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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Those who custom configure their kernel: what did you gain? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Curious to know the coolest things you achieved by configuring your kernel. I know kernel config can be boring, but I'm hoping someone will have an impressive answer.

For me I have a very lightweight kernel that runs wayland on nvidia without any issues to date.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Years ago (2006-ish), I ran Gentoo on a 300mhz ultra low power system I used for an irc & web server. I gained LOTS of speed and lowered power draw even further while also enabling the hardware acceleration the board had for ssl encryption and video encoding. The whole thing would pull <5 watts and be super stable. It was well worth it.

But now days a Pi zero would trounce it in both low power draw and speed with stock kernels and I don’t really care enough to try to squeeze more out.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago

Customising the kernel just means something works properly in rare hardware configurations like you described. It's something which he who uses the general hardware (like an X86 desktop) can't easily see or understand because the 'stock' kernel is already working properly.