Get Better Linux Desktop Performance And More With pf-kernel

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="tux logo" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioFP5EOahWyZcgR0sfSREtvsKELvgiyNzWwMPy6g2gWszFhzmYLHFdfx-1zXVQD0rMT3Hymcz_yf6H45aTDswmmCSajc-aQ1uLFDc86pjJV6uBVqRs2YA1ZalIsCXbNpe0mHVygWAfzLqg/s150/Tux.png" title="tux logo" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://pf.natalenko.name/">pf-kernel</a> is a custom Linux Kernel that comes with some popular patches not merged into the mainline Kernel, such as:</b></div><a name='more'></a><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">-ck patchset with <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_Fuck_Scheduler">BFS</a></b> CPU scheduler: Con Kolivas' ck1 patchset which includes the BFS scheduler that brings better desktop interactivity and responsiveness;</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://algo.ing.unimo.it/people/paolo/disk_sched/">BFQ I/O scheduler</a></b> : using this patch, the disk should be virtually as responsive as if it was idle, no matter what the load is (this is available by default in Sabayon and CyanogenMod);</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://tuxonice.net/features">TuxOnIce</a></b>: an alternative suspend / hibernate framework that uses image compression, supports any number of swap partitions and/or files, has the ability to cancel hibernating or restoring the image by pressing escape key and more;</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://kerneldedup.org/en/projects/uksm/">UKSM</a></b>: Memory De-Duplication;</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://github.com/stec-inc/EnhanceIO">EnhanceIO</a></b>: a driver based on EhanceIO SSD caching software derived from Facebook's open source Flashcache project that's useful for using SSDs as cache devices for traditional HDDs.</li></ul><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">As an example, below you can watch a video recorded by <a href="http://algo.ing.unimo.it/people/paolo/">Paolo Valente</a>, who is behind BFQ, demoing the performance of the BFQ disk I/O scheduler on a hard disk:</div><br /><center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/J-e7LnJblm8" width="420"></iframe><br />(<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=J-e7LnJblm8">direct video link</a>)</center><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red;">Warning:</span> Some things such as graphics drivers may not be compatible with pf-kernel since it may be a lot newer than the Linux Kernel used by default on your Linux distribution so be careful and only install it if you know what you are doing.</b> Also, options (like <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2011/10/increased-performance-in-linux-with.html">Zram</a>) available in your Linux distribution Kernel may not be enabled in pf-kernel. I've tested this in Ubuntu 13.04 (Raring Ringtail) with and I didn't encounter any issues (Bumblebee works with proprietary Nvidia drivers, etc.) but this may not be the case for you since it depends on your hardware and Ubuntu version.</div><br /><br /><br /><h2>Install pf-kernel in Ubuntu / Debian</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Download the latest pf-kernel version for Ubuntu / Debian  from <a href="http://repos.natalenko.name/ubuntu/pf/">HERE</a>.</b> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">You'll need to download two files: <i>linux-image</i> and <i>linux-headers</i> which have the same version (e.g.: 3.9.2), for your architecture. For instance, on 64bit, you'll need "linux-image-3.9.2-pf_1_amd64.deb" and "linux-headers-3.9.2-pf_1_amd64.deb" (3.9.2 is the latest version at the time I'm writing this) and put the downloaded files in some folder, let's say a "kernel" folder in your home directory.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Then, to install it, use the following commands (assuming you've placed the deb files in a folder called "kernel" in your home directory):</div></div><pre class="linux-code"><code>cd ~/kernel<br />sudo dpkg -i *.deb</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Optional:</b> for<b> TuxOnIce</b> to work, firstly <a href="https://help.ubuntu.com/12.04/ubuntu-help/power-hibernate.html">enable hibernate</a> since it's disabled in Ubuntu by default. Then, download the <i>tuxonice-userui</i> deb for your Ubuntu version / architecture from <a href="https://launchpad.net/~tuxonice/+archive/ppa/+packages?field.name_filter=tuxonice-userui&field.status_filter=published&field.series_filter=">HERE</a> and install it, then run the following command to get the TuxOnIce text user interface to work:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo ln -s /usr/lib/tuxonice-userui/tuxoniceui /usr/local/sbin/tuxoniceui_text</code></pre><br />That's all you need to do for TuxOnIce to work (if hibernate is working on your machine, obviously). <br /><br /><b>And finally</b><b>, restart your computer.</b><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>If later on you want to remove pf-kernel</b> and go back to the Linux Kernel you were using before, remove the installed packages using Synaptic (linux-image-*-pf and linux-headers-*-pf) or, to do this automatically via the command line, use the following commands:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>pfkernel=$(dpkg --get-selections | grep linux-.*pf | sed -e 's/-pf.*/-pf/g')<br />sudo apt-get remove $pfkernel</code></pre>And then restart the computer.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>For other Linux distributions or if you want to compile your own Kernel, see the pf-kernel <a href="http://pf.natalenko.name/">homepage</a> for download links.</b></div></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><i>seen on <a href="http://www.lffl.org/2013/05/pf-kernel-disponibile-la-versione-392.html">lffl.org</a>, image via wikipedia</i></div>

Get Better Linux Desktop Performance And More With pf-kernel

pf-kernel is a custom Linux Kernel that comes with some popular patches not merged into the mainline Kernel, such as: -ck patchset with BFS...

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