Unix and Linux → new kernel install

If I download the latest kernel from redhat using the redhat updater, will I have to do something in particular to implement it, or will redhat automatically do this for me?

Red Hat will do everything, all you have to do is reboot.

I personally prefer downloading the source and compiling it yourself, that way you could deselect the options you do not need/require.

said by howe81:

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that way you could deselect the options you do not need/require.

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And how do you do this?

Either download the kernel-source-2.x.x-xx.ixxx.rpm from Red Hat or download the gzipped tarball from Kernel.org

Then follow the instructions on how to configure and compile the kernel source here.

I agree with howe81 on this. You usually get a lot of junk compiled into the kernel when you first install. I managed to decrease the kernel by half when I only put in the options I needed. This feature is one of the best things about Linux.

This is a quote from the Redhat Support page about kernel upgrading.....

"Up2date Users: Unless you are using up2date version 2.5.4 or higher, do not use up2date to
automatically upgrade kernel packages."

FYI

Also, bear in mind that the ntfs support module in kernel 2.4.9 at »www.kernel.org seems to be broken somehow and will give you errors if you try to compile it either as a module or linked to the kernel itself. I was finally able to compile the 2.4.9 kernel by disabling ntfs support.

... if you want to see the error, visit this thread