How do I upgrade my Linux kernel?

I would like to upgrade kernel without compiling from source code i.e. binary upgrade. How do I perform the actual upgrade of the kernel in Linux?

You need to compile kernel only if:

=> You need custom made kernel for specific task such as embedded kernel.

=> Apply third party security patches.

=> You need to apply specific patch to Linux

Upgrade of the kernel in Red Hat enterprise Linux version <= 4.x

If your system is registered with Red Hat Network (RHN), then you can use the up2date command as follows:

# up2date -f kernel

For SMP kernel (multi core or multiple CPU) use command:

# up2date -f kernel-smp

Upgrade of the kernel in Fedora Linux / CentOS / RHEL 5

Use yum command to upgrade kernel:

# yum update kernel

If you have downloaded RPM file use rpm command:

# rpm -ivh kernel*

Upgrade of the kernel in Debian or Ubuntu Linux

Use apt-get command. First find your kernel version:

$ uname -r

Next find available kernel images:

$ apt-cache search linux-image

Now install kernel by explicitly specifying version number:

# apt-get install linux-image-x.x.x-xx

OR

$ sudo apt-get install linux-image-x.x.x-xx