Kernel and patch

Kernel generally refers to the complete Linux kernel source. the file name is generally linux-2.x.x.tar.gz linux-2.x.x.tar.bz2, And the size after compression is generally between 10--15m. In fact, each kernel upgrade has not changed significantly. For example, if you have kernel 2.2.1, the difference between kernel 2.2.2 and 2.2.1 is very small. The pache file contains the variable files between two adjacent versions. In this way, when upgrading the kernel, such as upgrading from 2.2.1 to 2.2.2, there is no need for a complete 2.2.2
Next, you only need to use the patch file to patch 2.2.1. This patch is called Patch-2.2.2. Because the patch files are generally in the range of 10-kb, that is, they are much smaller than the complete kernel, so it is easier to download and upgrade. 2.2.1 after patch 2.2.2, it is actually no different from kernel 2.2.2.

However, because the patch is only an upgrade file between two adjacent versions, it will be very troublesome if there are many updates across versions. For example, to upgrade from kernel 2.2.0 to kernel 2.2.5, we need to find Patch 2.2.1, patch 2.2.2, patch 2.2.3, patch 2.2.4, and patch 2.2.5 patch one by one in order, it is better to restart the complete kernel sourceand upgrade linux-2.2.5.tar.gz?linux-2.2.5.tar.bz2.

The patch method is detailed in the complete kernel readme file or kernel-howto. Before upgrading the kernel, it is best to read these two documents carefully. Good luck!