[Asterisk-Users] A question about Linux kernels and Asterisk

[WipeOut]

Steven Critchfield wrote:

>On Fri, 2004-01-09 at 05:08, WipeOut wrote:
>  
>
>>I know nothing about building custome kernels so if these are stupid 
>>questions then tell me.. :)
>>
>>I am guessing that since the kernel can be built with all sorts of 
>>options and settings.. So is there anything in the kernel setup that 
>>could be used to make a custome kernel that would be optimised for use 
>>with asterisk and make it better able to process the codec operations 
>>and RTP streams?? or is it all about as optimal as its going to get in 
>>the standard kernels that come with various distros..
>>
>>The thinking came from a post that I saw a while ago that said that the 
>>Fedora kernel was far better with Asterisk than the RH9 kernel..
>>    
>>
>
>The basic wisdom about a kernel is to use as few pieces in it as
>possible. If you can get away with stripping it down to bare minimum
>then you have removed sections of low non-swappable memory from ever
>loading. Optimize to your current CPU level. Maybe implement QoS and
>firewalling so you can protect your system better plus get your RTP out
>with priority. 
>  
>
So apart from minimising memory usage there is nothing that can really 
be done to improve the kernels computational ability.. The best way I 
can articulate my thinking is if we take an example of a car engine, you 
can take the cylender head and clean up the inlet on outlet ports, even 
open them up a little to get a better path for the air fuel mixture to 
travel through.. Is there no way to "open up" the computational paths in 
the kernel to give it the ability to process more data through the CPU 
(obviously the CPU is the the hard limit of the processing ability).

>I can't comment on Fedora vs. RH9 versions of the kernel as I personally
>won't ever run one unless I am hog tied to some special driver whose
>creator pushes binary only packages against one of those pre made
>kernels. I prefer the bone stock kernel.org sources, but that is just a
>preference.   
>  
>
About the only app I run from source is Asterisk so i think creating 
(and trusting) my own kernel would be a real stretch..

Later..