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- [$] Resistance to Rust abstractions for DMA mapping
While the path toward the ability to write device drivers in Rust has beenanything but smooth, steady progress has been made and that goal is closeto being achieved — for some types of drivers at least. Device driversneed to be able to set up memory areas for direct memory access (DMA)transfers, though; that means Rust drivers will need a set ofabstractions to interface with the kernel's DMA-mapping subsystem. Thoseabstractions have run into resistance that has the potential to blockprogress on the Rust-for-Linux project as a whole.
- Freedesktop looking for new home for its GitLab instance
Visitors to the freedesktop.orgGitLab instance are currently being greeted with a message noting thatthe company who has been hosting it for free for nearly five years, Equinix, hasasked that it be moved (or start being paid for) by the end of April. Theissueticket opened by Benjamin Tissoires in order to track the planning of a move is clear that the project is grateful forthe gift:"First, I'd like to thank Equinix Metal for the years of support they gave us. They were very kind and generous with us and even if it's a shame we have to move out on a short notice, all things come to an end."
The current cost for the services, much of which is for 50TB of bandwidth data transferper month and a half-dozen beefy servers for running continuous-integration(CI) jobs, comes to around $24,000 per month. Tissoires believes that theproject should start paying for service somewhere, in order to avoidupheaval of this sort, sometimes on short or no notice. "I personallythink we better have fd.o pay for its own servers, and then have sponsorschip in. This way, when a sponsor goes away, it's technically much simplerto just replace the money than change datacenter." Various options arebeing discussed there, but any move is likely to disrupt normal servicesfor a week or more.
- GNU C Library 2.41 released
Version 2.41 of the GNUC Library has been released. Changes include a number of test-suiteimprovements, strict-error support in the DNS stub resolver, wrappers forthe the sched_setattr()and sched_getattr() system calls,Unicode 16.0.0 support,improved C23 support,support for extensible restartablesequences,Guarded Control Stack support on 64-bit Arm systems,and more.
- Security updates for Thursday
Security updates have been issued by AlmaLinux (redis:7), Debian (bind9, chromium, flightgear, pam-u2f, and simgear), Red Hat (fence-agents, git-lfs, libsoup, python3.9, rsync, and traceroute), Slackware (bind), SUSE (apache2-mod_security2, corepack22, go1.24, hplip, ignition, iperf, kernel, kernel-devel-longterm, nginx, nodejs22, openvpn, owasp-modsecurity-crs, and shadow), and Ubuntu (bind9, jinja2, libxml2, linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8, php7.0, tomcat6, and vlc).
- Thunderbird moving to monthly updates in March
The Thunderbird project has announcedthat it is making its Releasechannel the default download beginning with the 135.0 release inMarch. This will move users to major monthly releases instead of theannual major Extended Support Release (ESR) that is the currentdefault.
One of our goals for 2025 is to increase active installations on therelease channel to at least 20% of the total installations. At lastcheck, we had 29,543 active installations on the release channel,compared to 20,918 on beta, and 5,941 on daily. The release channelinstallations currently account for 0.27% of the 10,784,551 totalactive installations tracked on stats.thunderbird.net.
- [$] LWN.net Weekly Edition for January 30, 2025
Inside this week's LWN.net Weekly Edition:
Front: Go vendoring in Fedora; Rust 2024 edition; 6.14 Merge window; uretprobe(); FOSDEM keynote; Earthstar. Briefs: Git security; Ubuntu discussion; LWN EPUBs; Facebook moderation; Quotes; ... Announcements: Newsletters, conferences, security updates, patches, and more.
- Incus 6.9 released
Version 6.9 of the Incus container and virtual-machine management system has been released. Changes include a command to provide virtual machine memory dumps, ability to set network ACLs for instances on bridged networks, and more.
- LWN in EPUB format
For years we have had occasional requests to be able to receive LWN ina format for ebook readers. It took a while, but we are now happy toannounce that all of LWN's feature content is available, to subscribers atthe "professional hacker" level and above, in the EPUB format. To obtainthe weekly edition as an EPUB file, just click the "Download EPUB" link inthe left column. There is a separate RSS feedfor the EPUB format as well. Any other feature content can be turned intoan ebook by appending /epub to its URL.
We will also be creating special EPUB books at times. As an example ofwhat is possible, our complete coverage from Kangrejos 2024 and the 2024 Linux Storage, Filesystem,Memory Management, and BPF Summit are available to all readers.
There are surely places where our EPUB books can be improved; please feelfree to drop us a note (at lwn@lwn.net) with suggestions.
- Credential-leaking vulnerability in some Git credential managers
Security researcher RyotaKhas shared a series of vulnerabilities that all have to do with how Gitinterfaces with externalcredential managers. In short, while Git guards against newline characters(\n) being injected into a repository's URL, some programming languagesalso treat carriage return characters (\r) as being newlines. Adding acarriage return to a repository's URL can cause Git and the credential managerto disagree on how the URL should be parsed, ultimately resulting in Gitcredentials being sent to the wrong host. Malicious repositories could includeGit submodules with malformed URLs, triggering the bug. Only password-based authenticationwith an external credential manager isvulnerable to this attack; SSH-based authentication remains secure. The Git projecthas chosen to consider this a vulnerability in Git, given the large amount ofexternal software affected. The project has fixed the bug on its end byreleasing updates for all supported versions that bancarriage returns in URLs entirely.
Affected software includes GitHub Desktop, Git LFS, and possibly other Git utilities:
Since Git itself doesn't use .lfsconfig file, specifying the URL that containsthe newline character in .lfsconfig causes Git LFS to insert the newline characterinto the message, while bypassing [...] Git's validation.
- [$] Offline applications with Earthstar
Earthstar is a privacy-oriented,offline-first, LGPL-licensed database intended to support distributedapplications. Unlike other distributed storage libraries, itfocuses on providing mutable data with human-meaningful names and modificationtimes, which gives it an interface similar to many non-distributedkey-value databases.Now, the developers are looking at switching to a new synchronizationprotocol — one that is general enough that it might see wider adoption.
- Metis Compute Board with RK3588 and AI Acceleration for Edge Applications
The Metis Compute Board is a compact single-board computer designed for AI applications requiring high computational performance at the edge. Built around the ARM-based RK3588 processor, it integrates the Metis AIPU for AI acceleration and features up to 16 GB of RAM, dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, and GPIO support.
- How to Edit your Hosts File in Linux
The hosts file is a text file in Linux that maps hostnames with IP addresses. It has priority over the DNS resolution, so it can be used for testing applications, development, and blocking websites. There is also a hosts file in other Operating Systems, such as Windows and MacOS. However, this tutorial will show how to edit your hosts file in Linux.
- Amazon Sues WA State Over Washington Post Request for Kuiper Records
The company that Jeff Bezos founded has gone to court to keep the newspaper he owns from finding out too much about the inner workings of its business. From a report: Amazon is suing Washington state to limit the release of public records to The Washington Post from a series of state Department of Labor and Industries investigations of an Amazon Project Kuiper satellite facility in the Seattle area. The lawsuit, filed this week in King County Superior Court in Seattle, says the newspaper on Nov. 26 requested "copies of inspection records, investigation notes, interview notes, complaints," and other documents related to four investigations at the Redmond, Wash., facility between August and October 2024. It's not an unusual move by the company, and in some ways it's a legal technicality. Amazon says it's not seeking to block the records release entirely, but rather seeking to protect from public disclosure certain records that contain proprietary information and trade secrets about the company's satellite internet operations. The lawsuit cites a prior situation in which Amazon and the Department of Labor and Industries similarly worked through the court to respond to a Seattle Times public records request without disclosing proprietary information.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Google Offering 'Voluntary Exit' For Employees Working on Pixel, Android
Google is offering U.S. employees in its Platforms & Devices division a voluntary exit program with severance packages, following last year's merger of its Pixel hardware and Android software teams. The program affects staff working on Android, Chrome, Google Photos, Pixel, Fitbit, and Nest products, according to a memo from Senior Vice President Rick Osterloh. The move comes after the hardware division cut hundreds of roles last January when it reorganized into a functional model. Google said the program aims to retain employees committed to the combined organization's mission, though it does not coincide with any product changes.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Oracle Faces Java Customer Revolt After 'Predatory' Pricing Changes
Nearly 90% of Oracle Java customers are looking to abandon the software maker's products following controversial licensing changes made in 2023, according to research firm Dimensional Research. The exodus reflects growing frustration with Oracle's shift to per-employee pricing for its Java platform, which critics called "predatory" and could increase costs up to five times for the same software, Gartner found. The dissatisfaction runs deepest in Europe, where 92% of French and 95% of German users want to switch to alternative providers like Bellsoft Liberica, IBM Semeru, or Azul Platform Core.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Books Written By Humans Are Getting Their Own Certification
The Authors Guild -- one of the largest associations of writers in the US -- has launched a new project that allows authors to certify that their book was written by a human, and not generated by artificial intelligence. From a report: The Guild says its "Human Authored" certification aims to make it easier for writers to "distinguish their work in increasingly AI-saturated markets," and that readers have a right to know who (or what) created the books they read. Human Authored certifications will be listed in a public database that anyone can access.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- SoftBank in Talks To Invest Up To $25 Billion in OpenAI
An anonymous reader shares a report: SoftBank is in talks to invest as much as $25 billion into OpenAI [non-paywalled source], in a deal that would make it the ChatGPT maker's biggest financial backer, as the pair partner on a huge new artificial intelligence infrastructure project. The two companies announced last week they would lead a joint venture that would spend $100 billion on Stargate -- a sprawling data centre project touted by US President Donald Trump -- with the figure rising to as much as $500 billion over the next four years. SoftBank is in talks to invest $15 billion to $25 billion directly into OpenAI on top of its commitment of more than $15 billion to Stargate, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the negotiations.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Has Europe's Great Hope For AI Missed Its Moment?
France's Mistral AI is facing mounting pressure over its future as an independent European AI champion, as competition intensifies from U.S. tech giants and China's emerging players. The Paris-based startup, valued at $6.5 billion and backed by Microsoft and Nvidia, has struggled to keep pace with larger rivals despite delivering advanced AI models with a fraction of their resources. The pressure increased this week after China's DeepSeek released a cutting-edge open-source model that challenged Mistral's efficiency-focused strategy. Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch dismissed speculation about selling to Big Tech companies, saying the firm hopes to go public eventually. However, one investor told the Financial Times that "they need to sell themselves." The stakes are high for Europe's tech ambitions. Mistral remains the region's only significant player in large language models, the technology behind ChatGPT, after Germany's Aleph Alpha pivoted away from the field last year. The company has won customers including France's defense ministry and BNP Paribas, but controls just 5% of the enterprise AI market compared to OpenAI's dominant share.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- India Lauds Chinese AI Lab DeepSeek, Plans To Host Its Models on Local Servers
India's IT minister on Thursday praised DeepSeek's progress and said the country will host the Chinese AI lab's large language models on domestic servers, in a rare opening for Chinese technology in India. From a report: "You have seen what DeepSeek has done -- $5.5 million and a very very powerful model," IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday, responding to criticism New Delhi has received for its own investment in AI, which has been much less than many other countries. Since 2020, India has banned more than 300 apps and services linked to China, including TikTok and WeChat, citing national security concerns. The approval to allow DeepSeek to be hosted in India appears contingent on the platform storing and processing all Indian users' data domestically, in line with India's strict data localization requirements. [...] DeepSeek's models will likely be hosted on India's new AI Compute Facility. The facility is powered by 18,693 graphics processing units (GPUs), nearly double its initial target -- almost 13,000 of those are Nvidia H100 GPUs, and about 1,500 are Nvidia H200 GPUs.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Nintendo Loses Trademark Battle With a Costa Rican Grocery Store
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Techdirt: While most of our conversations about Nintendo recently have focused on the somewhat bizarre patent lawsuit the company filed against Pocketpair over the hit game Palworld, traditionally our coverage of the company has focused more on the very wide net of IP bullying it engages in. This is a company absolutely notorious for behaving in as protectionist a fashion as possible with anything even remotely related to its IP. That reputation is so well known, in fact, that it serves the company's bullying purposes. When smaller entities get threat letters or oppositions to applied-for trademarks and the like, some simply back down without a fight. But not the Super Mario shop in Costa Rica, it seems. The supermarket store owned by a man named Mario (hence the name), has had a trademark on its name since 2013. But when Mario's son, Charlito, went to renew the registration, Nintendo's lawyers suddenly came calling. Last year it was time to renew the registration, Charlito stated, which prompted Nintendo to get involved. While Nintendo has trademarked the use of Super Mario worldwide under numerous categories, including video games, clothing and toys, it appears the company did not specifically state anything about the names of supermarkets. This, Charlito says, was the key factor in the decision by Costa Rica's trademark authority, the National Register, to side with the supermarket. "As you will see from the picture [here], it is extremely clear, based on the rest of the store's signage and branding, that there is absolutely no attempt in any of this to draw any kind of association with Nintendo's iconic character," writes Techdirt's Timothy Geigner. "The shop already had the name for over a decade, and had a trademark on the name for over a decade, all apparently without any noticeable effect on Nintendo's enormous business. For a renewal of that mark to trigger this kind of conflict is absurd."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Asteroid Contains Building Blocks of Life, Say Scientists
Mr. Dollar Ton shares a report from the BBC: The chemical building blocks of life have been found, among many other complex chemical compounds, in the grainy dust of an asteroid called Bennu, an analysis reveals. Samples of the space rock, which were scooped up by a Nasa spacecraft and brought to Earth, contain a rich array of minerals and thousands of organic compounds. These include amino acids, which are the molecules that make up proteins, as well as nucleobases -- the fundamental components of DNA. The findings are published in two papers in the journal nature.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Astronomers Discover 196-Foot Asteroid With 1-In-83 Chance of Hitting Earth In 2032
Astronomers have discovered a newly identified asteroid that has a 1-in-83 chance of striking Earth on December 22, 2032, though the most likely scenario is a close miss. Designated as 2024 YR4, the asteroid measures in at 196 feet wide and is currently 27 million miles away. Space.com reports: The near-Earth object (NEO) discovered in 2024, which is around half as wide as a football field is long, will make a very close approach to Earth on Dec. 22, 2032. It's estimated to come within around 66,000 miles (106,200 kilometers) of Earth on that day, according to NASA's Center of NEO Studies (CNEOS). However, when orbital uncertainties are considered, that close approach could turn out to be a direct hit on our planet. Such an impact could cause an explosion in the atmosphere, called an "airburst," or could cause an impact crater when it slams into the ground. This is enough to see asteroid 2024 YR4 leap to the top of the European Space Agency's NEO impact Risk List and NASA's Sentry Risk Table. "People should absolutely not worry about this yet," said Catalina Sky Survey engineer and asteroid hunter David Rankin. "Impact probability is still very low, and the most likely outcome will be a close approaching rock that misses us." As for where it could hit Earth, Rankin said that the "risk corridor" for impact runs from South America across the Atlantic to sub-Saharan Africa.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Tesla's numbers disappoint again ... and the crowd goes wild ... again
Boy who's cried wolf on autonomous driving for years swears 'there's a damn wolf this time'
Tesla had a pretty dismal fourth-quarter of 2024 and a rough year overall, financially. But you wouldn't know it from the after-hours boost to its share price as CEO Elon Musk predicted a record 2025 buoyed by yet more promises of fully autonomous robotaxis.…
- Trump admin's purge of US cyber advisory boards was 'foolish,' says ex-Navy admiral
‘No one was kicked off the NTSB in the middle of investigating a crash’
interview Gutting the Cyber Safety Review Board as it was investigating how China's Salt Typhoon breached American government and telecommunications networks was "foolish" and "bad for national security," according to retired US Navy Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery.…
- DeepSeek stirs intrigue and doubt across the tech world
China's AI disruptor rattles industry watchers with unproven claims
In a busy week for GenAI, the tech industry is weighing the impact of the latest interloper on the LLM scene. China's DeepSeek shocked stock markets on Monday, slashing $600 billion off the value of erstwhile AI golden child Nvidia.…
- Even Windows 10 cannot escape the new Outlook
Microsoft fixes DAC woes and makes good on its New Outlook threat for Windows 10
There is mixed news for Windows users. Microsoft has released a patch it claims fixes the DAC problem. The bad news – for some users – is that the new Outlook for Windows app has reached Windows 10.…
- IBM seeks $3.5B in cost savings for 2025, discretionary spend to be clipped
Workforce rebalancing? Yes, but on the plus side, the next 12 months are all about AI, AI, and more AI
IBM is again forecasting cost savings in the coming calendar year, which likely means one thing for its legions of workers – pedal fast and keep your heads down because headcount reductions may be on the way once more.…
- Security: Why Linux Is Better Than Windows Or Mac OS
Linux is a free and open source operating system that was released in 1991 developed and released by Linus Torvalds. Since its release it has reached a user base that is greatly widespread worldwide. Linux users swear by the reliability and freedom that this operating system offers, especially when compared to its counterparts, windows and [0]
- Essential Software That Are Not Available On Linux OS
An operating system is essentially the most important component in a computer. It manages the different hardware and software components of a computer in the most effective way. There are different types of operating system and everything comes with their own set of programs and software. You cannot expect a Linux program to have all [0]
- Things You Never Knew About Your Operating System
The advent of computers has brought about a revolution in our daily life. From computers that were so huge to fit in a room, we have come a very long way to desktops and even palmtops. These machines have become our virtual lockers, and a life without these network machines have become unimaginable. Sending mails, [0]
- How To Fully Optimize Your Operating System
Computers and systems are tricky and complicated. If you lack a thorough knowledge or even basic knowledge of computers, you will often find yourself in a bind. You must understand that something as complicated as a computer requires constant care and constant cleaning up of junk files. Unless you put in the time to configure [0]
- The Top Problems With Major Operating Systems
There is no such system which does not give you any problems. Even if the system and the operating system of your system is easy to understand, there will be some times when certain problems will arise. Most of these problems are easy to handle and easy to get rid of. But you must be [0]
- 8 Benefits Of Linux OS
Linux is a small and a fast-growing operating system. However, we can’t term it as software yet. As discussed in the article about what can a Linux OS do Linux is a kernel. Now, kernels are used for software and programs. These kernels are used by the computer and can be used with various third-party software [0]
- Things Linux OS Can Do That Other OS Cant
What Is Linux OS? Linux, similar to U-bix is an operating system which can be used for various computers, hand held devices, embedded devices, etc. The reason why Linux operated system is preferred by many, is because it is easy to use and re-use. Linux based operating system is technically not an Operating System. Operating [0]
- Packagekit Interview
Packagekit aims to make the management of applications in the Linux and GNU systems. The main objective to remove the pains it takes to create a system. Along with this in an interview, Richard Hughes, the developer of Packagekit said that he aims to make the Linux systems just as powerful as the Windows or [0]
- What’s New in Ubuntu?
What Is Ubuntu? Ubuntu is open source software. It is useful for Linux based computers. The software is marketed by the Canonical Ltd., Ubuntu community. Ubuntu was first released in late October in 2004. The Ubuntu program uses Java, Python, C, C++ and C# programming languages. What Is New? The version 17.04 is now available here [0]
- Ext3 Reiserfs Xfs In Windows With Regards To Colinux
The problem with Windows is that there are various limitations to the computer and there is only so much you can do with it. You can access the Ext3 Reiserfs Xfs by using the coLinux tool. Download the tool from the official site or from the sourceforge site. Edit the connection to “TAP Win32 Adapter [0]
- Apples macOS UNIX certification is a lie
As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a someone mentioning macOS is a UNIX approaches 1. In fact, it was only late last year that The Open Group announced that macOS 15.0 was, once again, certified as UNIX, continuing Apples long-standing tradition of certifying macOS releases as real! UNIX®. What does any of this actually, mean, though? Well, it turns out that if you actually dive into Apples conformance statements for macOS UNIX certification, it doesnt really mean anything at all. First and foremost, we have to understand what UNIX certification really means. In order to be allowed to use the UNIX trademark, your operating system needs to comply with the Single UNIX Specification (SUS), which specifies programming interfaces for C, a command-line shell, and user commands, more or less identical to POSIX, as well as the X/Open Curses specification. The latest version is SUS version 4, originally published in 2008, with amendments published in 2013 and 2016, which were rolled up into version 4 in 2018. The various versions of the SUS that exist, in turn, correspond to a specific UNIX trademark. In table form: Trademark SUS version SUS published in: SUS last amended in: UNIX® 93 n.a. n.a. n.a. UNIX® 95 Version 1 1994 n.a. UNIX® 98 Version 2 1997 n.a. UNIX® 03 Version 3 2002 2004 UNIX® V7 Version 4 2008 2016 (2018 for roll-up) When you read that macOS is a certified UNIX, which of these versions and trademarks do you assume macOS complies with? Youd assume they would just target the latest trademark and SUS version, right? This would allow macOS to carry the UNIX® V7 trademark, because they would conform to version 4 of the SUS, which dates to 2016. The real answer is that macOS 15.0 only conforms to version 3 of the SUS, which dates all the way back to the ancient times of 2004, and as such, macOS is only UNIX® 03 (on both Intel and ARM). However, you can argue this is just semantics, since its not like UNIX and POSIX are very inclined to change. So now, like the UNIX nerd that you are, you want to see all this for yourself. You use macOS, safe in the knowledge that unlike those peasants using Linux or one of the BSDs, youre using a real UNIX®. So you can just download all the tests suites (if you can afford them, but thats a whole different can of worms) and run them, replicating Apples compliance testing, seeing for yourself, on your own macOS 15 installation, that macOS 15 is a real UNIX®, right? Well, no, you cant, because the version of macOS 15 Apple certifies is not the version thats running on everyones supported Macs. To gain its much-vaunted UNIX certification for macOS, Apple cheats. A lot. The various documents Apple needs to submit to The Open Group as part of the UNIX certification process are freely available, and mostly its a lot of very technical questions about various very specific aspects of macOS UNIX and POSIX compliance few of us would be able to corroborate without extensive research and in-depth knowledge of macOS, UNIX, and POSIX. However, at the end of every one of these Conformance Statements, theres a text field where the applicant can write down additional, explanatory material that was provided by the vendor!, and its in these appendices where we can see just how much Apple has to cheat to ensure macOS passes the various UNIX® 03 certification tests. In the first of these four documents, Internationalised System Calls and Libraries Extended V3, Apples additional, explanatory material! reads as follows: Question 27: By default, core file generation is not enabled. To enable core file generation, you can issue this command: sudo launchctl limit core unlimited Testing Environment Addendum: macOS version 15.0 Sequoia, like previous versions, includes an additional security mechanism known as System Integrity Protection (SIP). This security policy applies to every running process, including privileged code and code that runs out of the sandbox. The policy extends additional protections to components on disk and at run-time, only allowing system binaries to be modified by the system installer and software updates. Code injection and runtime attachments to system binaries are no longer permitted. To run the VSX conformance test suite we first disable SIP as follows: Shut down the system. Press and hold the power button. Keep holding it while you see the Apple logo and the message Continue holding for startup options! Release the power button when you see Loading startup options! Choose Options! and click Continue! Select an administrator account and enter its password. From the Utilities menu in the Menu Bar, select Terminal. At the prompt, issue the following command: csrutil disable! You should see a message that SIP is disabled. From the Apple menu, select Restart!. By default, macOS coalesces timeouts that are scheduled to occur within 5 seconds of each other. This can randomly cause some sleep calls to sleep for different times than requested (which affects tests of file access times) so we disable this coalescing when testing. To disable timeout coalescing issue this command: sudo sysctl -w kern.timer.coalescing_enabled=0 By default there is no root user. We enable the root user for testing using the following series of steps: Launch the Directory Utility by pressing Command and Space, and then typing Directory Utility! Click the Lock icon in Directory Utility and authenticate by entering an Administrator username and password. From the Menu Bar in Directory Utility: Choose Edit -b Enable Root User. Then enter a password for the root user, and confirm it. Note: If you choose, you can later Disable Root User via the same menu. ↫ Apples appendix to Internationalised System Calls and Libraries Extended V3 The second conformance statement, Commands and Utilities V4, has another appendix, and its a real doozy (the indicate repeat remarks from the previous appendix; Ive removed them for brevity): Testing Environment Addendum: The third and fourth conformance statements have
- Linux 6.14 with Rust: We are almost at the write a real driver in Rust stage now!
With the Linux 6.13 kernel, Greg Kroah-Hartman described the level of Rust support as a tipping point! for Rust drivers with more of the Rust infrastructure having been merged. Now for the Linux 6.14 kernel, Greg describes the state of the Rust driver possibilities as almost at the write a real driver in rust! stage now, depending on what you want to do. ↫ Michael Larabel Excellent news, as theres a lot of interest in Rust, and it seems that allowing developers to write drivers for Linux in Rust will make at least some new and upcoming drivers comes with less memory safety issues than non-Rust drivers. Im also quite sure this will anger absolutely nobody.
- OpenAI doesnt like it when you use their! generated slop without permission
OpenAI says it has found evidence that Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek used the US company’s proprietary models to train its own open-source competitor, as concerns grow over a potential breach of intellectual property. ↫ Cristina Criddle and Eleanor Olcott for the FT This is more ironic than writing a song called Ironic that lists situations that arent actually ironic. OpenAI claims its free to suck up whatever content and data it can find on the web without any form of permission or consent, but throws a tamper tantrum when someone takes whatever they regurgitate for their own use without permission or consent? Cry me a river.
- Google Maps is run by cowards
Google, on its Google Maps naming policy, back in 2008: By saying common!, we mean to include names which are in widespread daily use, rather than giving immediate recognition to any arbitrary governmental re-naming. In other words, if a ruler announced that henceforth the Pacific Ocean would be named after her mother, we would not add that placemark unless and until the name came into common usage. Google, today, in 2025: Google has confirmed that Google Maps will soon rename the Gulf of Mexico and Denali mountain in Alaska as the “Gulf of America” and “Mount McKinley” in line with changes implemented by the Trump Administration, but users in the rest of the world may see two names for these locations. Nothing is worth less than the word of a corporation.
- Reviving a dead audio format: the return of ZZM
Long-time readers will know that my first video game love was the text-mode video game slash creation studio ZZT. One feature of this game is the ability to play simple music through the PC speaker, and back in the day, I remember that the format “ZZM” existed, so you could enjoy the square wave tunes outside of the games. But imagine my surprise in 2025 to find that, while the Museum of ZZT does have a ZZM Audio section, it recommends that nobody use the format anymore; because nobody’s made a player that doesn’t require MS-DOS. Let’s fix that by making a player with way higher system requirements, using everyone’s favorite coding environment: Javascript. ↫ Nicole Branagan ZZMs history and Branagans journey to make this work without having to rely on DOS took a lot more work than I expected, and is quite interesting, too. Very niche, for sure, but thats kind of what were here for.
- The invalid 68030 instruction that accidentally allowed the Mac Classic II to successfully boot up
A bug in the ROM for the Macintosh II was recently discovered that causes a crash when booting in 32-bit mode. Doug Brown discovered and documented the bug while playing with the MAME debugger. Why did it never show up before? It seems a quirk in Motorolas 68030 CPU inadvertently fixes it when executing an illegal instruction that shouldnt have been executed in the first place. What follows is his process for investigating the room on emulated hardware, and then testing it on actual hardware.
- PebbleOS becomes open source, new Pebble device announced
Eric Migicovsky, founder of Pebble, the original smartwatch maker, made a major announcement today together with Google. Pebble was originally bought by Fitbit and in turn Fitbit was then bought by Google, but Migicovsky always wanted to to go back to his original idea and create a brand new smartwatch. PebbleOS took dozens of engineers working over 4 years to build, alongside our fantastic product and QA teams. Reproducing that for new hardware would take a long time. Instead, we took a more direct route I asked friends at Google (which bought Fitbit, which had bought Pebble’s IP) if they could open source PebbleOS. They said yes! Over the last year, a team inside Google (including some amazing ex-Pebblers turned Googlers) has been working on this. And today is the day the source code for PebbleOS is now available at github.com/google/pebble (see their blog post). ↫ Eric Migicovsky Of course, this is amazing news for the still-thriving community of Pebble users who have kept the platform and their devices going through sheer force of will, but it also means Pebble is going to making a comeback in a more official capacity: alongside the announcement of PebbleOS becoming open source, theres also the unveiling of rePebble, a brand new Pebble watch that retains all of the popular features and specifications of the original devices. Itll run the open source PebbleOS, of course, and will be compatible with the existing ecosystem of applications. Ive never had a Pebble, but theres no denying the company hit on something valuable, and I know people who still rock their original Pebble devices to this day. The excitement about this announcement is palpable, and Im pleasantly surprised Google cared enough to work on making an open source PebbleOS a reality (I know of quite a few other companies sitting on deeply loved code and IP rotting away in obscurity). I cant wait to see what the new device will look like!
- Chinese researchers just built an open-source rival to ChatGPT in 2 months, and Silicon Valley is freaked out
Speaking of AI!, the Chinese company DeepSeek has lobbed a grenade dead-centre into the middle of the AI! bubble, and its been incredibly entertaining to watch. DeepSeek has released several new AI! models, which seem to rival or even surpass OpenAIs latest ChatGPT models but with a massive twist: DeepSeek, being Chinese, cant use NVIDIAs latest GPUs, and as such, was forced to work within very tight constraints. Theyve managed to surpass ChatGPTs best models with a fraction of the GPU horsepower, and thus a fraction of the cost, and a fraction of the energy requirements. But unlike ChatGPTs o1, DeepSeek is an open-weight! model that (although its training data remains proprietary) enables users to peer inside and modify its algorithm. Just as important is its reduced price for users — 27 times less than o1. Besides its performance, the hype around DeepSeek comes from its cost efficiency; the models shoestring budget is minuscule compared with the tens of millions to hundreds of millions that rival companies spent to train its competitors. ↫ Ben Turner at LiveScience The fallout has been disastrous for NVIDIA, in particular. The companys stock price tumbled 17% today, and more entertaining yet, the various massive investments of hundreds of billions of dollars into western AI! seem like a huge waste of money. The DeepSeek models are also nominally open source, and are clearly showing that most likely, there simply isnt a huge AI! market worth hundreds of billions of dollars dollars at all. On top of that, the US is clearly not ahead in AI! at all, as was the common wisdom pretty much until yesterday. Of course, DeepSeek is Chinese, and that means censorship the real kind is a thing. Asking the latest DeepSeek model about the massacre at Tiananmen Square returns nothing, suggesting the user ask about other topics instead. Im sure over the coming weeks more and more or these kinds of censorship will be discovered, but hopefully its open source nature will allow the models to be adapted and changed to remove such censorship. Do note that all of these AI! models are all deeply biased because theyre trained on content that is itself deeply biased, thereby perpetuating and amplifying damaging stereotypes and inaccuracies, especially since people have a tendency to assume computers cant be biased. Whatever may happen, at least OpenAI losing its job to AI! is hilarious.
- AI bots paralyze Linux news site and others
Apparently, since the beginning of the year, AI bots have been ensuring that websites can only respond to regular inquiries with a delay. The founder of Linux Weekly News (LWN-net), Jonathan Corbet, reports that the news site is therefore often slow to respond. The AI scraper bots cause a DDoS, a distributed denial-of-service attack. At times, the AI bots would clog the lines with hundreds of IP addresses simultaneously as soon as they decided to access the sites content. Corbet explains on Mastodon that only a small proportion of the traffic currently serves real human readers. ↫ Dirk Knop at Heise.de Im sure someone will tell me we just have to accept that a large percentage of our bandwidth is going to overpriced bullshit generators, and that we should just suck it up and pay for Sam Altmans new house. I hope these same people realise AI! is destroying the last vestiges of the internet that havent fallen victim to all the other techbro fads so far, and that sooner rather than later there wont be anything left to browse to. The coming few years are going to be fun.
- When a sole maintainer steps down, Linux drivers become orphans
The Linux kernel has become such an integral, core part of pretty much all aspects of the technology world, and corporate contributions to the kernel make up such a huge chunk of the kernels ongoing development, its easy to forget that some parts of the kernel are still maintained by some lone person in Jacksonville, Nebraska, or whatever. Sadly, we were reminded of this today when the sole maintainer of a few DRM (no, not the bad kind) announced he can no longer maintain the gud, mi0283qt, panel-mipi-dbi, and repaper drivers. Remove myself as maintainer for gud, mi0283qt, panel-mipi-dbi and repaper. My fatigue illness has finally closed the door on doing development of even moderate complexity so its sad to let this go. ↫ Noralf Trønnes There must be quite a few obscure parts of the Linux kernel that are of no interest to the corporate world, and thus remain maintained by individuals in their free time, out of some personal need or perhaps a sense of duty. If one such person gives up their role as maintainer, for whatever reason, you better hope its not something your workflow relies, because if no new maintainer is found, you will eventually run into trouble. I hope Trønnes gets better soon, and if not, that someone else can take over from him to maintain these drivers. The gud driver seems like a really neat tool for homebrew projects, and itd be sad to see it languish as the years go by.
- Exploring LXC Containerization for Ubuntu Servers
by Introduction
In the world of modern software development and IT infrastructure, containerization has emerged as a transformative technology. It offers a way to package software into isolated environments, making it easier to deploy, scale, and manage applications. While Docker is the most popular containerization technology, there are other solutions that cater to different use cases and needs. One such solution is LXC (Linux Containers), which offers a more full-fledged approach to containerization, akin to lightweight virtual machines.
In this guide, we will explore how LXC works, how to set it up on Ubuntu Server, and how to leverage it for efficient and scalable containerization. Whether you9re looking to run multiple isolated environments on a single server, or you want a lightweight alternative to virtualization, LXC can meet your needs. By the end of this article, you will have the knowledge to deploy, manage, and secure LXC containers on your Ubuntu Server setup.
What is LXC?What are Linux Containers (LXC)?
LXC (Linux Containers) is an operating system-level virtualization technology that allows you to run multiple isolated Linux systems (containers) on a single host. Unlike traditional virtualization, which relies on hypervisors to emulate physical hardware for each virtual machine (VM), LXC containers share the host’s kernel while maintaining process and file system isolation. This makes LXC containers lightweight and efficient, with less overhead compared to VMs.
LXC offers a more traditional way of containerizing entire operating systems, as opposed to application-focused containerization solutions like Docker. While Docker focuses on packaging individual applications and their dependencies into containers, LXC provides a more complete environment that behaves like a full operating system.
- Efficient Text Processing in Linux: Awk, Cut, Paste
by Introduction
In the world of Linux, the command line is an incredibly powerful tool for managing and manipulating data. One of the most common tasks that Linux users face is processing and extracting information from text files. Whether it9s log files, configuration files, or even data dumps, text processing tools allow users to handle these files efficiently and effectively.
Three of the most fundamental and versatile text-processing commands in Linux are awk, cut, and paste. These tools enable you to extract, modify, and combine data in a way that’s quick and highly customizable. While each of these tools has a distinct role, together they offer a robust toolkit for handling various types of text-based data. In this article, we will explore each of these tools, showcasing their capabilities and providing examples of how they can be used in day-to-day tasks.
The cut Command
The cut command is one of the simplest yet most useful text-processing tools in Linux. It allows users to extract sections from each line of input, based on delimiters or character positions. Whether you9re working with tab-delimited data, CSV files, or any structured text data, cut can help you quickly extract specific fields or columns.
Definition and Purpose
The purpose of cut is to enable users to cut out specific parts of a file. It9s highly useful for dealing with structured text like CSVs, where each line represents a record and the fields are separated by a delimiter (e.g., a comma or tab).
Basic Syntax and Usage
cut -d [delimiter] -f [fields] [file]
-d [delimiter]: This option specifies the delimiter, which is the character that separates fields in the text. By default, cut treats tabs as the delimiter. -f [fields]: This option is used to specify which fields you want to extract. Fields are numbered starting from 1. [file]: The name of the file you want to process.Examples of Common Use CasesExtracting columns from a CSV file
Suppose you have a CSV file called data.csv with the following content:
Name,Age,Location Alice,30,New York Bob,25,San Francisco Charlie,35,Boston
To extract the "Name" and "Location" columns, you would use:
cut -d 9,9 -f 1,3 data.csv
This will output:
Name,Location Alice,New York Bob,San Francisco Charlie,Boston
- How to Configure Network Interfaces with Netplan on Ubuntu
by
Netplan is a modern network configuration tool introduced in Ubuntu 17.10 and later adopted as the default for managing network interfaces in Ubuntu 18.04 and beyond. With its YAML-based configuration files, Netplan simplifies the process of managing complex network setups, providing a seamless interface to underlying tools like systemd-networkd and NetworkManager.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of configuring network interfaces using Netplan, from understanding its core concepts to troubleshooting potential issues. By the end, you’ll be equipped to handle basic and advanced network configurations on Ubuntu systems.
Understanding Netplan
Netplan serves as a unified tool for network configuration, allowing administrators to manage networks using declarative YAML files. These configurations are applied by renderers like:
systemd-networkd: Ideal for server environments.
NetworkManager: Commonly used in desktop setups.
The key benefits of Netplan include:
Simplicity: YAML-based syntax reduces complexity.
Consistency: A single configuration file for all interfaces.
Flexibility: Supports both simple and advanced networking scenarios like VLANs and bridges.
Prerequisites
Before diving into Netplan, ensure you have the following:
A supported Ubuntu system (18.04 or later).
Administrative privileges (sudo access).
Basic knowledge of network interfaces and YAML syntax.
Locating Netplan Configuration Files
Netplan configuration files are stored in /etc/netplan/. These files typically end with the .yaml extension and may include filenames like 01-netcfg.yaml or 50-cloud-init.yaml.
Important Tips:
Backup existing configurations: Before making changes, create a backup with the command:
sudo cp /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml.bak
YAML Syntax Rules: YAML is indentation-sensitive. Always use spaces (not tabs) for indentation.
Configuring Network Interfaces with Netplan
Here’s how you can configure different types of network interfaces using Netplan.
Step 1: Identify Network Interfaces
Before modifying configurations, identify available network interfaces using:
- Navigating Service Management on Debian
by
Managing services effectively is a crucial aspect of maintaining any Linux-based system, and Debian, one of the most popular Linux distributions, is no exception. In modern Linux systems, Systemd has become the dominant init system, replacing traditional options like SysVinit. Its robust feature set, flexibility, and speed make it the preferred choice for system and service management. This article dives into Systemd, exploring its functionality and equipping you with the knowledge to manage services confidently on Debian.
What is Systemd?
Systemd is an init system and service manager for Linux operating systems. It is responsible for initializing the system during boot, managing system processes, and handling dependencies between services. Systemd’s design emphasizes parallelization, speed, and a unified approach to managing services and logging.
Key Features of Systemd:
Parallelized Service Startup: Systemd starts services in parallel whenever possible, improving boot times.
Unified Logging with journald: Centralized logging for system events and service output.
Consistent Configuration: Standardized unit files make service management straightforward.
Dependency Management: Ensures that services start and stop in the correct order.
Understanding Systemd Unit Files
At the core of Systemd’s functionality are unit files. These configuration files describe how Systemd should manage various types of resources or tasks. Unit files are categorized into several types, each serving a specific purpose.
Common Types of Unit Files:
Service Units (.service): Define how services should start, stop, and behave.
Target Units (.target): Group multiple units into logical milestones, like multi-user.target or graphical.target.
Socket Units (.socket): Manage network sockets for on-demand service activation.
Timer Units (.timer): Replace cron jobs by scheduling tasks.
Mount Units (.mount): Handle filesystem mount points.
Structure of a Service Unit File:
A typical .service unit file includes the following sections:
- Exploring Statistical Analysis with R and Linux
by Introduction
In today9s data-driven world, statistical analysis plays a critical role in uncovering insights, validating hypotheses, and driving decision-making across industries. R, a powerful programming language for statistical computing, has become a staple in data analysis due to its extensive library of tools and visualizations. Combined with the robustness of Linux, a favored platform for developers and data professionals, R becomes even more effective. This guide explores the synergy between R and Linux, offering a step-by-step approach to setting up your environment, performing analyses, and optimizing workflows.
Why Combine R and Linux?
Both R and Linux share a fundamental principle: they are open source and community-driven. This synergy brings several benefits:
Performance: Linux provides a stable and resource-efficient environment, enabling seamless execution of computationally intensive R scripts.
Customization: Both platforms offer immense flexibility, allowing users to tailor their tools to specific needs.
Integration: Linux’s command-line tools complement R’s analytical capabilities, enabling automation and integration with other software.
Security: Linux’s robust security features make it a trusted choice for sensitive data analysis tasks.
Setting Up the EnvironmentInstalling Linux
If you’re new to Linux, consider starting with beginner-friendly distributions such as Ubuntu or Fedora. These distributions come with user-friendly interfaces and vast support communities.
Installing R and RStudio
Install R: Use your distribution’s package manager. For example, on Ubuntu:
sudo apt updatesudo apt install r-base
Install RStudio: Download the RStudio .deb file from RStudio’s website and install it:
sudo dpkg -i rstudio-x.yy.zz-amd64.deb
Verify Installation: Launch RStudio and check if R is working by running:
version Configuring the Environment
Update R packages:
update.packages()
Install essential packages:
install.packages(c("dplyr", "ggplot2", "tidyr")) Essential R Tools and Libraries
R9s ecosystem boasts a wide range of packages for various statistical tasks:
Data Manipulation:
dplyr and tidyr for transforming and cleaning data.
- Linux Trends Shaping the Future of Data Mining
by Introduction
In the digital age, where data is often referred to as the "new oil," the ability to extract meaningful insights from massive datasets has become a cornerstone of innovation. Data mining—the process of discovering patterns and knowledge from large amounts of data—plays a critical role in fields ranging from healthcare and finance to marketing and cybersecurity. While many operating systems facilitate data mining, Linux stands out as a favorite among data scientists, engineers, and developers. This article delves deep into the emerging trends in data mining, highlighting why Linux is a preferred platform and exploring the tools and techniques shaping the industry.
Why Linux is Ideal for Data Mining
Linux has become synonymous with reliability, scalability, and flexibility, making it a natural choice for data mining operations. Here are some reasons why:
Open Source Flexibility: Being open source, Linux allows users to customize the operating system to suit specific data mining needs. This adaptability fosters innovation and ensures the system can handle diverse workloads.
Performance and Scalability: Linux excels in performance, especially in server and cloud environments. Its ability to scale efficiently makes it suitable for processing large datasets.
Tool Compatibility: Most modern data mining tools and frameworks, including TensorFlow, Apache Spark, and Hadoop, have seamless integration with Linux.
Community Support: Linux benefits from an active community of developers who contribute regular updates, patches, and troubleshooting support, ensuring its robustness.
Emerging Trends in Data Mining with Linux1. Integration with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
One of the most significant trends in data mining is its intersection with AI and ML. Linux provides a robust foundation for running advanced machine learning algorithms that automate pattern recognition, anomaly detection, and predictive modeling. Popular ML libraries such as TensorFlow and PyTorch run natively on Linux, offering high performance and flexibility.
For example, in healthcare, AI-driven data mining helps analyze patient records to predict disease outbreaks, and Linux-based tools ensure the scalability needed for such tasks.
2. Real-Time Big Data Processing
In an era where decisions need to be made instantaneously, real-time data mining has gained traction. Linux supports powerful frameworks like Apache Spark, which enables real-time data analysis. Financial institutions, for instance, rely on Linux-based systems to detect fraudulent transactions within seconds, safeguarding billions of dollars.
- Securing Network Communications with a VPN in Linux
by Introduction
In today’s interconnected digital landscape, safeguarding your online activities has never been more critical. Whether you’re accessing sensitive data, bypassing geo-restrictions, or protecting your privacy on public Wi-Fi, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) offers a robust solution. For Linux users, the open source ecosystem provides unparalleled flexibility and control when setting up and managing a VPN.
This guide delves into the fundamentals of VPNs, walks you through setting up and securing your connections in Linux, and explores advanced features to elevate your network security.
Understanding VPNs: What and WhyWhat is a VPN?
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a technology that encrypts your internet traffic and routes it through a secure tunnel to a remote server. By masking your IP address and encrypting data, a VPN ensures that your online activities remain private and secure.
Key Benefits of Using a VPN
Enhanced Privacy: Protects your browsing activities from ISP surveillance.
Data Security: Encrypts sensitive information, crucial when using public Wi-Fi.
Access Control: Bypass geo-restrictions and censorship.
Why Linux?
Linux offers a powerful platform for implementing VPNs due to its open source nature, extensive tool availability, and customizability. From command-line tools to graphical interfaces, Linux users can tailor their VPN setup to meet specific needs.
VPN Protocols: The Backbone of Secure CommunicationPopular VPN Protocols
OpenVPN: A versatile and widely used protocol known for its security and configurability.
WireGuard: Lightweight and modern, offering high-speed performance with robust encryption.
IPsec: Often paired with L2TP, providing secure tunneling for various devices.
Key Features of VPN Protocols
Encryption Standards: AES-256 and ChaCha20 are common choices for secure encryption.
Authentication Methods: Ensure data is exchanged only between verified parties.
Performance and Stability: Balancing speed and reliability is essential for an effective VPN.
Setting Up a VPN in LinuxPrerequisites
A Linux distribution (e.g., Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora).
- Effortless Scheduling in Linux: Mastering the at Command for Task Automation
by Introduction
Scheduling tasks is a fundamental aspect of system management in Linux. From automating backups to triggering reminders, Linux provides robust tools to manage such operations. While cron is often the go-to utility for recurring tasks, the at command offers a powerful yet straightforward alternative for one-time task scheduling. This article delves into the workings of the at command, explaining its features, installation, usage, and best practices.
Understanding the at Command
The at command allows users to schedule commands or scripts to run at a specific time in the future. Unlike cron, which is designed for repetitive tasks, at is ideal for one-off jobs. It provides a flexible way to execute commands at a precise moment without needing a persistent schedule.
Key Features:
Executes commands only once at a specified time.
Supports natural language input for time specifications (e.g., "at noon," "at now + 2 hours").
Integrates seamlessly with the atd (at daemon) service, ensuring scheduled jobs run as expected.
Installing and Setting Up the at Command
To use the at command, you need to ensure that both the at utility and the atd service are installed and running on your system.
Steps to Install:
Check if at is installed:
at -V
If not installed, proceed to the next step.
Install the at package:
On Debian/Ubuntu:
sudo apt install at
On Red Hat/CentOS:
sudo yum install at
On Fedora:
sudo dnf install at
Enable and start the atd service:
sudo systemctl enable atdsudo systemctl start atd Verify the Service:
Ensure the atd service is active:
sudo systemctl status atdBasic Syntax and Usage
The syntax of the at command is straightforward:
at [TIME]
After entering the command, you’ll be prompted to input the tasks you want to schedule. Press Ctrl+D to signal the end of input.
- Building Virtual Worlds on Debian: Harnessing Game Engines for Immersive Simulations
by Introduction
The creation of virtual worlds has transcended traditional boundaries, finding applications in education, training, entertainment, and research. Immersive simulations enable users to interact with complex environments, fostering better understanding and engagement. Debian, a cornerstone of the Linux ecosystem, provides a stable and open-source platform for developing these simulations. In this article, we delve into how Debian can be used with game engines to create captivating virtual worlds, examining tools, workflows, and best practices.
Setting Up Your Development EnvironmentInstalling Debian
Debian’s stability and extensive software repositories make it an ideal choice for developers. To start, download the latest stable release from the Debian website. During installation:
Opt for the Desktop Environment to leverage graphical tools.
Ensure you install the SSH server for remote development if needed.
Include build-essential packages to access compilers and essential tools.
Installing Graphics Drivers
Efficient rendering in game engines relies on optimized graphics drivers. Here’s how to install them:
NVIDIA: Use nvidia-detect to identify the recommended driver and install it via apt.
AMD/Intel: Most drivers are open-source and included by default. Ensure you have the latest firmware using sudo apt install firmware-linux.
Essential Libraries and Tools
Install development libraries like OpenGL, Vulkan, and SDL:
sudo apt updatesudo apt install libgl1-mesa-dev libvulkan1 libsdl2-dev
For asset creation, consider tools like Blender, GIMP, and Krita.
Choosing the Right Game EngineUnity
Unity is a popular choice due to its extensive asset store and scripting capabilities. To install Unity on Debian:
Download Unity Hub from Unity’s website.
Extract the .AppImage and run it.
Follow the instructions to set up your Unity environment.
Unreal Engine
Known for its stunning graphics, Unreal Engine is ideal for high-fidelity simulations. Install it as follows:
Clone the Unreal Engine repository from GitHub.
Install prerequisites using the Setup.sh script.
- Boost Your Linux System: Exploring the Art and Science of Performance Optimization
by
Performance is a cornerstone of effective system administration, particularly in the Linux ecosystem. Whether you9re managing a high-traffic web server, a data-intensive application, or a development machine, tuning your Linux system can lead to noticeable gains in responsiveness, throughput, and overall efficiency. This guide will walk you through the art and science of Linux performance tuning and optimization, delving into system metrics, tools, and best practices.
Understanding Linux Performance Metrics
Before optimizing performance, it’s essential to understand the metrics that measure it. Key metrics include CPU usage, memory utilization, disk I/O, and network throughput. These metrics provide a baseline to identify bottlenecks and validate improvements.
The Role of /proc and /sys Filesystems
The /proc and /sys filesystems are invaluable for accessing system metrics. These virtual filesystems provide detailed information about running processes, kernel parameters, and hardware configurations. For example:
/proc/cpuinfo: Details about the CPU.
/proc/meminfo: Memory usage statistics.
/sys/block: Insights into block devices like disks.
Performance Monitoring Tools
Several tools are available to monitor performance metrics:
Command-Line Tools:
top and htop for a dynamic view of resource usage.
vmstat for an overview of system performance.
iostat for disk I/O statistics.
sar for historical performance data.
Advanced Monitoring:
dstat: A versatile real-time resource monitor.
atop: A detailed, interactive system monitor.
perf: A powerful tool for performance profiling and analysis.
CPU Optimization
The CPU is the heart of your system. Identifying and addressing CPU bottlenecks can significantly enhance performance.
Identifying CPU Bottlenecks
Tools like mpstat (from the sysstat package) and perf help identify CPU bottlenecks. High CPU usage or frequent context switches are indicators of potential issues.
Optimization Techniques
Process Priorities: Use nice and renice to adjust process priorities. For example:
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