Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Administration Unleashed

APPENDIX AInstalling ProprietaryKernel ModulesIN THIS APPENDIX. Installing Proprietary Modules. Installing the nVidia DisplayDriver. Recognizing a Tainted KernelRed Hat Enterprise Linux includes support for a widevariety of hardware in the form of kernel modules. Thesekernel modules allow the hardware and the kernel to interactso that the rest of the operating system and applicationscan communicate with the hardware.Ideally, all the kernel modules you need are included withRed Hat Enterprise Linux. However, if others are required,this appendix explains how they work with the kernel andhow to identify them.The Linux kernel is licensed under the GNU General PublicLicense (GPL), meaning that its source code is available atkernel.org for anyone to download and read and thatanyone can modify the code if the modified code is alsoavailable under the GPL. All the kernel modules distributedwith Red Hat Enterprise Linux are licensed under the GPLor GPL-compatible licenses.TIPChapter 6, “Analyzing Hardware,” describes how to listand configure kernel module parameters.How are kernel modules written? Sometimes open sourcedevelopers have the cooperation of the hardware vendorsto gain access to the hardware specifications necessary towrite an open source kernel module for it. Because of theopen source model, the module is improved over time asusers find problems and report them to the developer orother developers tweak the code as they find problems.Sometimes, hardware vendors write their own Linux kernelmodules. Some even make the Linux modules they writeopen source. However, some choose not to release theirkernel modules under the GPL or GPL-compatible license