CentOS release 5.6 (Final)
2.6.18-238.el5 #1 SMP Thu Jan 13 16:24:47 EST 2011 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux

I have a serial port server (Equinox SST) for which drivers are distributed as source, and require that kernel source is available.

I followed the instructions on http://tutorial.ahfai.com/2011/04/re...rnel-2618.html (except substituting kernel-2.6.18-238.el5.centos.plus.src.rpm for the kernel source package) Everything appeared to go as expected (including the "warning: user mockbuild does not exist message), but at the end the package does not show up in rpm -qa.

Is that normal, or did I miss something along the way? Is kernel-2.6.18-238.el5.centos.plus.src.rpm the correct kernel source package for this release?

After reading http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...source-500160/, I see that kernel-headers-2.6.18-238.el5 and kernel-devel-2.6.18-238.el5 are installed. Should I be good to go for kernel source?

The Equinox driver install is failing, and I want to make sure that I've got kernel source properly installed before I contact their tech support.

Isn't this kind of an old source for the kernel? I don't have he serial port server but it might be an issue of old kernel source. I am not sure though.

- Raj

The installation instructions are the one from the serial device manufacture? The are speaking of netatalk which is for services for Macs.

@Rupadhya: I'm using 5.6 (because that's the newest release that's on the hardware vendors HCL.) If the version on the source rpm matches the kernel reported by uname, wouldn't that be the right source for my kernel, or am I misunderstanding something?

@Reuti: Sorry, I should have been more clear. I was just taking the first four steps from this to install kernel source.

Actually, you don't need the .src.rpm; that's for building an rpm.
What you need are the kernel-devel and kernel-header pkgs instead
You can use the 'yum search ...' and/or 'yum info ...' cmds to get the exact pkg names.
http://linux.die.net/man/8/yum

On my Centos 6.3, pkg names are kernel-headers, kernel-devel.
HTH

2 members found this post helpful.

OK. I've got kernel-devel and kernel-header installed, so it sounds like I'm good to go, and I can call the vendor and ask why the driver won't install.

Thanks!
(Rep points added.)

Is a packages built by the procedure from Equinox – is the documentation online? Often vendors just build a kernel module and copy it to the target location in the modules directory for the actual kernel.

This is the documentation for installing the driver:

http://www.connectivity.avocent.com/...eqnx_4.12d.asp

centos 5.6 IS UNSUPPORTED
and is ill advised to be using
5.6 will NEVER ever receive any security updates
it is DEAD

5.8 is the only version in the older 5 series that is supported


but if you must do something that is NOT recommended
-- you have been warned ---

the old and unsupported rpms are in the historic vault
you will have to MANUALLY point cent5.6 repo files to the archives
---- to quote the README that is the place holder for the 5.6 mirrors
though it is NOT recommended to do this


it IS recommended to upgrade to the current 5.8

Unfortunately, 5.8 is not on HP's HCL for this server (and I tried it, and the RAID controller won't work under 5.8)

I am, as far as I can tell, completely stuck at 5.6.

This system will not have Internet access, which mitigates the security update issue.

but 5 is

red hat - and hence CentOS
dose NOT change any major versions of programs in ANY minor version
Please read the red hat documents
the ( now getting a bit older ) 5 series has a few more years of life before it is retired

if you are that stuck and MUST ONLY use 5.6
call red hat
buy a redhat server license ( $349 to over #3600 PER year) and have them backport updates to 5.6



programs wrote for 5.6 will run on 5.8
and any slightly old hardware that WORKS on a old minor version WILL work on a newer minor version

and mostlikley will also run the CURRENT 6.3 also


or stay with a version that will never get updates
for any older kernel source you will have to edit the centos base and update repo text file to point to the "vault" historical archive

While programs written for 5.6 may run on 5.8, there appears to be something different about the install. The driver for the RAID loads correctly during the 5.6 install, but not during the 5.8 install.

A RedHat license is absolutely not in the budget for this project (hence CentOS.)

As I mentioned before, this system will not have Internet access, which both mitigates the security update issue and limits the benefit of updating the repo text file (the machine can't get to a repo to update.)

I understand the implications. If I had a couple weeks to work on this, or if this system were going to have Internet access, I would work at getting the RAID controller driver to work on 5.8, but I believe the cost outweighs the benefit in this case.


As a side note to HP, who the heck makes a hardware RAID card where you need a driver to see the logical drive (as opposed to needing a driver to see the individual physical drives?) You need to see the logical drive for the RAID to work at all. You only need to see the physical drives for low-level diagnostics and repairs! You just mostly killed the benefit of hardware RAID over software RAID.

Maybe it’s one of these fake-RAID cards, where the hardware just helps booting and later on it switches to a software RAID.