Re: Why *are* the kernels monolithic?

[Henning Brauer <lists-openbsd_(_at_)_bsws_(_dot_)_de>]

oh, it's chuck-can-make-up-stupid-irrelevant-corner-cases time again...

* Chuck Yerkes <chuck+obsd_(_at_)_2004_(_dot_)_snew_(_dot_)_com> [2004-06-02 10:37]:
> I ask in seriousness:
> Quoting Henning Brauer (lists-openbsd_(_at_)_bsws_(_dot_)_de):
> > * Alexander Bochmann <ab_(_at_)_lists_(_dot_)_gxis_(_dot_)_de> [2004-06-01 18:08]:
> > > ...on Sun, May 30, 2004 at 07:03:48PM -0400, Chuck Yerkes wrote:
> > >  > (These kernels keep getting bigger and bigger -- do I *need* to
> > >  > carry around drivers for 15 SCSI cards and 30ish ethernets on a
> > >  > box with SISx3 and no SCSI?  But openbsd seems module averse. 
> > > Even if some of the OpenBSD guys don't seem to like 
> > > it, I regularly strip down my kernels (starting from 
> > > GENERIC) to exactly the hardware I have in the system.
> > > Never tried modules, though.
> > > I does make some difference, especially on systems 
> > > without all the modern stuff like USB:
> > > -rw-r--r--  1 root  wheel  2289574 May 11 19:55 /bsd
> > > -rw-r--r--  1 root  wheel  5075204 May  3 10:32 /bsd.GENERIC
> > > (That's a 3.5 box.)
> > and you gained exactly what from that?
> > oh right you save 2 picoseconds of boot time (because you boot so 
> > often) and save 2 megs of RAM... oh yeah
> Lesse, box with 16MB of RAM and an 8MB Flash

get more RAM and flash, period.

256M flash cards are below 50 bucks.

> While I understand that many of the substructure devices would
> want to be in the kernel (mii, etc).  But *do* we need live drivers
> for 15+ scsi controllers in RAM?

nothing wrong with that. the cost is close to zero.
the cost of kernel modules is HUGHE.

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