IMPI on Debian ( 2650)

[Christophe Chisogne]

Matt Domsch wrote:
> I recognize Debian's "stable uber alles" mantra means they don't
> regularly publish kernel updates, especially just to update drivers,
> but you can pretty easily find newer kernels posted on the net for
> Debian, or can build them from kernel.org yourself.

About Debian Stable (Sarge) and recent kernels (2.6.12+)...

You can use recent packages even on Debian Stable (Sarge), by using
a backports repository like backports.org (or  dotdeb.org for LAMP).
Especially to get newer kernels : it's sometimes mandatory to do it,
to get recent hardware support (like those found on Dell boxes)

But if you upgrade Sarge to a recent kernel (ie 2.6.12+ or 2.6.15+),
then be carefull : you'll have to upgrade some other packages too
(at least udev) and install initramfs-tool iirc. Otherwise, there's
a risk to get a system that can't reboot (ex can't mount root fs
because a too old udev means missing /dev entries). It's also possible
to install Sarge with a recent kernel image, thanks to custom 
NetInst CD images -- see http://kmuto.jp/debian/d-i/

If you feel more adventurous, you can upgrade to Debian Testing (Etch)
to get more recent packages (kernel, apache, mysql, php etc), as there
is now a minimal security support for Etch. But that means losing
the advantages of running Debian Stable (better security, stability, etc)

My 2 cents,

Ch.