Re: Switching Kernels without Rebooting?

H. Peter Anvin
2001-07-11T19:13:06Z

Followup to: <JKEGJJAJPOLNIFPAEDHLGEEFDFAA.laramie.leavitt@btinternet.com>
By author: "Laramie Leavitt" <laramie.leavitt@btinternet.com>
In newsgroup: linux.dev.kernel
>
> So if the Two Kernel Monte patch was combined with the
> system suspend/resume in swap patch then you add some
> transitions so that the code path does this:
>
> 1- Suspend->Monte
> 2- Monte->Load new Kernel
> 3- Load->Resume.
>
> If it was just for very similar kernels, i.e. most
> -pre and -ac kernels it would probably work fine.
> If not, then you could just do the Monte route.
>

The problem is that "freezing" the kernel state and then
reconstructing it into a form USABLE BY ANOTHER KERNEL (not even
necessarily another kernel version) is unbelievably hard; furthermore,
it imposes a severe constrains about the kind of changes you're
allowed to make during your kernel development.

It's a bad idea, folks. Give it up.

-hpa

--
<hpa@transmeta.com> at work, <hpa@zytor.com> in private!
"Unix gives you enough rope to shoot yourself in the foot."