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#use wml::debian::template title="Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 -- Etch-And-A-Half Release Notes" BARETITLE=true
#include "$(ENGLISHDIR)/releases/etch/release.data"
#use wml::debian::translation-check translation="5011f532637dc7820b79b151eecfda4ab65aa22f" maintainer="galaxico"
<if-etchnhalf-released released="no">
<h1>Placeholder page</h1>
<p>
Content will be revealed when Debian GNU/Linux <q>etch-and-a-half</q>
is released.
</p>
</if-etchnhalf-released>
<if-etchnhalf-released released="yes">
<h2>Overview</h2>
<p>
Additional packages have been added in the Debian 4.0r4 point release to
increase the set of hardware supported by Debian 4.0 (<q>etch</q>). This
includes packages based upon the Linux 2.6.24 kernel and additional drivers
for the X window system. Installation of these additional packages is not
required and will not occur by default. This update represents no change
to the support of previously available packages.
</p>
<p>
The existing 2.6.18-based kernel will continue to be the default kernel for
the etch release.
</p>
<h2>Newly available packages</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://packages.debian.org/src:linux-2.6.24">linux-2.6.24</a><br />
New linux-image and supporting packages have been added to take advantage
of many new and updated device drivers. See the <q>Limitations</q> section
of this document for more information.</li>
<li><a href="https://packages.debian.org/etch/xserver-xorg-video-intel">xserver-xorg-video-intel</a><br />
A new X driver has been included to add support for the 965GM, 965GME, G33,
Q35, Q33 and GM45 (PCI ids 0x2A02, 0x2A12, 0x29B2, 0x29C2, 0x29D2 and
0x2A42) devices. Some cards that were previously supported by the
xserver-xorg-video-i810 driver may perform better with the
xserver-xorg-video-intel driver. This includes the 945GM, 946GZ, 965G and
965Q devices.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Updated <q>etch</q> packages</h2>
<p>
Some existing etch packages have been updated to add support for new hardware
and for compatibility with the 2.6.24 kernel:
</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://packages.debian.org/etch/aboot">aboot</a><br />
Support for booting recent kernels.</li>
<li><a href="https://packages.debian.org/etch/sysvinit">sysvinit</a><br />
Updated shutdown command to properly shutdown disks.</li>
<li><a href="https://packages.debian.org/etch/wireless-tools">wireless-tools</a><br />
Inaccurate incompatibility warning removed.</li>
<li><a href="https://packages.debian.org/source/etch/firmware-nonfree">firmware-nonfree</a><br />
Firmware blobs for use with 2.6.24 kernel added.</li>
<li><a href="https://packages.debian.org/etch/xserver-xorg-video-nv">xserver-xorg-video-nv</a><br />
An updated X driver has been included to add support for previously
unsupported NVIDIA graphics adapters (notably the GeFORCE 8 series).
The updated xserver-xorg-video-nv package provides support for NVIDIA Riva,
TNT, GeFORCE and Quadro cards.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Installing the <q>Etch-And-A-Half</q> release</h2>
<p>
Starting from this release, there are now two methods for installing the
4.0 (<q>etch</q>) release of Debian.</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>Install using Debian 4.0 (<q>etch</q>) installer</strong><br />
If your hardware is sufficiently supported by the standard etch installer
you may choose to use standard etch install media to initially install
your system and then later migrate to the <q>etch-and-a-half</q> kernel.
This option is best for users who already have a system installed with
etch or do not wish to obtain new installation media but would like to
add additional hardware that is only supported by the <q>etch-and-a-half</q>
kernel.<br />
Information on obtaining and using the Debian 4.0 (<q>etch</q>) installer is
available <a href="debian-installer/">here</a>.</li>
<li><strong>Install using current Debian <q>lenny</q> installer</strong><br />
Beginning with Beta 2, the lenny installer features an install kernel
that is very similar to the <q>etch-and-a-half</q> kernel and has a
compatibility mode for installing the etch release. This option is best
for users with hardware that is supported by the <q>etch-and-a-half</q>
kernel but is not supported by the default etch installer. Information
on obtaining and using a <q>lenny</q>-based installer to install
<q>etch-and-a-half</q> is available
<a href="debian-installer/etchnhalf">here</a>.</li>
</ol>
<h2>Limitations</h2>
<ul>
<li>Debian does not guarantee that all hardware that is supported by the
default etch 2.6.18 kernel is also supported by the 2.6.24 kernel, nor
that all software included in etch will work correctly with the newer
kernel.</li>
<li>Migrating from the 2.6.18 etch kernel to the 2.6.24 <q>etch-and-a-half</q>
kernel will work in many cases, but is not guaranteed to succeed. Upgrades
from both the 2.6.18 and 2.6.24 kernels to the kernel provided by the next
stable release (<q>lenny</q>) will be supported.</li>
<li>Not all features of the etch 2.6.18 kernel are available in the 2.6.24
images, this includes the Xen and linux virtual server flavors.</li>
<li>Out-of-tree kernel module source packages that were provided in etch
are not guaranteed to function properly with the 2.6.24 kernel.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Hardware-specific Notes</h2>
<ul>
<li><strong>Broadcom NetXtreme II network controllers</strong><br />
The bnx2 driver for Broadcom NetXtreme II network controllers has been
modified to load firmware files from the filesystem. These firmware files
are provided in the
<a href="https://packages.debian.org/etch/firmware-bnx2">firmware-bnx2</a>
package in the non-free section of the archive. Systems that require the
bnx2 driver must have the firmware-bnx2 package installed to function with
the 2.6.24 <q>etch-and-a-half</q> kernel. These devices will not be
available at installtime when using a Debian <q>lenny</q>-based installer.</li>
<li><strong>Intel 3945/4965 wireless network adapters</strong><br />
Systems that use an Intel 3945 or 4965 based wireless network adapter must
have the corresponding firmware files installed for these adapters to
function with the 2.6.24 <q>etch-and-a-half</q> kernel. These firmware
files are provided in the
<a href="https://packages.debian.org/etch/firmware-iwlwifi">firmware-iwlwifi</a>
package in the non-free section of the archive. For information about
migrating from the ipw3945 driver to the iwl3945 driver you should review the
<a href="https://wiki.debian.org/iwlwifi">transition information</a>.</li>
<li><strong>Cirrus Logic <q>Sound Fusion</q> sound devices</strong><br />
The snd-cs46xx driver is no longer available in the <q>etch-and-a-half</q>
kernel due to legal issues.</li>
<li><strong>ARM ip32x (Thecus N2100, IO-Data GLAN Tank)</strong>
<ul>
<li>A problem in the r8169 network driver has been fixed that would
cause NFS problems on the Thecus N2100 (see bug
<a href="https://bugs.debian.org/452069">#452069</a>).</li>
<li>The Thecus N2100 now correctly powers off.</li>
<li>Support for the sensor chip to control the fan is now included
thanks to Riku Voipio.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>ARM ixp4xx (Linksys NSLU2)</strong>
<ul>
<li>A new Ethernet driver, written by Krzysztof Halasa, is included.
This driver is included in the mainline kernel whereas the driver
used in the old kernel for etch (2.6.18) is no longer maintained.</li>
<li>A kernel crash with bitmapped md device has been fixed (see bug
<a href="https://bugs.debian.org/443373">#443373</a>).</li>
<li>More modules have been activated, for example more netfilter
modules.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>SRM-based Alpha systems</strong><br />
aboot, the bootloader for alpha machines that use SRM firmware, has been
updated to support booting recent linux kernel images. If you are
performing a new etch install of your system using the Debian
<q>lenny</q>-based installer, an updated aboot package will automatically
be used. To migrate an existing etch system to the 2.6.24
<q>etch-and-a-half</q> kernel, you must update to the latest aboot package
in etch and manually update the boot block on your disk with the swriteboot
command. See swriteboot(8) for more information.</li>
</ul>
</if-etchnhalf-released>
|
