better on the specific things you need to be considering.

--
Mark Allums


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