Users Guide
140 Installing Managed System Software on Supported Linux Operating Systems
Dynamic Kernel Support Prerequisites
For managed system software to use DKS, the following dependencies must
be met before starting Server Administrator.
• The running kernel must have loadable module support enabled.
• The source for building kernel modules for the running kernel must be
available from
/lib/modules/`uname –r`/build
. On systems running SUSE
Linux Enterprise Server (versions 9 and 10), the
kernel-source
RPM
provides the necessary kernel source. On systems running Red Hat
Enterprise Linux (version 4), the
kernel -devel
RPMs provide the
necessary kernel source for building kernel modules.
• The GNU make utility must be installed. The
make
RPM provides this utility.
• The GNU C compiler (gcc) must be installed. The
gcc
RPM provides this
compiler.
• The GNU linker (ld) must be installed. The
binutils
RPM provides this linker.
When these prerequisites have been met, DKS will automatically build a
device driver when needed during Server Administrator startup.
Using Dynamic Kernel Support After Server Administrator Installation
To enable Server Administrator to support a kernel that is not supported by a
precompiled device driver and is loaded after Server Administrator has been
installed, perform the following steps: Ensure that the DKS prerequisites are
met on the system to be managed and boot the new kernel on the system.
Server Administrator builds a device driver for the kernel running on the
system the first time that Server Administrator starts after the kernel is loaded.
By default, Server Administrator starts during system startup.
Copying a Dynamically Built Device Driver to Systems Running the Same Kernel
When Server Administrator dynamically builds a device driver for the
running kernel, it installs the device driver into the
/lib/modules/<kernel>/kernel/drivers/firmware directory, where <kernel> is
the kernel name (returned by typing uname -r). If you have a system
running the same kernel for which a device driver was built, you can copy the
newly built device driver to the /var/omsa/dks/<kernel> directory on the other