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g · Linux & UnixCurated

SuSE Linux 7.1 with kernel 2.4 from 10 February

Summary

In January 2001 SuSE announced that it would ship SuSE Linux 7.1 on 10 February with the newly released kernel 2.4. The new kernel brought better multiprocessor operation, up to 64 GByte of memory addressing, a 64-bit file system and better USB, ISA plug-and-play and ACPI support. The proven kernel 2.2.18 was included as well, along with glibc 2.2 and KDE 2.0.1.

Ideas

  • A distribution offered a choice between a new and a proven kernel.
  • Kernel 2.4 above all improved hardware support for desktops and notebooks.
  • USB support was also backported to the older 2.2 series.
  • RPM packages signed with GnuPG were meant to secure system updates.

Insights

  • Distributions cushion the risk of new kernels by shipping alternatives.
  • In the early 2000s, USB and ACPI were the keys to Linux on the desktop.

Facts

  • Kernel 2.4 supported up to 64 GByte of RAM.
  • Kernel 2.2.18 brought NFS version 3 and support for the Pentium 4.
  • SuSE Linux 7.1 Personal cost 89 DM, the Professional version 129 DM.

References

Critique

  • As a product announcement, the report only lists features and no experience with the very new kernel.

Recommendations

  • Deploy new major kernel versions on test systems first and keep a proven kernel ready as a fallback.
  • Configure the boot loader so that an older kernel remains selectable.

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