$Id: INSTALL,v 1.19.2.3 2009/01/23 18:37:41 mikpe Exp $ INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS ========================= KERNEL ------ The kernel source code of this package consists of two parts: the driver proper, and patches to integrate it into various versions of the kernel. The recommended kernel build and installation procedure is as follows: 0. Get the source code for a supported Linux kernel version. Let PDIR be the root directory of the unpacked perfctr package. A given kernel version, KVER say, is supported if and only if one of the following statements is true: a) $PDIR/patches/ contains a file "patch-kernel-$KVER" b) $PDIR/patches/aliases contains a line starting with $KVER Supported kernels include many standard www.kernel.org kernels and some RedHat kernels. RedHat kernels are identified by the "-redhat" suffix appended to their kernel versions. ** Any kernel version which fails the above test is by definition ** UNSUPPORTED. ** RedHat users: Please note that RedHat kernels are extensively ** modified compared to their baseline standard kernels, and that ** patches for standard kernels often do NOT work for RedHat kernels ** even if the version numbers are similar. If your current kernel ** is unsupported, then upgrading to a newer RedHat "update" kernel ** may be required. 1. Unpack the kernel source code. Let KDIR be its root directory. In your shell, `cd' to $KDIR. Save a copy of the .config file if it exists and you need it later. Then `make mrproper' (this is VERY important). 2. Apply all patches for all add-on features you want in this kernel. With the current directory being $KDIR, execute: $PDIR/update-kernel This will apply the patch file that matches the kernel version, and install the new files for the perfctr driver. If update-kernel does not find a matching patch file, it will fail with an error message. If you insist on using an unsupported kernel version V1, but you believe the patch file for version V2 will work, then you can try it as follows: $PDIR/update-kernel --test --patch=$V2 This applies the patch in testing mode, without actually altering any files. If the patch applies cleanly without any rejects or large offsets, then you can force the use of this patch simply by removing the --test option to update-kernel. This usage mode is intended for experienced kernel builders only. Finally, edit $KDIR/Makefile and change EXTRAVERSION to include something unique for THIS kernel, for example by appending "-perfctr" (without the quotes). While not strictly necessary, this step is strongly recommended if you are adding the perfctr driver to a kernel version which is already installed on the machine. 3. If you have a saved .config file, copy it to $KDIR. Then configure the kernel using your favorite kernel configuration tool, for instance `make menuconfig', `make config', or `make oldconfig'. You should either configure with modules (CONFIG_MODULES=y) AND module versions (CONFIG_MODVERSIONS=y), or completely without modules (CONFIG_MODULES=n). Modules without module versions is an inherently unsafe configuration which is not recommended. You should also enable at least CONFIG_PERFCTR, CONFIG_PERFCTR_VIRTUAL, and CONFIG_PERFCTR_GLOBAL. You may also select CONFIG_PERFCTR=m to build the bulk of the driver as a loadable kernel module; the module will be named `perfctr'. Note: The perfctr kernel patch adds one word to the `thread_struct' type, which makes the patched kernel binary incompatible with an unpatched one. This is why it is important to distinguish the patched kernel via EXTRAVERSION and CONFIG_MODVERSIONS. 4. `make dep vmlinux modules'. This compiles the kernel and its modules. 5. As root, `make modules_install' to install the modules under /lib/modules/. 6. As root, edit /etc/lilo.conf to include a new entry for the new kernel. Copy an existing entry and edit the image= and label= lines to reflect the new kernel's name, including whatever you put in EXTRAVERSION. Then `make install' to install the new kernel's boot image and update the boot loader. Non-LILO users will have to adapt this step to whatever boot method they are using. 7. Reboot the machine. DEVICE FILE ----------- The kernel-side of this package is implemented as a character device driver, which has been assigned /dev/perfctr with major number 10 and minor number 182. This device file must exist in order for user-space to be able to access the perfctr extensions. How the device file is created depends on whether /dev/ is static or dynamic. Dynamic /dev (udev) ------------------- These instructions are known to work on Fedora Core 4, but may need adjustments for other Linux distributions. As root, execute: cp etc/perfctr.rules /etc/udev/rules.d/99-perfctr.rules cp etc/perfctr.rc /etc/rc.d/init.d/perfctr chmod 755 /etc/rc.d/init.d/perfctr /sbin/chkconfig --add perfctr The first step adds a udev rule so that when the perfctr driver is loaded into the kernel, udev will create /dev/perfctr with permissions that allows all users to access it. The following steps add a startup script which creates /dev/perfctr if the driver module is not yet loaded into the kernel. This enables the kernel to automatically load the perfctr module the first time the device file is opened. Static /dev (no udev) --------------------- The first time you install the package, a special file representing this device must be created. As root, execute: mknod /dev/perfctr c 10 182 chmod 644 /dev/perfctr If the driver was built as a module, it will be have to be loaded into the kernel before it can be used. This will happen automatically if the kernel was built with support for the kernel module loader (CONFIG_KMOD=y). LIBRARY ------- To build the user-space library and the example programs, simply run make The source code directory of the patched kernel you built and installed above does not have to be available when you build the library. To install the user-space library, the include files, and the 'perfex' application program, run make PREFIX=$PREFIX install This will install binaries in $PREFIX/bin, libraries in $PREFIX/lib, and include files in $PREFIX/include. Each of these destinations can also be overridden individually: make BINDIR=$BINDIR LIBDIR=$LIBDIR INCLDIR=$INCLDIR install