After retrieving all of the necessary packages, it is time to upgrade
the existing kernel. At a shell prompt, as root, change to the directory
that contains the kernel RPM packages and follow these steps.
 | Important |
|---|
| | It is strongly recommended that the old kernel is kept in case there
are problems with the new kernel.
|
Use the -i argument with the rpm
command to keep the old kernel. Do not use the
-U option, since it overwrites the currently installed
kernel, which creates boot loader problems. Issue the following command
(the kernel version may vary):
rpm -ivh kernel-2.6.9-5.EL.<arch>.rpm |
If the system is a multi-processor system, install the
kernel-smp packages as well (the kernel version may
vary):
rpm -ivh kernel-smp-2.6.9-5.EL.<arch>.rpm |
If the system is i686-based and contains more than
4 GB of RAM, install the kernel-hugemem
package built for the i686 architecture as well
(the kernel version might vary):
rpm -ivh kernel-hugemem-2.6.9-5.EL.i686.rpm |
The next step is to verify that the initial RAM disk image has been
created. Refer to Section 37.5 Verifying the Initial RAM Disk Image for details.
