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hß · HardwareCurated

Linux kernel 2.6.35 released

Summary

In August 2010, Linus Torvalds released Linux kernel 2.6.35, just under eleven weeks after 2.6.34. New features included power saving for Radeon graphics and H.264 decoding on Intel’s Ironlake processors. Changes to the network stack and to the use of CPU power-saving states were expected to speed up some systems considerably.

Ideas

  • Every kernel version brings hundreds of new or revised drivers.
  • Graphics drivers in the kernel increasingly take over power-saving functions.
  • Optimisations in the network stack have a direct effect on servers.

Insights

  • The regular rhythm of around eleven weeks makes kernel versions predictable.
  • Performance gains often come from inconspicuous infrastructure changes.

Facts

  • 2.6.35 appeared just under eleven weeks after 2.6.34.
  • The kernel supported H.264 decoding on Intel’s Ironlake processors.

References

Critique

  • The report refers to a series of articles for details and itself remains at the level of keywords.

Remarks

  • With Receive Packet Steering and Receive Flow Steering, 2.6.35 introduced the distribution of incoming packets across several CPU cores.

Recommendations

  • On servers with heavy network load, check whether RPS/RFS or multi-queue NICs distribute the load sensibly.
  • Test new kernels with your graphics and network hardware before deploying them widely.

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hß · 2010

Main development phase of Linux kernel 2.6.36 completed

With Linux 2.6.36-rc1, the merge window, in which most new features enter the main branch, ended in August 2010. Among other things, the AppArmor security framework was accepted after years of attempts, as were fanotify for virus scanners and a driver for Intel’s Intelligent Power Sharing. As with 2.6.35, Torvalds wanted to accept strictly only bug fixes in the following stabilisation phase.

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