[Netkit.users] Issues with latest kernel : too old for filesystem's packages updates

[Florian LOYAU]

Hi there !

Recently, a few people recommended Netkit to me to help learn Linux
networking and I started messing around with it.
Since we are several here to wish to learn and experiment, I eventually
thought about creating a collaborative set of labs to use on a central
machine for more interactivity.
However the version of Quagga included in Netkit's filesystem seems to be
very old and lacks several features I'd have liked to use (eg. AS4) :(

The website' FAQ clearly explains how to upgrade the existing Debian
install or install new packages. However, the associated Netkit Kernel now
seems to be too old...
Since it is running off what seems to be a Debian Unstable snapshot from
2010, any newer package install post package update pulls in the newest
glibc version 2.17.
Since glibc 2.17, there is a minimum requirement for the Linux Kernel
version of 2.6.16, according to their own changelog [
http://sourceware.org/ml/libc-announce/2012/msg00001.html ] -- which should
be fine with Netkit's 2.6.22.
However when attempting to update a running UML Machine, Debian complains
about requiring a kernel newer than 2.6.32 and refuses to upgrade.
Indeed, attempting to upgrade from a chroot environement (bypassing the
kernel check since it matchs against the host' version) results in an
unbootable filesystem (fails at init startup)...

As such I'd like to ask the following questions :
 - Are there any plans to update the provided kernel, or do anyone know
where I can find a third-party one ?
 - Will Netkit run if building a newer kernel without the provided netkit
patches ?
 - If yes, to what extent could features be lost by the removal of those
patches ? Will just any UML kernel run ?
 - Last but not least, while only Debian is officially supported, is
building a new filesystem from scratch from a different distro likely to
succeed ?

Thanks in advance ;)
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