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Kexec can spawn a
kernel-over-a-kernel without the overhead of boot firmware, while
kdump can reliably collect a crash-dump
using the services of kexec.
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Tried of booting a debug kernel? Kprobes can intrude into your kernel code and extract debug information or apply run time medication.
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Many Linux subsystems, such as the /dev filesystem, hotplug, module autoload, and microcode download have undergone significant changes with the introduction of the new device model. Learn about udev, sysfs, kobjects, classes, and more.
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Interrupt handlers are an integral part of most device drivers. Learn to implement interrupt handlers and bottom halves.
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Look at messages generated during kernel boot and explore the internals of the more interesting ones.
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Kernel helper interfaces make life easier for developers. Learn about notifier chains, completion functions and error handling aids.
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The process filesystem is a window into the mystical innards of the kernel. The seq file interface simplifies the job of process file creators.
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The use of standard kernel helper facilities simplifies your code, weeds out redundancies from the kernel, and helps long-term maintenance. And since the helpers are bug-free and optimized, you inherit those benefits for free.
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Learn how the kernel views physical memory.
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Most embedded devices boot from flash memory and have data resident on flash-based storage. Here’s how to use flash devices while embedding Linux.
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The x86 kernel has direct and indirect dependencies on the system BIOS. Here’s a look at some of the guts.
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Multiple threads of execution need to be synchronized to avoid data corruption and even system freezes.
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The kernel keeps track of the flow of time. It provides services to sleep wait for long periods and busy wait for short periods, can schedule events to run at a future time, and can do periodic work with microsecond precision. Here’s a look at kernel time.
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Kernel threads are used to implement background tasks inside the kernel. They are similar to user processes, but live in kernel address space. Here’s how to use them.
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Profiling helps find code bottlenecks. Trace tools provide the ability to extract and interpret details about code execution.
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Debuggers make kernel internals more transparent. On Linux, they come in different flavors: The Kernel debugger, kdb, the Kernel GNU debugger, kgdb, the GNU debugger, gdb, and JTAG- based debuggers. Learn how to use the former three in this month’s column.
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Thanks to plug-and-play devices like PC cards, you can backup gigabytes of data onto a stamp-sized device or enable your laptop with diverse networking technologies.
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Technologies like Wi-Fi, GPRS, and miniature storage devices are ubiquitous today as PCMCIA or CF cards. The Linux kernel supports PCMCIA devices on a variety of architectures.
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Look at the internals of a line discipline and implement a simple line discipline for a serial touch screen controller.
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