I am not a webmaster, nor do I play one at the office - much. Info regarding ALSA and upgrading your Linux kernel When upgrading the kernel, you should repeat these steps, as the modules created for one kernel version are not automatically moved to the directories for subsequent kernels. The process should go a little faster, since the ALSA configurations are not changing, just the kernel. After downloading those RPMs, it took 10 minutes to load and reconfigure my system per Red Hat's instructions for the new kernel, then reboot, and a few more minutes to repeat the steps above related to the ALSA stuff.
All standard disclaimers apply.
I am no Linux expert, but I have been running Linux for about a year and continue to learn about this stuff as I go along.