3 ms·

Gentoo has binary kernel (if you want it) - and of course other options for source, vanilla, etc.

pxc 3y ago
NixOS and GuixSD, much younger distributions in the same broad source-based package management tradition as Gentoo, also make custom kernels super easy to integrate with their usual package management systems while providing convenient, pre-built options. I'm fine with generic kernel builds and that's what I usually use, but I don't think tweaking your kernel is as painful or manual today as the greybeards here remember.
- cesarb 3y ago
  > I'm fine with generic kernel builds and that's what I usually use, but I don't think tweaking your kernel is as painful or manual today as the greybeards here remember. Back then, we went into "make menuconfig", and meticulously reviewed every single configuration option, carefully tuning them to our bespoke hardware; it only took a few hours. Try doing that nowadays; there's simply way too many configuration options (each new device driver adds a couple, and even the kernel core has grown to hundreds of them). So yeah, I'd say fully tweaking your kernel is a more painful process today than in the past. (The same for packages; back then, we could open "dselect" and page through all the available packages in a single evening; nowadays, there's too many of them.)
  - pxc 3y ago
    When I was in high school, I used to use `make menuconfig` that way. I guess I hadn't thought about extending that comprehensive review process to contemporary kernels. I imagine that most people compiling their own kernels today are doing it for the sake of specific, targeted tweaks that they are aware they want in advance.
inglor_cz 3y ago
How much extra performance would you squeeze out on a normal consumer laptop by compiling the kernel yourself nowadays? One per cent? Even back in the Gentoo days, when we measured the differences, they were underwhelming.
- djbusby 3y ago
  Wasn't the kernel so much as compiling all the other stuff with GCC picking the right arch/optimisation. Cause those were for sure faster than running the stock i386 or i686 or x64 apps. But it's been so long (2005) I don't have the numbers in front of me anymore. Not as critical in 2023.

pxc 3y ago

NixOS and GuixSD, much younger distributions in the same broad source-based package management tradition as Gentoo, also make custom kernels super easy to integrate with their usual package management systems while providing convenient, pre-built options. I'm fine with generic kernel builds and that's what I usually use, but I don't think tweaking your kernel is as painful or manual today as the greybeards here remember.

cesarb 3y ago
> I'm fine with generic kernel builds and that's what I usually use, but I don't think tweaking your kernel is as painful or manual today as the greybeards here remember. Back then, we went into "make menuconfig", and meticulously reviewed every single configuration option, carefully tuning them to our bespoke hardware; it only took a few hours. Try doing that nowadays; there's simply way too many configuration options (each new device driver adds a couple, and even the kernel core has grown to hundreds of them). So yeah, I'd say fully tweaking your kernel is a more painful process today than in the past. (The same for packages; back then, we could open "dselect" and page through all the available packages in a single evening; nowadays, there's too many of them.)
- pxc 3y ago
  When I was in high school, I used to use `make menuconfig` that way. I guess I hadn't thought about extending that comprehensive review process to contemporary kernels. I imagine that most people compiling their own kernels today are doing it for the sake of specific, targeted tweaks that they are aware they want in advance.

inglor_cz 3y ago

How much extra performance would you squeeze out on a normal consumer laptop by compiling the kernel yourself nowadays? One per cent? Even back in the Gentoo days, when we measured the differences, they were underwhelming.

djbusby 3y ago
Wasn't the kernel so much as compiling all the other stuff with GCC picking the right arch/optimisation. Cause those were for sure faster than running the stock i386 or i686 or x64 apps. But it's been so long (2005) I don't have the numbers in front of me anymore. Not as critical in 2023.