lfs-book/prologue/hostreqs.xml

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<sect1 id="pre-hostreqs">
<title>Host System Requirements</title>
<?dbhtml filename="hostreqs.html"?>

<para>The host must be running at least a 2.6.2 kernel compiled with GCC-3.0 or
higher. There are two main reasons for this requirement. First, the Native POSIX
Threading Library (NPTL) test suite will segfault if the host's kernel has not
been compiled with GCC-3.0 or a later version. Secondly, the 2.6.2 or later
version of the kernel is required for the use of Udev. Udev creates devices
dynamically by reading from the <systemitem
class="filesystem">sysfs</systemitem> file system. However, support for this
filesystem has only recently been implemented in most of the kernel drivers. We
must be sure that all critical system devices get created properly.</para>

<para>In order to determine whether the host kernel meets the
requirements outlined above, run the following command:</para>

<screen><userinput>cat /proc/version</userinput></screen>

<para>This will produce output similar to:</para>

<screen><computeroutput>Linux version 2.6.2 (user@host) (gcc version 3.4.0) #1
    Tue Apr 20 21:22:18 GMT 2004</computeroutput></screen>

<para>If the results of the above command do not state that the host kernel is
either 2.6.2 (or later), or that it was not compiled using a GCC-3.0 (or later)
compiler, one will need to be installed. There are two methods you can take to
solve this. First, see if your Linux vendor provides a 2.6.2 (or later) kernel
package. If so, you may wish to install it. If your vendor doesn't offer a 2.6.2
(or later) kernel package, or you would prefer not to install it, then you can
compile a 2.6 kernel yourself. Instructions for compiling the kernel and
configuring the boot loader (assuming the host uses GRUB) are located in <xref
linkend="chapter-bootable"/>. This second option can also been seen as a gauge
of your current Linux skills. If this second requirement is too steep then the
LFS book will not likely be much use to you at this time.</para>

</sect1>