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unavailable. To resolve this bootstrapping problem, module-based disk device driver support is
placed into a gzipped file system image, which the kernel can load into RAM early in the boot
process. This RAM disk then becomes the basis from which the kernel gains access (through the
disk device driver module) to the hard disk.
The problem that arises when rebuilding a kernel for SMP is that all modules, including the disk
device driver module, must also be rebuilt for SMP. This means that the initrd file must be
modified so that the compressed file system image contains an appropriate device driver.
Caldera Systems, Inc. web site,
www.calderasystems.com/support/techguide/COL12-Kernel-
Rebuild-7.html
, offers helpful information on how to build this initial RAM disk. It also gives
complete information on how to reconstruct an initrd compressed kernel image with new device
driver modules. You should refer to this site for more detailed information.
Note: Keep an intact copy of the initrd file used as a basis to build an SMP-compliant initrd, and
a non-SMP kernel can still reference it for booting in case the SMP kernel fails to boot properly.
Note: Not every Linux system is setup with an initrd compressed file system image named
initrd.gz. Examine the /etc/lilo.conf file to discover the name and location of this compressed file
image. If there is no initrd tag in /etc/lilo.conf, then there is no compressed file system image to
reconstruct for SMP. In this case, appropriate disk driver support should be built directly into the
kernel.
Apache Installation
All of the distributions examined here allow you to install the Apache web server using the basic
installation program. Once completed and the TCP/IP networking is properly set up, the Apache
web server should function. More detailed information can be found in this guide in the section
“Apache Server ”. This information is mostly offered through links to other Solutions Guides.
