05/12/11: Latest UltraLight kernel 64bit version 2.6.38 is available for CentOS. Click here to download.
This kernel is specifically tested for DYNES Dell R510 Server and has provided much better Disk I/O throughput as compared to default kernel in CentOS 5.6.
You can download the Disk I/O measurement here which explains the different controller properties while creating the RAID array and how different I/O schedulers and fil systems affect the performance.
Older Kernels:
We have an "UltraLight" kernel set of RPMS available which incorporate Web100 patches (RPMs are built with gcc 3.4.6):
10/26/2010: Beta testing of 2.6.35-based UL kernel and 2.6.36-based UL kernel.
Includes 1.4.12 openafs userland as well as kernel modules directories. Beta
kernels are only 64bit and build on SL5.
RPMS for 2.6.36-UL1 RPMS for 2.6.36-UL1. timer frequency = 300Hz (advised for most systems).
RPMS for 2.6.36-UL2 RPMS for 2.6.36-UL2. timer frequence = 1000Hz. (minor changes include turning off some unnecessary "config_X_debug")
RPMS for 2.6.36-UL3 RPMS for 2.6.36-UL3. changes include: updated drivers for myri10ge, mlx4, e1000, e1000e, igb, ixgbe.
RPMS for 2.6.36-UL4 RPMS for 2.6.36-UL4. changes include: support for suspending usb devices, enabled detection of soft and hard lockups (it can be turned off via a sysctl), disabled bluetooth support.
RPMS for 2.6.38-UL1 RPMS for 2.6.38-UL1. NOTE this kernel has not been as fully developed as the other UL kernels.
Details
This ultralight kernel is based from 2.6.30-9 kernel with the following
patches added:
The RPMS were created with the 'rpmbuild' command. First you need to make sure the config files above are in /usr/src/redhat/SOURCES. Next make sure you have the kernel-2.6.spec file in /usr/src/redhat/SPECS. The src rpm above has the needed kernel-2.6.30.tar.gz file.
The command to create the RPMS was: