From: lew.pitcher@digitalfreehold.ca   
      
   On Tue, 16 Apr 2024 14:33:47 +0100, Chris Elvidge wrote:   
      
   > Slackware current - VirtualBox 7.0.14   
   >   
   > I normally use the huge kernel with no problems but the other day I   
   > mistakenly downloaded the generic kernel, too, and noticed the   
   > difference in size is only 2Mb. I was originally told the generic kernel   
   > was better for memory consumption. The required initrd.gz unzips to 27Mb.   
   >   
   > What is the/Is there a supposed advantage of generic + initrd over huge?   
      
   I believe (and others here will correct me if I am wrong) that the "generic"   
   kernel + initrd result in less memory used in the finally running system than   
   the "huge" kernel.   
      
   Consider: once booted, the generic kernel will (should?) free any memory   
   occupied by the initrd image, as it no longer needs the initrd image to run.   
   The generic kernel only needs initrd because it uses (filesystem backed)   
   modules to provide the disk controller interfaces. This results in a small   
   initial load module for the kernel. Once executing, it only loads the hardware   
   drivers it needs, leaving all the rest alone.   
      
   OTOH, the "huge" kernel has all the disk controller drivers built-in to   
   the loaded module. Even if the kernel doesn't use the disk controller, the   
   code is still resident in memory.   
      
   So, the "huge" kernel results in a running kernel with more resident code   
   than the "generic" kernel.   
      
   Having said all that, I run the "huge" kernel; I can't be bothered with   
   the additional initrd step if/when I upgrade my kernel, and I have the   
   memory to support the minor additional overhead of unused drivers.   
      
   HTH   
   --   
   Lew Pitcher   
   "In Skills We Trust"   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)