How to build kernel RPM without rebuilding the whole thing every time

JoeyAdams · 06-21-2008, 11:50 AM

I want to do testing and tweaking of the Linux kernel code on my Fedora 9 system. The way it's set up, if I use rpmbuild -ba kernel.spec or run make rpm from the source directory, it rebuilds everything every time. Is there a way I can tweak it so it only builds what needs to be built while still giving me a usable kernel/initrd pair? I would think plenty of kernel hackers would know how to do this, or they just have really fast CPUs

AleLinuxBSD · 06-21-2008, 02:04 PM

You could modify the make file but i don't think is simple, especially for kernel package.

You could saving time during the compilation but it would remain the problem of linking phase (which is much longer).

syg00 · 06-22-2008, 08:15 PM

I wouldn't think many would even attempt this if regularly updating the kernel - last run maybe to prove it all works as expected, and builds correctly.
I run my own config when testing (not Redhat/Fedora admittedly). No modules, no initrd, just built for my particular configuration. Doesn't take too long - quad core does help things along tho'. I am expecting to try on Fedora at some stage.