Hi all

I usually just use vanilla kernels on my debian and slackware servers, but I know even debian stock kernels have patches. What are the normal patches to apply, if any, and are there any advanced kernel patches for server or enterprise servers, to make the kernel perform? I used to think the vanilla kernels didn't need any patching? Any advice is welcome

-petter-

PS! The kernels are used on workstations and servers.

For a enterprise servers security should be a top priority. Lot's of third-party patches exist in this field. You might want to take a look, for an instance, PaX[1] and Grsecurity[2], or if the performance (without knowing anything about the purposes of the servers) is a concern, you might want to take a look, again for an instance, the patches provided by Con Kolivas.[3] Nevertheless, my personal opinion is that vanilla is always vanilla, while overpatched kernels can be worse than kernels without no patches at all.

[1] http://pax.grsecurity.net/
[2] http://grsecurity.net/
[3] http://members.optusnet.com.au/ckolivas/kernel/

Ok, thank you, I'll have a look.