How do I apply a patch to my Linux kernel?

I am trying to compile the iscsi-target software SCST. It wants me to apply a patch to my Linux kernel in order to allow for certain performance gains. The problem is I still new to Linux development. Where do I begin? How do I apply the patch? Do I need to recompile the kernel? Help!

I am running Ubuntu 10.04.3 amd64

Kernel version 2.6.32-28-server

1

1 Answer

Your Linux distribution usually has its own instructions. Search their website or ask on IRC – or at least tell us the distro; without knowing it, it's impossible to provide a reliable anwer.

• Arch Linux:
• CentOS:
• Debian: , ,
• Fedora:
• Ubuntu:

---

The generic instructions are:

1. Download the kernel source from Kernel.org. "Stable" is probably the best choice. Extract to a convenient place (I use ~/src/linux).

   • Read the file named README.

2. Once inside the source directory, copy the current kernel's configuration, with:
   zcat /proc/config.gz > .config

   If /proc doesn't have it, look for /boot/config-[version] instead.

3. Apply the patch, with:
   patch -p1 < foo.patch (try -p0 if it gets rejected).

4. Compile the kernel with:
   make silentoldconfig
make

5. Install the modules with:
   sudo make modules_install

6. Install the kernel image .../linux/arch/i386/boot/bzImage to wherever your bootloader wants it. (For example, /boot/vmlinuz-custom.)

7. Build an initramfs for the new kernel, if your distribution uses it, and again make sure the bootloader knows its location. For example, on Arch Linux you would use:
   mkinitcpio -k /boot/vmlinuz-custom -g /boot/initramfs-custom

3

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Sign up using Google Sign up using Facebook Sign up using Email and Password Submit

Post as a guest

Post Your Answer Discard

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy