Understanding the Linux Kernel

Linux Scheduler Performance for Beowulf Compute Nodes

In the last decade, the use of the Beowulf Cluster concept for High Performance Computing and Cloud Computing has exploded. In addition, the Linux operating system used by many of these computing platforms has also greatly advanced. Understanding the effects of the underlying kernel scheduler on the computational performance of compute nodes is one of the main concerns in customizing a Linux op...

The Linux Kernel Configurator as a Feature Modeling Tool

In order to contribute to the understanding of how the SPL community and the open source community can benefit from each other, we present the Linux Kernel Configurator (LKC). We describe its capabilities and explain how it can be used for the design of feature models.

KVM for ARM

As ARM CPUs grow in performance and ubiquity across phones, netbooks, and embedded computers, providing virtualization support for ARM-based devices is increasingly important. We present KVM/ARM, a KVM-based virtualization solution for ARM-based devices that can run virtual machines with nearly unmodified operating systems. Because ARM is not virtualizable, KVM/ARM uses lightweight paravirtuali...

Understanding the Linux Kernel - from I/O ports to process management

Evolution of the Linux Kernel Variability Model

Understanding the challenges faced by real projects in evolving their variability models, is a prerequisite for providing adequate support for such undertakings. Nevertheless, research on variability modeling has so far neglected the problem of model evolution. To address this gap we study the evolution of the Linux kernel’s variability model. The Linux kernel is a large software product line t...

PacketScript – A Lua scripting engine for in - kernel packet processing

Computer network researchers, telecommunication engineers, system administrators, and kernel hackers are extending Linux Netfilter to develop new networking protocols, fine-tune the networking setup, or for debugging purposes. Extending Linux Netfilter requires solid C programming skills and a good understanding of the Linux kernel and its network stack. This know-how is critical, since a small...