Linux-pf
Linux-pf is a kernel package based on the stock -ARCH kernel, with the following patches applied:
- The latest Con Kolivas' -ck patchset, including BFS
- BFQ (as default I/O scheduler)
- UKSM
- AUFS3
Contents
Installation
From the unofficial repository
Precompiled packages are available from the archlinuxcn unofficial repository. See Unofficial user repositories for configuration details.
After an upgrade, running pacman -Sl repo_name
will show the packages available in the given repository. Afterwards, just install the linux-pf and linux-pf-headers packages (for generic binaries - platform-specific binaries are also available in some repositories and will be listed in the output from the aforementioned pacman command). See the #Configuration section for additional configuration steps.
From the AUR
Install linux-pfAUR from the AUR. A long-term support version of linux-pf is available with linux-pf-ltsAUR.
Manual compilation
There are a number of options a user is asked to choose from, should he/she select to compile from the PKGBUILD:
==> Hit <Y> to use your running kernel's config (needs IKCONFIG and IKCONFIG_PROC) ==> Hit <L> to run 'make localmodconfig' ==> Hit <N> (or just <ENTER>) to build an all-inclusive kernel like stock -ARCH (warning: it can take a looong time)
The <Y> option is for users who have already compiled and are running a custom kernel. The PKGBUILD reads the running kernel's configuration and uses it for the subsequent compilation.
The <L> option tries some kind of autodetection of the user's hardware: it first tries to use the modprobed-db module database, then falls back to the linux kernel's make localmodconfig
functionality. The last option is self-explanatory.
==> Kernel configuration options before build: <M> make menuconfig (console menu) <N> make nconfig (newer alternative to menuconfig) <G> make gconfig (needs gtk) <X> make xconfig (needs qt) <O> make oldconfig <ENTER> to skip configuration and start compiling
Choose one of these to use your favourite user interface for configuring the kernel. Note that the last option might still prompt with unresolved/new configuration options, if you have selected <Y> or <L> in the previous step.
==> An non-generic CPU was selected for this kernel. ==> Hit <G> : to create a generic package named linux-pf ==> Hit <ENTER> : to create a package named after the selected CPU (e.g. linux-pf-core2 - recommended) ==> This option affects ONLY the package name. Whether or not the ==> kernel is optimized was determined at the previous config step.
If you have selected a specific CPU optimization for your kernel in the previous step, the default action is to append the CPU to the package name. This way, a subsequent package update from the repository will pull the optimized package and not the generic one. This also will help better compatibility with 3rd party precompiled modules (e.g. nvidia-pf), which might break things if loaded on optimized linux-pf kernels.
Install compiled package
After the compilation finishes, an additional linux-pf-headers[-cpu] package will be created. Do not forget to install it too, if you plan on using additional modules like NVIDIA or VirtualBox.
# pacman -U linux-pf-core2-3.3.2-1-$CPUTYPE.pkg.tar.xz linux-pf-headers-core2-3.3.2-1-$CPUTYPE.pkg.tar.xz
During the kernel installation, mkinitcpio will be called by the install script to recreate the initramfs.
Configuration
Then, you need to add a boot entry in boot loader configuration file[broken link: invalid section] which points to linux-pf (the following example is from one of the maintainer's boxes):
title Linux-pf 3.2 root (hd0,4) kernel (hd0,0)/vmlinuz-linux-pf root=/dev/disk/by-label/ROOT ro vga=0x318 lapic resume=/dev/disk/by-label/SWAP video=vesafb:ywrap,mtrr:3 fastboot quiet initrd (hd0,0)/initramfs-linux-pf.img
Tips and tricks
- If you notice disk-related performance problems or occasional hiccups, it might be an I/O scheduler issue. Try a different one than the linux-pf default (BFQ) by echoing to
/sys/block/sda/queue/scheduler
cfq, noop or deadline:# echo noop >
. Note, the aforementioned command only sets the I/O scheduler for the 1st hard drive and additional echoes will be needed if you have more. If the situation improves, then append "elevator=cfq" (or noop or deadline) to the linux-pf command line in/boot/grub/menu.lst
, to make the change permanent. - For people who build their own tailored kernels and compilation aborts with with an error about "missing include/config/dvb/*.h files", setting [*] Digital TV support at Device Drivers / <M> Multimedia support and leaving everything else out, creates just the necessary dvb.h, which allows the compilation to continue.
Forum thread for linux-pf
There is a discussion thread at the BBS for reporting errors, impressions, ideas and requests. It is now closed.