[v2] doc: update kernel version requirement
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Commit Message
The 4.19 kernel version was end of life in December 2024.
Update to 5.4 and also add better description of what "not supported"
means in this case.
Signed-off-by: Stephen Hemminger <stephen@networkplumber.org>
Acked-by: Morten Brørup <mb@smartsharesystems.com>
---
v2 - better wording
doc/guides/linux_gsg/sys_reqs.rst | 19 ++++++++++++++-----
1 file changed, 14 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)
@@ -105,11 +105,20 @@ System Software
**Required:**
-* Kernel version >= 4.19
-
- The kernel version required is based on the oldest long term stable kernel available
- at kernel.org when the DPDK version is in development.
- Compatibility for recent distribution kernels will be kept, notably RHEL/CentOS 7.
+* Kernel version >= 5.4
+
+ The Linux userspace API is compatible across releases but there are some
+ restrictions. The oldest kernel tested by the DPDK testing infrastructure
+ is the oldest maintained Long Term Stable (LTS) at time of release.
+ The DPDK is likely to still work with older releases but it is not guaranteed.
+ Compatibility for recent distribution kernels will be kept, notably RHEL, and Ubuntu.
+ It may work on older distributions, that are no longer under standard period
+ but this is no longer but this is no longer tested or guaranteed to work.
+ The following are outside the current support window: RHEL 7, SLES 15.5, Ubuntu 20.04
+ and earlier.
+
+ Some drivers and hardware support may require more recent kernels, check the
+ documentation (e.g. :doc:`../nics/index`)
The kernel version in use can be checked using the command::