[gentoo-user] Re: Safe way to test a new kernel?

[Nikos Chantziaras <realnc@arcor.de>]

On 25/02/12 16:04, Alan Mackenzie wrote:
> Hello, Nikos.
>
> On Sat, Feb 25, 2012 at 04:10:10AM +0200, Nikos Chantziaras wrote:
>> On 25/02/12 04:00, Grant wrote:
>>> I need to test a kernel config change on a remote system.  Is there a
>>> safe way to do this?  The fallback thing in grub has never worked for
>>> me.  When does that ever work?
>
>> Oh crap, you said "remote system".  Somehow I missed that.  Ignore my
>> previous post since obviously accessing Grub on a remote machine would
>> require a hardware VNC module (if you had that, then you wouldn't have
>> posted about the issue in the first place, I assume.)
>
>> The way I dealt with it, is to use the "boot once" functionality of Grub:
>
>> http://weichong78.blogspot.com/2007/04/grub-test-kernel-once.html
>
>> I didn't bother with the panic handler, since I had remote hard-reset
>> functionality (I recommend it; it can save your day.)
>
> What is this "remote hard-reset functionality", if you don't mind me
> asking?  Do you mean somebody on the far end of a telephone line?

No, it was a web interface button.  It was instant.  I assume it either 
cut the power to the slice or a controller was hooked up to the reset 
connector.