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Re: Brief question as to the Linux kernel in use in the Stable version of Etch

From: Douglas A. Tutty <dtutty(at)porchlight.ca>
Date: Sun Jan 27 2008 - 15:58:03 EST

On Sun, Jan 27, 2008 at 12:48:52AM -0500, dick thompson wrote:
> I have looked all through the info and the best I can find is that Etch
> uses version 2.6.18 of the Linux kernel. Since the stable version was
> put out there in the early part of Jan 2008, that seems like a very old
> version to be releasing. Am I right that this is the version in use?

Yes. Newer kernels exist but haven't been as thoroughly tested. This is what you get with stable: a box that doesn't break and the only changes are security updates (possibly backported from more recent versions).

Other Linux Distros have a faster release cycle but loose the Debian advantage of not having things break if you stay with stable over the years: never having to reinstall (unless the hardware dies). I've heard comments here about Ubuntu's breakage during upgrade; I've never tried it.

> If so that does not support my ethernet connection and I will have to
> look elsewhere for a Linux to use.

Having bleeding-edge hardware can be like that. I bought a new computer a year ago when Etch was at beta3 (pre-Release Candiadate 1). Sarge (then stable, now old-stable) wouldn't work so I went with Etch (then Testing). It wasn't totally comfortable.

You could also broaden your search beyond Linux to, e.g. OpenBSD. Have a look at their FAQ and the install.txt that lists exactly what hardware works and what doesn't. Check their on-line man page for the Atheros driver (try apropos on the online page).

>
> My ethernet adapter is an ATTANSIC Gigabyte L1 (also released since the
> takeover of ATTANSIC by ATHEROS as the ATHEROS Gigabyte L1. From what I
> have been able to find out the earliest kernel supporting this adapter
> is the 2.6.22. That is the reason I am asking as I would like to take a
> good look at Debian but if I can't connect to the ethernet with it then
> it is useless to me. This is also the problem I have with PCLinuxOS as
> it also uses this version of the kernel. Ubuntu, Sabayon, Slackware,
> etc all use more recent versions so I can use them but I really am
> trying as many distros as I can to find the one I want to stick with.

Unless you are connecting to a Gigabyte network, pick yourself up a spare ethernet card. Plain wired 10/100 ethernet cards generally work for all distros and OSs. This is probably the simplest solution.

Do you need help?

Good luck.

Doug.

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Received on Sun Jan 27 16:05:31 2008

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