Week 17 at a Glance
Intro:
Here we are, at the end of the semester. I hope you had a great semester, and enjoyed this class. This chapter bundles up a few different things. The first is how to build a new Linux kernel. I used to do this a lot, but haven't as much. Now a days, there are ways to enable extra functionality without needing to rebuild the kernel. Still, it's fun to do.
The chapter also goes over performance measuring and tuning. I use hdparam on my own systems to spin down my hard drives on my server after they haven't been used in a while. I also will use the tools when I think one of the department's servers is not performing well. The book doesn't mention "dmesg", but I find that tool invaluable - telling me what happened recently.
Finally, the chapter goes over entering single-user mode and using the bootloader (called "grub"). On my home system, I run into issues with grub a couple of times a year (mostly when the /boot partion fills up, ugh). Learning how to deal with grub and a failed bootup is also important.