On Fri, Aug 03, 2007 at 12:25:15PM -0400, Douglas Allan Tutty wrote: > On Fri, Aug 03, 2007 at 05:54:57PM +0300, Andrei Popescu wrote: > > On Thu, Aug 02, 2007 at 08:34:00PM -0400, Douglas Allan Tutty wrote: > > > > > However, don't all those modules in the initrd end up staying in the > > > kernel anyway, or do they get unloaded during boot? If they stay, and > > > 'most' modules get added, how is that different than having a huge > > > monolithic kernel? It may not matter on a box with huge memory, but I > > > have mostly small-memory boxes. > > > > I may be wrong, but I think that only the needed modules are actually > > loaded.
I think this is correct, only the needed modules are actually loaded into the kernel. The initrd makes the *available* for loading. And when / pivots, I think the initrd memory gets freed. So its really only an issue during the initial bootstrap. A really large initrd on a memory-bound machine could get in the way. A really large initrd on an I/O bound machine can take a long time to load in. But, IMO, for general purpose machines, its not a big deal. > > > > > As for xorg-video-foo, that's why I don't install the xorg metapackage. > > > I choose from its dependencies what I need. > > > > Same here > > All these extra packages together take a lot of disk space, a lot of > download bandwidth to install and maintain. yeah, the extra packages definitely are an issue. I'm not so sure tht the extra kernel modules are all that big a deal in the long run. but that's just a gut feeling. > > > > > > /rant > > > > > > There's a growing kitchen-sink approach in Debian (perhaps all of Linux, > > > I don't know). There's the kernel/initrd size, there's the variable > > > device name problems, to name two. It suggests to me that there's a > > > missing piece of infrastructure. Perhaps the installer system should > > > create a hardware inventory file that initrdtools (or whatever the > > > nom de jure) can access to generate a tailord initrd, that apt can > > > consult for what drivers to download, etc. The installer rescue mode > > > could offer a tool to regenerate the inventory file for times when one > > > changes hardware. > > > > > > /end rant > > > > True, but you have to consider the competition. > > I guess the problem is related to this notion of trying to compete with > MS. If people 'buy' brand A because they like features x,y, and z, and > brand B has the goal of gaining market share, it will tend to morph into > a clone (feature-wise) of brand A. However, it will tend to take on > some of the compromises of brand B that go with features x, y, and z. > I think that on the whole, debian strikes a decent balance. You get the kitchen sink, but have the option to switch over to a bare pipe sticking out of the wall for no charge other than your own labor. :) A
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