CentOS 7.1 vs Generic Steps - kernel version is not the same

[rshal2]

Hello,

Media sdk server start guide presetnt to options for the install:

1. CentOS 7.1  steps (using centOs kernel 3.10.0)
2. generic steps using 3.14.5

I find it difficult to understand why the kernel version in these steps is different.

Shouldn't it be identical kernel version ?

Regards,

Ran

[Jeffrey_M_Intel1 · Accepted solution]

Hi Ran, 

There are two different install paths:

1. Gold: All patches are backported to the default kernel of our "gold" release configuration.  For Media Server Studio 2015 R6 this is CentOS 7.1's 3.10 kernel, which has a lot of other customizations and does not correspond to any kernel.org release.

2. Generic: Intel provides patches for a specific kernel.org release.  For Media Server Studio R6 this is 3.14.5, but this will move closer to the tip periodically.

It is of course possible to update CentOS 7.1's kernel to 3.14.5.  Generic installs work fine on CentOS 7.1 too.  So you're right, there could be just one kernel and one install path.  However, since updating the kernel involves a lot of changes many prefer a more localized update approach to reduce the possibility of other system problems due to unrelated updates.  The basic strategy is to pick one configuration for targeted updates and have the "generic" approach for everything else.    If you are OK with updating to the generic kernel and can accept the Generic support limitations then you could use Generic everywhere.  However, for full support issues need to be reproducible in gold. 

[rshal2]

Hi Jeffrey,

Thanks for this clarifications.

Where can I find announcements for more updated kernel version support with media sdk ?

I am interested in kernel version which support large contigious memory allocations.

We need to support HD support (1920x1080x8x1.5 ~= 23MB) with x86 64-bit, and I think that the support for that only appears in more recent kernel version.

Regards,

Ran

[Jeffrey_M_Intel1]

This forum is the right place to look for announcements.  The kernel version (at least for Generic) is likely to move significantly forward in releases later this year.  We will post more details as soon as they are available.

[rshal2]

Hi,

As to the generic kernel verison, I understand that it is not the golden verion (Centos 3.10.0), so which linux distribution can be used with it  (CentOs/Ubuntu/Other ) ?

Thank you very much !

Ran

[Jeffrey_M_Intel1]

Hi Ran,

The intent of the Generic package is to give a starting point for working with a wide variety of distros.  I've personally tested the 3.14.5 starting point kernel in many environments, including several versions of CentOS, Ubuntu, Mint, etc.  The main thing to watch for is that glibc must be >= 2.12.  (Your gcc version may need to be updated but that is more manageable.)  You can check glibc with 'ldd --version', and it is also listed for many distros at sites like distrowatch.