Hi all,

I have just upgraded from kernel 2.4.28 to 2.6.15.5. I am running a low end Pentium 90 as a home print/backup server. The upgrade went smoothly, however, during kernel configuration, it struck me that modules are not very useful in my situation, but I'd like an expert opinion:

the way I see it (and please correct me if I am wrong), modules are good for little used features, in that they can be loaded as needed, and thus saving memory. However, after they are loaded, they take up the same memory as if they had been built in, right? And unless you unload the modules (is this straightforward?), you won't get that memory back. A computer with 'common' day-to-day use (internet surfing, mail checking, document writing...), will gradually load modules as features get requested but will start fresh after each reboot.
In a server such as mine, reboots are very rare; in addition, there are not that many little-used-features (you either need it or not). So, is it worth the hassle of loading/unloading modules or should I build it all in the kernel?

Currently I have a kernel without module support. With all the features I figure I might come to need the kernel is about 1700KB. Is this too much? I do have a relatively large amount of RAM (256MB) and everything is running very smoothly (I guess disabling module suport must also relieve the kernel a bit, right?). The only problem seems to be ALSA not detecting my soundcard (it was detected fine by OSS with the previous 2.4 kernel). Must the soundcard driver be compiled as a module?

I'd appreciate some feedback on this, please!

Thanks all

big_manel

There is little practical difference except for security. If a hacker gets in, you may not want certain modules laying around for him to load. Generally speaking, it is easier to harden a server if there is nothing but the essentials hanging around. In the days when RAM and HD space were short, the space occupied by modules may have been worth struggling with, but in your case, it makes little difference, unless you need the practice configuring things.

Thanks Robert! I'll keep with the monolythic kernel, then

However, if others disagree, please post back! It would be good to hear every side of this (assuming there is more than one side!).

Thanks!
PS: still struggling with ALSA to find my card...