Kernel configuration options

[M. Edward (Ed) Borasky]

John Richard Moser wrote:
> I'm also noticing some things like KALLSYMS and BUG(), BSD process 
> accounting, and the like.  KALLSYMS, BUG(), and printk() are useful; on 
> a true embedded device I'd say remove 'em but I can't justify it here... 
> BSD process accounting and auditd support though?

Yeah ... I run stuff like that in *my* kernels, but I'm a kernel geek.
Does that stuff need to be in a machine in a village school in Rwanda?

P.S.: I do know a Red Hat geek in Nigeria. :)

> 
> In the same line, a lot of debugging options are in use.  I'm using 
> Build 653, I guess it may be a developer's build and thus there's a lot 
> of debugging stuff; but in the final should things like CONFIG_PROFILING 
> , CONFIG_KPROBES, CONFIG_DEBUG_FS, CONFIG_UNUSED_SYMBOLS, 
> CONFIG_SCHEDSTATS, CONFIG_TIMER_STATS, CONFIG_DEBUG_PREEMPT, 
> CONFIG_DEBUG_SPINLOCK ... be removed?

I think I agree with you here with the possible exception of
CONFIG_PROFILING aka "oprofile support".

> 
> Finally, I'm noticing a lot of stuff can be built as modules, but is 
> built in.  Networking in its entirety; sound drivers; mouse; and USB 
> (the mouse looks like it's PS2) can be loaded by HAL and UDEV, but this 
> will increase boot time (then again, HAL apparently needs to be fixed 
> anyway[2], so this could be encouraging?).  More interesting to me 
> however is that EXT2, EXT3, Joliet, ZISOFS, RAMFS, NFS, and possibly 
> PROMFS because I don't think JFFS2 depends on it BUT I'm not sure if 
> it's used at some point before it can be loaded as a module.

I'd keep as much as possible that's XO-specific and *always* going to be
loaded built in. You're always going to need sound, mouse and keyboard,
wireless and video, and I'd keep the core USB stuff built in as well,
since that's really the only way to talk to the machine besides
wireless. But the rest of it should be built as modules.

The filesystems should be there (as modules). The XO is going to be
talking to school servers, and there's no point in ruling out NFS,
Samba, plugging in an external USB DVD reader/writer, etc. Again, the
question is, "would a village in Rwanda format a USB stick ext3?" :)