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Domain: kerneltrap.org
Stories and comments across the archive that link to kerneltrap.org.
Stories · 185
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2.4 Kernel Maintainer Marcelo Tosatti Interviewed
Jeremy Andrews writes "KernelTrap has an interview with Marcelo Tosatti. Marcelo became the maintainer of the 2.4 stable kernel when he was 18 years old, releasing his first kernel, 2.4.16, on November 26'th of 2001. Two years later, he recently released 2.4.23 and plans to soon put the 2.4 stable kernel tree into maintenance mode, only addressing bugs and security issues. Living in Brazil, Marcelo currently works for Cyclades Corporation. In this interview he looks at how he became the 2.4 maintainer, the challenges involved, and brings us up to date with the current status of the 2.4 kernel." -
2.4 Kernel Maintainer Marcelo Tosatti Interviewed
Jeremy Andrews writes "KernelTrap has an interview with Marcelo Tosatti. Marcelo became the maintainer of the 2.4 stable kernel when he was 18 years old, releasing his first kernel, 2.4.16, on November 26'th of 2001. Two years later, he recently released 2.4.23 and plans to soon put the 2.4 stable kernel tree into maintenance mode, only addressing bugs and security issues. Living in Brazil, Marcelo currently works for Cyclades Corporation. In this interview he looks at how he became the 2.4 maintainer, the challenges involved, and brings us up to date with the current status of the 2.4 kernel." -
XFS Merged into Linux 2.4
Alphix writes "As noted on KernelTrap Marcelo has merged XFS into 2.4 after a code review by Christoph Hellwig. The mail from Marcelo on LKML is here. Apparently it touched very little VFS code so people not using XFS shouldn't see any ill effects from this (it's even supposed to fix some VFS bugs). XFS is described by SGI as '...a journalling filesystem developed by SGI and used in SGI's IRIX operating system. It is now also available under GPL for linux. It is extremely scalable, using btrees extensively to support large and/or sparse files, and extremely large directories. The journalling capability means no more waiting for fsck's or worrying about meta-data corruption.' Let the stability vs. new-features flamewar begin." -
Linux: the GPL and Binary Modules
An anonymous reader writes "When first made available in September of 1991, the Linux kernel source code was released under a very restrictive non-GPL license requiring that the source code must always be available, and that no money could be made off of it. Several months later Linus changed the copyright to the GPL, or GNU General Public License, under which the kernel source code has remained ever since. Thanks to the GPL, any source code derived from the Linux kernel source code must also be freely released under the GPL. This has led many to question the legality of 'binary only' kernel modules, for which no source code is released. Linux creator Linus Torvalds talks about this issue in a recent thread on the lkml." -
Kernel 2.4.23 Released
MikeCapone writes "As if we didn't already have enough articles about Linux kernel releases, Marcelo Tosatti has released the final 2.4.23 Linux kernel. Check out the changelog at Kerneltrap." -
Kernel 2.4.23 Released
MikeCapone writes "As if we didn't already have enough articles about Linux kernel releases, Marcelo Tosatti has released the final 2.4.23 Linux kernel. Check out the changelog at Kerneltrap." -
Linux 2.6.0-test11 Kernel Released
An anonymous reader writes "Linus Torvalds has released his final 2.6.0-test kernel, calling it the 'Beaver In Detox'. Following this release, Linus says that 2.6 development will be led by Andrew Morton. The kernel's name refers in jest to the previous release, which Linus had named "Stoned Beaver". It contains a fix for the aic7xxx driver, proper error handling in do_fork(), some firewire fixes, and correction of a few skbuff leakage points. Download it from a kernel.org mirror." -
Linux Kernel 2.6.0-test10 Released
antrix angler writes "Linus Torvalds released the 2.6.0-test10 Linux kernel today, tentatively calling it the "stoned beaver" release. Linus plans to hand the kernel over to Andrew Morton in a few weeks, and then it will be up to Andrew to decide when we see the final 2.6.0 stable kernel. Download it from a mirror." -
GPL'ed Drivers For NVIDIA nForce Ethernet Devices
An anonymous reader writes "Manfred Spraul has released a GPLed driver for the ethernet device found in motherboards based on the Nvidia Nforce/Nforce2/Nforce3 chipsets. Drivers provided by Nvidia on the other hand, are closed. Andrew Morton has integrated this driver in the 2.6.9-mm2 release of his mm tree. And if you are using a 2.4x kernel, you may want to check out this post." -
OpenBSD's Common Address Redundancy Protocol
Jessie writes "OpenBSD just gained high availability functionality in the form of a new protocol named CARP, the Common Address Redundancy Protocol. This feature was a long time in the coming due to Cisco's patent on VRRP, requiring the development of something completely new and more secure. This article on KernelTrap offers details on OpenBSD's impressive new protocol, from how it works to how it got its name." -
Linux 2.6 Kernel Stability Freeze
An anonymous reader writes "Linux Creator Linus Torvalds released the 2.6.0-test7 Linux development kernel today and declared a "stability freeze". It has been made quite clear that from this point only "strictly necessary stuff" will be accepted, clearing the way for an official 2.6.0 release sooner than later... possibly at the end of this month." -
Linux Kernel Benchmarking: 2.4 vs. 2.6-test
frooyo pastes from kerneltrap: "Cliff White recently posted some re-AIM multiuser benchmark results comparing the stable 2.4.23-pre5 kernel against the 2.6.0-test5 and 2.6.0-test5-mm4 development kernels. In his conclusion he makes reference to earlier scheduler tests posted by Mark Wong saying, "Short summary: we mostly rock."" -
Linux Kernel Benchmarking: 2.4 vs. 2.6-test
frooyo pastes from kerneltrap: "Cliff White recently posted some re-AIM multiuser benchmark results comparing the stable 2.4.23-pre5 kernel against the 2.6.0-test5 and 2.6.0-test5-mm4 development kernels. In his conclusion he makes reference to earlier scheduler tests posted by Mark Wong saying, "Short summary: we mostly rock."" -
KernelTrap Interview With Rusty Russell
Jeremy Andrews writes "KernelTrap has interviewed Rusty Russell, a humorous and productive contributer to Linux Kernel development. Author of ipchains, netfilter/iptables, futexes, per-cpu counters, hot pluggable CPU support, and the new in-kernel module loading code, Rusty's efforts have had a significant impact on the upcoming 2.6 kernel. For a humorous sample of Rusty's wit, one only needs to look at his email signature which reads, 'Anyone who quotes me in their sig is an idiot. -- Rusty Russell.'" Rusty is a great guy, and this is a worthwhile read. -
KernelTrap Interview With Rusty Russell
Jeremy Andrews writes "KernelTrap has interviewed Rusty Russell, a humorous and productive contributer to Linux Kernel development. Author of ipchains, netfilter/iptables, futexes, per-cpu counters, hot pluggable CPU support, and the new in-kernel module loading code, Rusty's efforts have had a significant impact on the upcoming 2.6 kernel. For a humorous sample of Rusty's wit, one only needs to look at his email signature which reads, 'Anyone who quotes me in their sig is an idiot. -- Rusty Russell.'" Rusty is a great guy, and this is a worthwhile read. -
Improve Your GNU/Linux Experience With -mm Patches
An anonymous reader writes "Anyone interested in squeezing maximum performance out of their GNU/Linux operating system and willing to compile a new kernel will be interested in this KernelTrap article about Andrew Morton's -mm patchset. The patchset currently offers better stability and performance than the mainline 2.6.0-test kernel, as well as containing numerous functionality enhancements. Much of the additional functionality is described, as well as providing simple step by step installation instructions. Reading this article, one can certainly understand why Linux creator Linus Torvalds has chosen Andrew to soon become the 2.6 maintainer." -
Linux 2.6.0-test5, How To Incrementally Upgrade
An anonymous reader writes "Linux creator Linus Torvalds recently announced the 2.6.0-test5 Linux kernel, bringing the release of a stable 2.6 one step closer. KernelTrap quickly followed by posting a guide that walks bleeding-edge Linux fans through the process of upgrading from 2.6.0-test4 to 2.6.0-test5, using a tiny 706 KB patch." -
How To Upgrade Linux To The 2.6 Kernel
An anonymous reader writes "Here's a good computer project for the long labor-day weekend. KernelTrap has posted a howto detailing eight steps to upgrade your GNU/Linux OS from the 2.4 stable kernel to the 2.6.0-test development kernel. Complete with screen shots, the end result sounds to be well worth the effort." Since chances are most people will be upgrading anyway once 2.6 is deemed release-worthy, it's always worth learning the upgrade procedure well. -
How To Upgrade Linux To The 2.6 Kernel
An anonymous reader writes "Here's a good computer project for the long labor-day weekend. KernelTrap has posted a howto detailing eight steps to upgrade your GNU/Linux OS from the 2.4 stable kernel to the 2.6.0-test development kernel. Complete with screen shots, the end result sounds to be well worth the effort." Since chances are most people will be upgrading anyway once 2.6 is deemed release-worthy, it's always worth learning the upgrade procedure well. -
Linux 2.4.22 Stable Kernel Released
An anonymous reader writes "Marcelo Tosatti has officially released another stable 2.4 Linux kernel. 2.4.22 was released early this morning and includes a lengthy list of fixes. It follows the last stable kernel in this tree, 2.4.21, by a little over two months." -
Linux Guru Alan Cox Takes A Year Off
An anonymous reader writes "Linux guru Alan Cox is taking a year off from RedHat and kernel development to get his MBA. For years, Alan Cox has maintained the extremely stable 2.2 Linux kernel, and more or less been Linux creator Linus Torvalds' right hand man. Now it sounds like the 2.2 kernel is up for grabs to someone who is 'good at refusing patches and being ignored'..." -
Flavor vs. Flavour
An anonymous reader writes "A recent flamewar ensued on the Linux kernel mailing list, this time debating the proper spelling of 'flavor', or is it 'flavour'? Even Linux creator Linus Torvalds joined the fray with some rather humorous comments. For the most part, it sounds like spellings will stay as they are, but it makes for an entertaining read." -
Benchmarking Linux Filesystems In New 2.6 Kernel
An anonymous reader writes "KernelTrap has an interesting article about a recent benchmark conducted to compare five journaling filesystems available with the current 2.6.0-test2 Linux development kernel. The tests were conducted with a very simple shell script, mainly timing how long it takes to copy, tar, and remove directories. Looks like reiser4 is the fastest filesystem at the expense of consuming much more CPU, with ext3 trailing a ways behind." -
Linux 2.4 VM Documentation Completed
cyb97 writes "kerneltrap.org is reporting that Mel Gorman has finished his project to document the ins and outs of the Linux 2.4 VM. Available in PDF/HTML/TXT at his webpage." -
Linux 2.4 VM Documentation Completed
cyb97 writes "kerneltrap.org is reporting that Mel Gorman has finished his project to document the ins and outs of the Linux 2.4 VM. Available in PDF/HTML/TXT at his webpage." -
Exec Shield for the Linux Kernel
DarkOx writes "There is a new patch from Ingo Molnar which can prevent overflow attacks. The scoop from KernelTrap is as follows: Ingo Molnar has announced a new kernel-based security feature for Linux/x86 called 'Exec Shield'. He describes the patch, which is against the 2.4.20-rc1 kernel, as: 'The exec-shield feature provides protection against stack, buffer or function pointer overflows, and against other types of exploits that rely on overwriting data structures and/or putting code into those structures. The patch also makes it harder to pass in and execute the so-called 'shell-code' of exploits. The patch works transparently, ie. no application recompilation is necessary.'" -
The Must-Fix List For 2.6.0
Jeremy Andrews writes "Andrew Morton posted a lengthy list of items that need to be done before the 2.5 development kernel tree should be turned into the 2.6 stable kernel tree. He prefaced his list by noting that 2.6.0 does not mean, "it's finished, ship it", alternatively offering, "I'd propose that 2.6.0 means that users can migrate from 2.4.x with a good expectation that everything which they were using in 2.4 will continue to work, and that the kernel doesn't crash, doesn't munch their data and doesn't run like a dog. Other definitions are welcome."" -
The Must-Fix List For 2.6.0
Jeremy Andrews writes "Andrew Morton posted a lengthy list of items that need to be done before the 2.5 development kernel tree should be turned into the 2.6 stable kernel tree. He prefaced his list by noting that 2.6.0 does not mean, "it's finished, ship it", alternatively offering, "I'd propose that 2.6.0 means that users can migrate from 2.4.x with a good expectation that everything which they were using in 2.4 will continue to work, and that the kernel doesn't crash, doesn't munch their data and doesn't run like a dog. Other definitions are welcome."" -
2.5.65 On 32-way NUMA-Q with Preempt Enabled
_iris writes "I think the subject speaks for itself. Here is the link to the story on KernelTrap." In case you have a spare 32-processor machine munching grass in the back 40. -
Significant Interactivity Boost in Linux Kernel
An anonymous reader writes "The Linux kernel team is at it again. Linux creator Linus Torvalds recently proposed a patch to offer interactive processes a boost, greatly benefiting the X desktop, as well as music and movie players. O(1) scheduler author Ingo Molnar merged Linus' patch into his own interactivity efforts, the end result nothing short of amazing... The upcoming 2.6 kernel is looking to be a desktop user's dream come true." -
Significant Interactivity Boost in Linux Kernel
An anonymous reader writes "The Linux kernel team is at it again. Linux creator Linus Torvalds recently proposed a patch to offer interactive processes a boost, greatly benefiting the X desktop, as well as music and movie players. O(1) scheduler author Ingo Molnar merged Linus' patch into his own interactivity efforts, the end result nothing short of amazing... The upcoming 2.6 kernel is looking to be a desktop user's dream come true." -
Anticipatory Scheduler in Kernel 2.5+ Benchmarked
gmuslera points to this article at KernelTrap comparing available benchmarks for schedulers available for the 2.5 kernel, with the 2.4's scheduler as a reference poin. "In some cases, the new Anticipatory Scheduler performs several times better than the others, doing a task in a few seconds instead minutes like the others." -
OpenBSD (Still) Seeks UltraSparc III Docs From Sun
An anonymous reader writes "There is a very interesting article on kerneltrap regarding OpenBSD's lingering battle with Sun over UltraSparc III documentation (that's right ... it still hasn't been resolved). Jeremy Andrews relates his efforts to get a position from Sun on the matter. In summary, he was completely stonewalled ... and that is exactly what makes the article so noteworthy." -
Running Mac OS X Binaries With NetBSD
An anonymous reader writes "KernelTrap has an interesting article about an effort to add a Mach and Darwin binary compatibility layer to NetBSD. The project has evidently already made a fair amount of progress, currently working to stabilize the WindowServer emulation portion that will then allow NetBSD to run Mac OS X graphical applications." -
Linux Kernel Code Humor
An anonymous reader writes "This article points to some pretty funny comments and code in the Linux kernel. From colorful metaphors, to burning printers, to happy meals... A recursive search through the entire code base reveals some interesting language. Is all code like this?" -
2.4.20 ext3 Data Corrupting Bug Fixed
An anonymous reader writes "The ext3 data corrupting bug found in the latest stable Linux kernel and reported by Slashdot here and here has been fixed. In this interesting KernelTrap story Andrew Morton describes the problem and offers a working patch. Evidently the bug has its roots in a much bigger design issue, something that won't likely be fixed in the current 2.4 kernel series. In any case, with Morton's patch applied your data will not be corrupted." -
2.4.20 ext3 Data Corrupting Bug Fixed
An anonymous reader writes "The ext3 data corrupting bug found in the latest stable Linux kernel and reported by Slashdot here and here has been fixed. In this interesting KernelTrap story Andrew Morton describes the problem and offers a working patch. Evidently the bug has its roots in a much bigger design issue, something that won't likely be fixed in the current 2.4 kernel series. In any case, with Morton's patch applied your data will not be corrupted." -
2.4.20 ext3 Data Corrupting Bug Fixed
An anonymous reader writes "The ext3 data corrupting bug found in the latest stable Linux kernel and reported by Slashdot here and here has been fixed. In this interesting KernelTrap story Andrew Morton describes the problem and offers a working patch. Evidently the bug has its roots in a much bigger design issue, something that won't likely be fixed in the current 2.4 kernel series. In any case, with Morton's patch applied your data will not be corrupted." -
Interview With Linux Kernel Guru Ingo Molnar
An anonymous reader writes "KernelTrap has posted an interview with Ingo Molnar, the Linux kernel guru who wrote the O(1) scheduler and improved threading enough to allow hundreds of thousands of threads to run in parallel. The interview covers a wide range of interesting topics, offering much insight into the latest and greatest improvements found in the Linux development kernel. From the new rmap VM, to BitKeeper, to TUX, to comparing Linux with FreeBSD, it's all there..." -
Data-Corrupting ext3 Bug In Linux 2.4.20
linuxjack55 writes "Kerneltrap is reporting a data-corrupting bug in the ext3 code of kernel 2.4.20. The scope of the problem (and workarounds) are described in the article, which also includes a link to an interesting interview with kernel hacker Andrew Morton. In it, he states that the '2.4.x core has only stabilized very recently' and the 2.4.x kernel is 'even now...in a late beta state.' He was also asked when the 2.4 kernel could be considered stable. His reply: 'Six months, perhaps?' If that prediction is accurate, 2.6.x could arrive before a 'stable' version of 2.4.x does." (The interview with Morton is from last February -- how stable you consider 2.4 right now is up to you.) -
Data-Corrupting ext3 Bug In Linux 2.4.20
linuxjack55 writes "Kerneltrap is reporting a data-corrupting bug in the ext3 code of kernel 2.4.20. The scope of the problem (and workarounds) are described in the article, which also includes a link to an interesting interview with kernel hacker Andrew Morton. In it, he states that the '2.4.x core has only stabilized very recently' and the 2.4.x kernel is 'even now...in a late beta state.' He was also asked when the 2.4 kernel could be considered stable. His reply: 'Six months, perhaps?' If that prediction is accurate, 2.6.x could arrive before a 'stable' version of 2.4.x does." (The interview with Morton is from last February -- how stable you consider 2.4 right now is up to you.) -
Linux Kernel Performance How Will 2.6 Measure Up?
An anonymous reader writes "This story offers some interesting performance comparisons between the latest stable Linux kernels (2.4.x) and the latest development Linux kernels (2.5.x), comparing performance on both a single processor and dual processors. These numbers help validate that the upcoming 2.6 kernel will outperform the current 2.4 kernel, at least in some instances..." -
Data Corrupting ext3 Bug In Latest Linux 2.4.20
An anonymous reader writes "Andrew Morton alerted readers of the Linux Kernel mailing list today that ext3 in the 2.4.20 kernel has a new bug that can easily cause file data corruption at unmount time. The bug will only affect people using ext3 in "data=journal" mode, which fortunately is not the default... Full details can be read on KernelTrap." -
New Linux 2.5 Benchmarks
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OpenBSD 3.2 Readies For Release, pf Matures
An anonymous reader writes "Just over a year ago, OpenBSD creator Theo de Raadt ripped ipfilter out of the OpenBSD code leaving "the world's most secure OS" temporarily without a packet filter. Here's an interesting interview with Daniel Hartmeier, author of pf, the stateful packet filter developed as a replacement. Now just over a year old, it sounds like pf has already become a serious contendor in the world of stateful packet filtering. This interview is of particular relevance with OpenBSD 3.2 to be released on Friday, 11/1." -
Ensuring That 2.6 Will Perform Better Than 2.4
Jeremy Andrews writes "Con Kolivas, a practicing doctor in Australia, has written a benchmarking tool called ConTest which has proven to be tremendously useful to kernel developers, having been designed to compare the performance of different versions of the Linux kernel. In this interview on KernelTrap he explains the project, noting that "a good 2.5 kernel (and that's not all of them) feels faster than 2.4 in most ways and this bodes well for 2.6." Also discussed is his high performance -ck patchsets, adding performance to the 2.4 stable kernel with the O(1) scheduler, kernel preemption, low latency, compressed caching and more..." -
Ensuring That 2.6 Will Perform Better Than 2.4
Jeremy Andrews writes "Con Kolivas, a practicing doctor in Australia, has written a benchmarking tool called ConTest which has proven to be tremendously useful to kernel developers, having been designed to compare the performance of different versions of the Linux kernel. In this interview on KernelTrap he explains the project, noting that "a good 2.5 kernel (and that's not all of them) feels faster than 2.4 in most ways and this bodes well for 2.6." Also discussed is his high performance -ck patchsets, adding performance to the 2.4 stable kernel with the O(1) scheduler, kernel preemption, low latency, compressed caching and more..." -
Robert Love Explains Variable HZ
An anonymous reader writes "Robert Love, author of the kernel preemption patch for Linux, has backported a new performancing boosting patch from the 2.5 development kernel to the 2.4 stable kernel. This patch allows one to tune the frequency of the timer interrupt, defined in 2.4 as "HZ=100". Robert explains 'The timer interrupt is at the heart of the system. Everything lives and dies based on it. Its period is basically the granularity of the system: timers hit on 10ms intervals, timeslices come due at 10ms intervals, etc.' The 2.5 kernel has bumped the HZ value up to 1000, boosting performance." -
GNU/Hurd Gets POSIX Threads
An anonymous reader writes "Neal Walfield announced the first release of RMGPT, which is (or rather, aspires to one day be) a complete, portable implementation of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001 threads also known as POSIX threads. With this new pthreads library, it will soon be possible to run complex software packages on the Hurd, including the GNOME and KDE desktops, the OpenOffice suite, and the Mozilla web browser. Find more information here, including the humorous meaning behind RMGPT, and insight into a future Hurd release..." -
Linux Kernel 3.0?
An anonymous reader writes "A discussion on the Linux kernel mailing list between Linux creator Linus Torvalds, Linux guru Ingo Molnar, and a few others debated the name of the upcoming stable kernel release. The choices: 2.6 or 3.0. Evidently there's been enough improvements, most notably the VM, that they're leaning towards calling it 3.0..."