Linux 2.1 Kernel Patches

About the Kernel Patch Summaries

These summaries are written after each kernel release by examining the chunks of each patch file and figuring out what has changed. Occasionally, they are supplemented by notes that Linus (and others) posted to the linux-kernel mailing list.

The summaries from 2.1.0 to 2.1.51 were put together by Mark Evans <mevans@ecsnet.com>.

The summaries from 2.1.54 onwards were put together by Myrdraal@deathsdoor.com -- originally appearing on the Cutting Edge Linux website.

Yaroslav Rosomakho is now also writing some kernel summaries, including pre-patches!

Linux 2.1.79 patch - patch-2.1.79.gz (12-Jan-98 22:08)
    [Patch Browser]

NOTE: You still need to compile uart401 manually. Sorry about the long time I took coming out with this patch update. You need this patch (fat-2.1.79.diff) to compile FAT.

• CVF-FAT added (allows compression drivers.)
• WAN router updates.
• Major lowlevel PPC updates.
• Major lowlevel Alpha updates.
• Major lowlevel Macintosh updates.
• Major lowlevel SPARC updates.
• Major lowlevel i386 updates.
• Swap cache added.
• Floppy driver updates.
• IDE CD-ROM driver updates.
• IDE floppy driver updates.
• IDE tape driver updates.
• IDE updates.
• B&W quickcam driver updates.
• Experimental color quickcam driver added.
• BTTV driver updates.
• PC watchdog timer updates.
• Generic Fibre Channel and FC4 SCSI driver added.
• 3c59x net card driver updates.
• de4x5 net card driver bugfixes.
• myri_sbus net card driver updates.
• sunlance net card driver updates.
• tulip net card driver updates.
• Various sbus drivers updates.
• IDE SCSI emulation driver updates and bugfixes.
• ncr53c8xx SCSI driver updates.
• SCSI subsystem updates.
• Sound driver updates.
• AFFS filesystem driver updates.
• ELF binary format loader updates.
• Coda filesystem driver updates.
• dcache updates.
• Filesystem quota updates.
• ext2 filesystem driver updates.
• FAT filesystem driver updates.
• HFS filesystem driver updates.
• VFS updates.
• NFS filesystem driver updates.
• NFSROOT updates.
• procfs updates.
• Schedualer updates.
• 802 net driver updates.
• Fast switching added. (net)
• Forwarding between high speed interfaces added. (net)
• Appletalk updates.
• ax25 net driver updates.
• Net code updates.
• ipv4 updates.
• ipv6 updates.
• netbeui updates.
• AF_packet updates.
• Net schedualer updates.
• sunrpc updates.

Linux 2.1.78 patch - patch-2.1.78.gz (5-Jan-98)
    [Patch Browser]

NOTE: You still need to compile uart401 manually.

• SmartConfig added. (This means if you change a config option, you won't haveto recompile most of the kernel!)
• DDV driver updates.
• ACSI driver updates.
• Generic harddisk driver updates for Solaris x86 partition support.
• IDE CD-ROM driver update so it can return the last block of the file, instead of an error.
• XD harddisk driver updates to add support for XEBEC controllers, and use some jumper settings, and extended ioctl() support added.
• CD-ROM driver updates.
• cdu31a, cm206, mcdx, and sbpcd CD-ROM driver updates.
• BTTV driver updates.
• Black&white quickcam driver updates to support compilation as a non-module.
• PMS driver updates.
• Minor rocketport driver update.
• 3c503 net driver updates.
• 3c59x net driver updates.
• dgrs net driver updates.
• Minor net driver updates to change const start_page to int start_page.
• DMA SCC driver updates.
• PLIP driver updates, improved SMP support.
• aha1542 SCSI driver updates.
• Minor dc390 SCSI driver include file update.
• Minor SCSI driver ioctl code update.
• Sound driver updates.
• Experimental Apple Macintosh filesystem support added.
• Filesystem attribute code minor updates.
• Minor autofs driver updates.
• Filesystem code updates to use dentries instead of inodes.
• Coda filesystem driver updates.
• Minor dcache updates.
• Filesystem namei code updates.
• NCPFS filesystem driver updates.
• NFS filesystem driver updates.
• Minor NLS updates.
• proc filesystem driver updates.
• Minor SMBFS driver updates.
• Minor module system update.
• Memory management updates.
• Menuconfig updates.
• xconfig updates.
• Kernel scripts updates for SmartConfig.

Linux 2.1.77 patch - patch-2.1.77.gz (2-Jan-98 14:34)
    [Patch Browser]

NOTE: you need this patch to get sound to compile and work as a module. (Atleast on SB-type cards.) Also, you need to compile uart401 manually, a-la 2.1.75, substituting the correct paths, ofcourse.

• Parallel port IDE subsystem added.
• SyQuest parallel port EZ drive support removed. (obsoleted by parport IDE)
• MicroSolutions backpack CD-ROM support removed. (Also made obsolete by parport IDE, I assume.)
• Minor x86 memory detection update.
• Updates for boot_cpu_data structure.
• Minor signal handling updates.
• EBDA scanning added to SMP.
• generic HD driver support added for extended WIN98 partitions.
• IDE-DMA system updates.
• IDE-PCI system updates.
• CD-ROM driver updates.
• cm206 cdrom player with cm260 adapter card driver updates.
• B&W Quickcam support added.
• Minor BTTV driver update.
• TTY driver updates.
• Minor watchdog timer updates.
• ISDN driver updates.
• Ethertap network tap makefile bugfix.
• Sound driver updates.
• NFS filesystem driver updates.
• NTFS filesystem driver updates.
• proc filesystem driver updates.
• VFAT filesystem driver updates.
• x86 uaccess inlines updated.
• Memorymanagement system updates.
• Minor net driver updates.
• Menuconfig script updates.

Linux 2.1.76 patch - patch-2.1.76.gz (23-Dec-97 16:29)
    [Patch Browser]

• Alpha ksyms updates.
• Alpha __kernel_execve assembly added to entry.S.
• Minor cpuid-system updates.
• Minor RAID5 driver updates.
• Minor bttv driver updates.
• PC Watchdog open/close for temperature handling updated.
• DE4x5 net driver updates.
• PPP driver updates.
• in-kernel zlib updated.
• Minor ncr53c8xx SCSI driver update.
• SCSI tape driver minor updates.
• Sound driver updates.
• Filesystem buffer code updates.
• Coda filesystem driver updates.
• NCPFS filesystem driver minor updates.
• NFS filesystem driver updates.
• vfat filesystem driver updates.
• Minor SunRPC updates.
• Kernel scripts updates.

Linux 2.1.75 patch - patch-2.1.75.gz (22-Dec-97 02:09)
    [Patch Browser]

NOTE: uart401 doesn't compile automatically, and it's required for sound, so do this:

cd /usr/src/linux/drivers/sound
gcc -D__KERNEL__ -I/usr/src/linux-2.1.75/include -Wall -Wstrict-prototypes -O2 -fomit-frame-pointer -pipe -m486 -DCPU=486 -DMODULE -DMODVERSIONS -include /usr/src/linux-2.1.75/include/linux/modversions.h -DEXPORT_SYMTAB -c uart401.c -o uart401.o
cp uart401.o /lib/modules/2.1.75/misc
depmod -a

• Socket filtering added.
• Socket Security API support removed. (Made obsolete by socket filtering, I assume.)
• Appletalk driver updates.
• SCSI logging added.
• SCSI Debug host simulator added.
• CODA documentation updated.
• Alpha fault code updates.
• Enhanced x86 CPU identification added.
• Various lowlevel x86 updates.
• IDE driver minor updates.
• BTTV driver updates.
• Magic SysRQ updates. This changes key definitions (So don't just hit the sysrq keys you're used to, they might not work the way you expect!)
• watchdog timer driver updates.
• PCI driver updates.
• Major SCSI drivers updates.
• Sound driver updates.
• Coda filesystem driver updates.
• Minor FAT filesystem driver update.
• Various updates to make fsuser() checks last.
• Filesystem updates.
• NFS updates.
• VFAT updates.
• IPC semaphore code updates.
• Minor printk update.
• Minor SunRPC updates.

Linux 2.1.74 patch - patch-2.1.74.gz (19-Dec-97 17:17)
    [Patch Browser]

• NTFS read (and experimental write) support added.
• IDE CD-ROM driver updates.
• Stallion intelligent multiport serial driver updates.
• lockd updates.
• MINIX filesystem updates.
• nfsd updates.
• SMBFS updates.
• Firewall code bugfix.
• SunRPC driver updates.

Linux 2.1.73 patch - patch-2.1.73.gz (18-Dec-97 16:59)
    [Patch Browser]

NOTE: This kernel doesn't work well with firewall stuff, I recommend you use 2.1.74 instead, as that has the patch in it.

• Generic PCI IDE chipset support added.
• NS87415 support added.
• ICMP masquerading support added.
• ipautofw masquerade support added.
• ipportfw masquerade support added.
• x86 FPU emulator updates.
• Framebuffer console devices updates. (MIPS/Amiga)
• Lowlevel MIPS updates.
• Support for running IRIX bins on MIPS updated.
• MIPS PCI support updated.
• More MIPS updates.
• IDE card drivers minor update.
• IDE CD-ROM driver updates.
• IDE driver updates.
• IDE floppy driver updates.
• /proc/ide added.
• IDE tape driver updates.
• PC keyboard driver updated not to use jiffies.
• Net card drivers minor DMA updates.
• 3c59x net card driver updates.
• High-speed (DMA) SCC driver for AX.25 added.
• IDE-SCSI driver updates. (Adds support for ATAPI PD/CD drives.)
• SCSI tape driver minor update.
• SGI console updates.
• SGI serial port driver added.
• SGI shared memory input queue driver added.
• SGI software semaphore driver added.
• SB AWE32 mixer minor update.
• dcache updates.
• ex2fs fsync routine updated.
• ISOFS filesystem driver updates.
• MSDOS filesystem driver updates.
• Some symlink semantics changed for security reasons.
• NFS filesystem driver updates.
• SMBFS filesystem driver updates.
• SYSV filesystem driver updates.
• printk minor update to disable interrupts.
• Signal code minor update.
• Minor ARP update.
• IPv4 updates.

Linux 2.1.72 patch - patch-2.1.72.gz (9-Dec-97 13:23)
    [Patch Browser]

• Coda filesystem documentation added.
• Alpha OSF updates.
• Alpha timer code updates.
• Alpha signal code updates.
• i386 reboot code update.
• SPARC updates.
• Minor Watchdog Timer drivers updates.
• TTY updates.
• Stallion multiport serial board driver updates.
• VGA detection code updated.
• Minor ISDN updates.
• Minor parport driver updates.
• High-speed (DMA) SCC driver for AX.25 added.
• Minor EQL driver update.
• Sound driver updates.
• Buffer code minor updates.
• Coda filesystem updates.
• Filesystem code updates.
• NFS updates.
• select/poll updates.
• sysv filesystem updates.
• byteorder stuff revamped. (Also byteorder changes in 2.1.71, kindly pointed out by C. Scott Ananian)
• IPC minor updates for BSD process accounting.
• itimer updates.
• Menuconfig updates.

Linux 2.1.71 patch - patch-2.1.71.gz (4-Dec-97 22:48)
    [Patch Browser]

• Generic 4 drives/port support added.
• csum_partial exported in netsyms.c so unix domain sockets work as a module.
• Documentation updates.
• More updates for new signal code.
• IDE harddisk driver updates/added options.
• CD-ROM driver updates.
• Serial console updates.
• Cyclades driver updates.
• Radio net driver config and code updates.
• aic7xxx SCSI driver updates.
• AFFS filesystem updates.
• Minor filesystem updates.
• NFS updates.
• UFS updates.
• VFAT updates.
• TIOCGSID IOCTL added (Return the session ID of FD)
• Minor signal updates.
• Unix domain socket support minor updates.
• wanrouter updates to new filesystem code.

Linux 2.1.70 patch - patch-2.1.70.gz (2-Dec-97)
    [Patch Browser]

If you compile unix domain sockets as a module, you need to move the EXPORT_SYMBOL(csum_partial); out of the ifdef, in net/netsyms.c.
If you're having problems with PPP in 2.1.68 onwards, you need to update to pppd 2.3.2, or apply a pppd patch, see Documentation/net/ppp.txt.

• Coda filesystem support added. (See http://www.coda.cs.cmu.edu/)
• Specialix IO8+ card support added.
• More updates for signal code changes.
• Various CD-ROM driver updates.
• Minor parport driver updates.
• SoundBlaster AWE driver minor updates.
• Buffer code updates.