Users Guide

88 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, the

kernel-source

RPM provides the necessary

kernel source. On systems running Red Hat Enterprise Linux, 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/drivers/firmware directory, where

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