Debian diffence between kernels

Question

Debian Wheezy installer

What's the difference between the first and the second kernel?

Answer 1

You can look up the package names along with the distribution name using your favorite search engine for details. My search yielded:

• https://packages.debian.org/wheezy/linux-image-3.2.0-4-amd64

  [...] The Linux kernel 3.2 and modules for use on PCs with AMD64, Intel 64 or VIA Nano processors. This kernel also runs on a Xen hypervisor. It supports both privileged (dom0) and unprivileged (domU) operation.

• https://packages.debian.org/wheezy/linux-image-amd64

  Linux for 64-bit PCs (meta-package) [...] dep: linux-image-3.2.0-4-amd64

Since the second is just a meta-package (one just specifying dependencies without actual installer actions), both choices will be equivalent in terms of what files are going to be installed right now.

When choosing the meta-package, your default kernel is going to change upon dist-upgrade, while by choosing the specific kernel package your Kernel version will stick even after an upgrade.