source: chapter05/hostreqs.xml@ 083c9f8

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<sect1 id="ch-tools-hostreqs">
<title>Host System Requirements</title>
<?dbhtml filename="hostreqs.html"?>

<para>The host must be running at least a 2.6.2 kernel compiled with
GCC-3.0 or higher. There are two main reasons for this high
requirement. First, the Native POSIX Threading Library (NPTL)
test suite will segfault if the host's kernel has not been compiled with
GCC-3.0 or a later version. Secondly, the 2.6.2 or later version of
the kernel is required for the use of Udev. Udev creates devices
dynamically by reading from the <systemitem
class="filesystem">sysfs</systemitem> file system. However, support
for this filesystem has only recently been implemented in most of
the kernel drivers. We must be sure that all critical system devices
get created properly.</para>

<para>In order to determine whether the host kernel meets the
requirements outlined above, run the following command:</para>

<screen><userinput>cat /proc/version</userinput></screen>

<para>This will produce output similar to:</para>

<screen><computeroutput>Linux version 2.6.2 (user@host) (gcc version 3.4.0) #1
    Tue Apr 20 21:22:18 GMT 2004</computeroutput></screen>

<para>If the results of the above command state that the host kernel
was not compiled using a GCC-3.0 (or later) compiler, one will need to
be compiled.  The host system will then need to be rebooted to use the
newly compiled kernel. Instructions for compiling the kernel and
configuring the boot loader (assuming the host uses GRUB) are located
in <xref linkend="chapter-bootable"/>.</para>

</sect1>