Master Linux Kernel Development for High-Performance Systems
You’re under pressure. Deadlines are tight, systems are fragile, and the expectations for performance, security, and stability grow every day. As a systems engineer, kernel developer, or infrastructure architect, you know the core of your stack runs on Linux. But if you don’t *own* the kernel-if you can’t debug it, optimise it, or extend it-you’re just managing symptoms, not solving root causes. Most developers treat the kernel as a black box. You’re not most developers. You’re ready to go deeper. To move from patching issues to engineering solutions-to go from reacting to incidents to designing bulletproof systems that set industry benchmarks. The Master Linux Kernel Development for High-Performance Systems course is your proven path from uncertainty to mastery. This isn’t a theoretical overview. It’s a precision-engineered blueprint for building, analysing, and hardening the Linux kernel for real-world, mission-critical environments where microseconds matter and failures cost millions. One graduate, a senior performance architect at a Tier 1 cloud provider, used these techniques to reduce kernel-level latency in their real-time trading platform by 41%. Within six weeks of applying what they learned, they led a team-wide kernel optimisation initiative and were fast-tracked into a principal engineering role. This is the immediate ROI this course is built to deliver. You don’t just learn the kernel’s internals. You gain levers of control. Predictable performance. Debugging fluency. The ability to contribute upstream or build proprietary modifications with confidence. This is the skill set that separates senior kernel engineers from the rest-and positions you as the go-to expert when systems matter most. No more guesswork. No more dependence on fragmentary online documentation or outdated forum posts. This course gives you structured, battle-tested knowledge that works in production environments today. Here’s how this course is structured to help you get there.Course Format & Delivery Details Self-Paced, On-Demand, Zero Time Pressure
This course is entirely self-paced with immediate online access. You begin the moment you enrol, and progress at your own speed-no mandatory live sessions, fixed dates, or rigid weekly schedules. Whether you have 30 minutes during lunch or two hours after work, your progress is fully under your control. Most learners complete the core curriculum within 6–8 weeks, while high-performance teams finish key modules in under 14 days. Immediate practical results are common-many report actionable kernel insights on day one, with full implementation guides ready by week three. Lifetime Access with Future Updates Included
Once enrolled, you receive lifetime access to all course content. Every update, expansion, and improvement to the curriculum is provided at no extra cost. As new kernel versions, security models, and performance tools emerge, your knowledge stays current-forever. Access is 24/7 and mobile-friendly. Whether you’re reviewing memory management concepts on your phone during a commute or debugging a configuration flow on your tablet at 2 a.m., the content is available exactly when and where you need it. Direct Instructor Guidance & Support Framework
You are not on your own. Every section includes structured check-ins, expert-reviewed implementation templates, and access to a private support channel where queries are answered by senior kernel engineers with production experience at global hyperscalers and embedded system leaders. Instructor support is not automated or outsourced. You interact directly with engineers who have contributed to upstream kernel development and operated custom kernels in production for Fortune 500 companies and embedded hardware manufacturers. Certificate of Completion Issued by The Art of Service
Upon finishing the course and passing the final implementation review, you receive a globally recognised Certificate of Completion issued by The Art of Service. This credential is vetted by enterprise hiring teams and used by alumni to validate expertise during promotions, contract negotiations, and role transitions at companies including Red Hat, Intel, AWS, and VMware. The certificate reflects not just completion, but demonstrated competence in kernel build, security hardening, real-time tuning, and system instrumentation-all verified through hands-on project submission. Transparent Pricing, No Hidden Fees
Pricing is straightforward with no recurring fees, surprise charges, or tiered access models. What you see is exactly what you get: full access, lifetime updates, certificate eligibility, and direct support-all included upfront. We accept all major payment methods, including Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal. Transactions are secured with enterprise-grade encryption, and no subscription traps are ever involved. 100% Satisfied or Refunded Guarantee
Enrol with zero risk. If you complete the first two modules and do not find immediate value, clarity, or technical depth, simply request a full refund. No questions, no hassles. This promise eliminates all financial risk while ensuring only committed professionals benefit from the advanced content. Enrolment Confirmation & Access Workflow
After enrolling, you’ll receive a confirmation email. Your access details and onboarding instructions will be sent separately, once your course materials are fully prepared and verified. This ensures every learner receives a consistent, secure, and optimised experience-free of access errors or configuration conflicts. “Will This Work for Me?” - Objection Crushing
If you’ve struggled with fragmented kernel documentation, outdated tutorials, or abstract academic content that doesn't translate to production, this course is designed for you. It works even if: - You’ve never written kernel code before but understand C and system architecture
- You’re an embedded developer transitioning to larger high-performance systems
- You’re a DevOps lead needing deeper ownership of kernel-level optimisations
- You work in a regulated environment where kernel stability is non-negotiable
- You’re preparing for a role at a company that requires low-level system expertise
Role-specific implementation templates are provided for infrastructure engineers, kernel contributors, firmware developers, security analysts, and cloud platform architects. Every exercise maps directly to real-world scenarios-no toy examples. One lead firmware engineer at a medical device manufacturer used Module 5 to eliminate a race condition in their real-time monitoring kernel module. They submitted the fix upstream and were invited to present at a major embedded systems conference-within three months of starting the course. This is not just education. It’s career leverage, delivered with military precision and zero tolerance for fluff.
Module 1: Foundations of Linux Kernel Architecture - Understanding the difference between user space and kernel space
- Kernel compilation process and config options overview
- Introduction to kernel source tree structure and organisation
- Setting up a secure, isolated kernel development environment
- Choosing the right kernel version for performance and stability
- Role of the kernel in system boot and early initialisation
- Understanding kernel panics and oops messages
- Key subsystems: process management, memory, filesystem, I/O
- Kernel licensing (GPL) and implications for proprietary extensions
- Build dependencies and toolchain setup for reproducible builds
Module 2: Kernel Build, Configuration, and Customisation - Using make menuconfig, make xconfig, and command-line config tools
- Selecting optimal configuration for minimal footprint and maximum performance
- Enabling and disabling kernel modules dynamically
- Cross-compilation for embedded targets
- Understanding Kconfig and Makefile integration in kernel source
- Creating custom kernel configuration profiles for different environments
- Automating kernel rebuilds with scripts and containers
- Integrating custom drivers during build time
- Validation of kernel configuration against security benchmarks
- Reproducible builds and checksum verification for audit trails
Module 3: Kernel Compilation and Boot Process Deep Dive - vmlinuz, initramfs, and boot loader integration (GRUB, U-Boot)
- Analysing boot time bottlenecks with bootgraph and tracepoints
- Customising kernel command line parameters for performance tuning
- Implementing early printk for debugging boot failures
- Using kexec for fast kernel switching and live updates
- Secure boot considerations and UEFI integration
- Handling kernel image signing for regulated environments
- Analysing boot sequence with systemd-analyze and bootchart
- Reducing boot latency for embedded and real-time applications
- Building and testing minimal bootable kernel images
Module 4: Kernel Programming Fundamentals - Coding standards and style in the Linux kernel (checkpatch.pl)
- Using kernel-specific data types (u32, atomic_t, etc.)
- Kernel memory allocation: kmalloc, vmalloc, and slab allocation
- Understanding the difference between GFP_KERNEL and GFP_ATOMIC
- Writing your first kernel module: init, exit, and licensing
- Using printk for logging and dynamic debug control
- Interfacing with user space: procfs, sysfs, debugfs
- Using pr_info, pr_debug, and log level management
- Kernel symbol export and module dependency resolution
- Error handling and return codes in kernel functions
Module 5: Kernel Synchronisation and Concurrency Control - Understanding race conditions in kernel code
- Atomic operations and their appropriate use cases
- Spinlocks: implementation, overhead, and best practices
- Read-write locks and their performance trade-offs
- Semaphores vs. mutexes in kernel contexts
- Per-CPU variables and avoiding false sharing
- RCU (Read-Copy-Update): theory and practical implementation
- Deadlock detection and prevention strategies
- Using lockdep to validate synchronisation correctness
- Reducing lock contention in high-throughput subsystems
Module 6: Memory Management in the Kernel - Virtual memory layout in Linux (user vs kernel space)
- Page tables, TLB, and hardware integration
- Understanding the buddy allocator and page management
- Slab, SLUB, and SLOB allocators: differences and use cases
- Caching strategies for frequently allocated kernel objects
- Understanding memory zones: DMA, Normal, HighMem
- Memory overcommit policies and their system impact
- Kernel memory leak detection with kmemleak
- Using vmalloc for large, non-contiguous allocations
- Tuning swappiness and memory pressure thresholds
Module 7: Process Scheduling and Real-Time Performance - CFS (Completely Fair Scheduler) internals and tuning
- Real-time scheduling classes: SCHED_FIFO and SCHED_RR
- Migrating processes between CPUs and NUMA optimisation
- Using chrt and sched_setattr for priority control
- Kernel preemption models: PREEMPT_NONE, VOLUNTARY, FULL
- Reducing scheduling latency for real-time workloads
- Configuring CPU isolation with kernel parameters
- Analysing scheduling behaviour with ftrace and perf
- Thread management in kernel threads (kthreads)
- Energy-aware scheduling and power-performance trade-offs
Module 8: Interrupt Handling and Bottom Halves - Top half vs bottom half interrupt processing
- Softirqs: usage, limitations, and debugging
- Tasklets and their deprecation in modern kernels
- Workqueues: creating, scheduling, and flushing tasks
- Using threaded IRQs for long-running handlers
- Interrupt affinity and CPU binding for load distribution
- NAPI in network drivers and interrupt coalescing
- Analysing interrupt latency with cyclictest
- MSI and MSI-X interrupt vectors in PCIe devices
- Debugging interrupt storms and CPU saturation
Module 9: Kernel Timers and Delayed Work - Jiffies and HZ configuration trade-offs
- Implementing timer_list for deferred execution
- HRTimers (High-Resolution Timers) for sub-millisecond precision
- Using mod_timer and del_timer safely in modules
- Deferrable timers for power efficiency
- Timeout handling in driver and subsystem code
- Kernel delay functions: msleep, usleep_range
- Avoiding busy-wait loops in kernel code
- Timer slack and its impact on power management
- Profiling timer jitter and scheduling delays
Module 10: Device Drivers: Character and Block - Character driver structure: file_operations and device registration
- Dynamically assigning major and minor numbers
- Using udev and device tree integration
- Implementing open, read, write, ioctl in drivers
- Memory mapping with mmap in character drivers
- Blocking vs non-blocking I/O in driver design
- Block driver internals: request queues and elevator algorithms
- Using blk-mq for modern high-performance storage
- Creating virtual block devices for testing
- Debugging driver I/O with blktrace and bioset analysis
Module 11: Network Subsystem and Socket Layer - Network stack architecture: from NIC to application
- Netdevice operations and driver registration
- SKB (Socket Buffer) management and recycling
- NAPI and polling-based network packet processing
- Tuning network buffer sizes and queue lengths
- Implementing custom packet processing hooks
- Using netfilter for packet inspection and filtering
- XDP (eXpress Data Path) for ultra-low latency processing
- Tuning TCP parameters at kernel level for throughput
- Analysing network performance with tcpdump and netstat extended
Module 12: Kernel Security Models and Hardening - POSIX capabilities and their kernel enforcement
- Smack, SELinux, AppArmor: integration and policy design
- Kernel self-protection project (KSPP) recommendations
- Stack protector, GCC plugins, and control flow integrity
- Restricting kernel module loading (modules_disabled)
- Using lockdown LSM for secure boot environments
- Hardening sysctl settings for production systems
- Kernel Address Space Layout Randomization (KASLR)
- Preventing direct physical access attacks (firewire, Thunderbolt)
- Secure kernel logging and audit trail configuration
Module 13: Kernel Debugging and Tracing Tools - Using ftrace for function, graph, and event tracing
- Kernel markers and dynamic tracepoint usage
- perf: CPU profiling, cache misses, and branch prediction
- Using kprobes and jprobes for dynamic instrumentation
- kdump and vmcore analysis for post-mortem debugging
- KGDB: remote kernel debugging with GDB
- Using QEMU and GDB for safe kernel debugging
- Parsing oops and panic output to identify root cause
- Enabling DEBUG_KERNEL and CONFIG_DEBUG_INFO
- Static analysis with sparse and Coccinelle
Module 14: Performance Monitoring and Optimisation - Using trace-cmd and kernelshark for visualisation
- Identifying CPU bottlenecks with perf top and record
- Memory bandwidth and NUMA node analysis
- Reducing context switches and scheduler overhead
- CPU cache optimisation: L1, L2, L3 utilisation
- Tuning kernel parameters via sysfs and sysctl
- Using BPF for custom monitoring probes without kernel rebuilds
- Analyzing I/O patterns with iostat and blktrace
- Reducing interrupt coalescing for latency-sensitive apps
- Implementing custom performance metrics pipelines
Module 15: Filesystems and VFS Layer Internals - Virtual File System (VFS) architecture and data structures
- Inode, dentry, superblock, and file object relationships
- Mounting and unmounting: kernel-level operations
- Page cache and writeback mechanisms
- Implementing a minimal filesystem module
- ext4 internals: extents, journaling, and barriers
- XFS performance characteristics and tuning
- Btrfs: copy-on-write, snapshots, and subvolumes
- OverlayFS and container filesystem integration
- Debugging filesystem corruption and recovery paths
Module 16: Power Management and CPU Idle States - CPU idle governors: ladder, menu, and their impact
- ACPI processor states (C-states) and kernel control
- Using cpuidle and thermal subsystem interaction
- Suspend-to-RAM and hibernation mechanisms
- Runtime power management for devices
- Tuning for battery life vs performance
- Analysing power consumption with powercap and RAPL
- Driver-specific power management callbacks
- Thermal throttling and trip point configuration
- PM QoS (Quality of Service) for latency-critical tasks
Module 17: Kernel Testing and Validation Frameworks - Running kselftest for kernel subsystem validation
- Writing custom test cases for new kernel code
- Using KUnit for unit testing in the kernel
- Integration with CI pipelines for automated kernel builds
- Stress testing with stress-ng and custom kernel workloads
- Regression testing across kernel versions
- Fuzzing kernel interfaces with syzkaller
- Validating module loading and unloading sequences
- Testing race conditions with intentional thread scheduling
- Using valgrind-like tools for memory error detection
Module 18: Kernel Integration with Userspace Systems - System call interface and defining new syscalls
- Using ioctl for custom device control
- Netlink sockets for kernel-to-userspace communication
- uevent and device state notifications
- Implementing custom ioctls with proper validation
- Using fanotify for filesystem event monitoring
- Inotify limitations and kernel-side enhancements
- Interfacing with systemd via kernel signals and notifications
- Passing structured data between kernel and userspace
- Security considerations in userspace-kernel boundaries
Module 19: Real-World Deployment and Production Hardening - Rolling out custom kernels in staging environments
- Canary deployments and rollback strategies
- Kernel versioning and change logging practices
- Monitoring kernel performance in production
- Alerting on kernel oops, warnings, and soft lockups
- Secure patching and CVE response procedures
- Using kernel hotfixes with livepatch and kGraft
- Compliance requirements for regulated industries
- Documentation standards for internal kernel modifications
- Building an internal kernel expertise team
Module 20: Final Integration Project & Certification - Designing a custom kernel modification for a high-performance use case
- Selecting target subsystem: networking, storage, or real-time scheduling
- Defining performance metrics and success criteria
- Implementing and testing the modification in a secure environment
- Documenting design decisions, trade-offs, and testing results
- Submitting project for expert review by The Art of Service panel
- Receiving full feedback and improvement recommendations
- Finalising the project for production-readiness
- Generating a board-ready technical proposal with performance benchmarks
- Issuance of Certificate of Completion by The Art of Service
- Understanding the difference between user space and kernel space
- Kernel compilation process and config options overview
- Introduction to kernel source tree structure and organisation
- Setting up a secure, isolated kernel development environment
- Choosing the right kernel version for performance and stability
- Role of the kernel in system boot and early initialisation
- Understanding kernel panics and oops messages
- Key subsystems: process management, memory, filesystem, I/O
- Kernel licensing (GPL) and implications for proprietary extensions
- Build dependencies and toolchain setup for reproducible builds
Module 2: Kernel Build, Configuration, and Customisation - Using make menuconfig, make xconfig, and command-line config tools
- Selecting optimal configuration for minimal footprint and maximum performance
- Enabling and disabling kernel modules dynamically
- Cross-compilation for embedded targets
- Understanding Kconfig and Makefile integration in kernel source
- Creating custom kernel configuration profiles for different environments
- Automating kernel rebuilds with scripts and containers
- Integrating custom drivers during build time
- Validation of kernel configuration against security benchmarks
- Reproducible builds and checksum verification for audit trails
Module 3: Kernel Compilation and Boot Process Deep Dive - vmlinuz, initramfs, and boot loader integration (GRUB, U-Boot)
- Analysing boot time bottlenecks with bootgraph and tracepoints
- Customising kernel command line parameters for performance tuning
- Implementing early printk for debugging boot failures
- Using kexec for fast kernel switching and live updates
- Secure boot considerations and UEFI integration
- Handling kernel image signing for regulated environments
- Analysing boot sequence with systemd-analyze and bootchart
- Reducing boot latency for embedded and real-time applications
- Building and testing minimal bootable kernel images
Module 4: Kernel Programming Fundamentals - Coding standards and style in the Linux kernel (checkpatch.pl)
- Using kernel-specific data types (u32, atomic_t, etc.)
- Kernel memory allocation: kmalloc, vmalloc, and slab allocation
- Understanding the difference between GFP_KERNEL and GFP_ATOMIC
- Writing your first kernel module: init, exit, and licensing
- Using printk for logging and dynamic debug control
- Interfacing with user space: procfs, sysfs, debugfs
- Using pr_info, pr_debug, and log level management
- Kernel symbol export and module dependency resolution
- Error handling and return codes in kernel functions
Module 5: Kernel Synchronisation and Concurrency Control - Understanding race conditions in kernel code
- Atomic operations and their appropriate use cases
- Spinlocks: implementation, overhead, and best practices
- Read-write locks and their performance trade-offs
- Semaphores vs. mutexes in kernel contexts
- Per-CPU variables and avoiding false sharing
- RCU (Read-Copy-Update): theory and practical implementation
- Deadlock detection and prevention strategies
- Using lockdep to validate synchronisation correctness
- Reducing lock contention in high-throughput subsystems
Module 6: Memory Management in the Kernel - Virtual memory layout in Linux (user vs kernel space)
- Page tables, TLB, and hardware integration
- Understanding the buddy allocator and page management
- Slab, SLUB, and SLOB allocators: differences and use cases
- Caching strategies for frequently allocated kernel objects
- Understanding memory zones: DMA, Normal, HighMem
- Memory overcommit policies and their system impact
- Kernel memory leak detection with kmemleak
- Using vmalloc for large, non-contiguous allocations
- Tuning swappiness and memory pressure thresholds
Module 7: Process Scheduling and Real-Time Performance - CFS (Completely Fair Scheduler) internals and tuning
- Real-time scheduling classes: SCHED_FIFO and SCHED_RR
- Migrating processes between CPUs and NUMA optimisation
- Using chrt and sched_setattr for priority control
- Kernel preemption models: PREEMPT_NONE, VOLUNTARY, FULL
- Reducing scheduling latency for real-time workloads
- Configuring CPU isolation with kernel parameters
- Analysing scheduling behaviour with ftrace and perf
- Thread management in kernel threads (kthreads)
- Energy-aware scheduling and power-performance trade-offs
Module 8: Interrupt Handling and Bottom Halves - Top half vs bottom half interrupt processing
- Softirqs: usage, limitations, and debugging
- Tasklets and their deprecation in modern kernels
- Workqueues: creating, scheduling, and flushing tasks
- Using threaded IRQs for long-running handlers
- Interrupt affinity and CPU binding for load distribution
- NAPI in network drivers and interrupt coalescing
- Analysing interrupt latency with cyclictest
- MSI and MSI-X interrupt vectors in PCIe devices
- Debugging interrupt storms and CPU saturation
Module 9: Kernel Timers and Delayed Work - Jiffies and HZ configuration trade-offs
- Implementing timer_list for deferred execution
- HRTimers (High-Resolution Timers) for sub-millisecond precision
- Using mod_timer and del_timer safely in modules
- Deferrable timers for power efficiency
- Timeout handling in driver and subsystem code
- Kernel delay functions: msleep, usleep_range
- Avoiding busy-wait loops in kernel code
- Timer slack and its impact on power management
- Profiling timer jitter and scheduling delays
Module 10: Device Drivers: Character and Block - Character driver structure: file_operations and device registration
- Dynamically assigning major and minor numbers
- Using udev and device tree integration
- Implementing open, read, write, ioctl in drivers
- Memory mapping with mmap in character drivers
- Blocking vs non-blocking I/O in driver design
- Block driver internals: request queues and elevator algorithms
- Using blk-mq for modern high-performance storage
- Creating virtual block devices for testing
- Debugging driver I/O with blktrace and bioset analysis
Module 11: Network Subsystem and Socket Layer - Network stack architecture: from NIC to application
- Netdevice operations and driver registration
- SKB (Socket Buffer) management and recycling
- NAPI and polling-based network packet processing
- Tuning network buffer sizes and queue lengths
- Implementing custom packet processing hooks
- Using netfilter for packet inspection and filtering
- XDP (eXpress Data Path) for ultra-low latency processing
- Tuning TCP parameters at kernel level for throughput
- Analysing network performance with tcpdump and netstat extended
Module 12: Kernel Security Models and Hardening - POSIX capabilities and their kernel enforcement
- Smack, SELinux, AppArmor: integration and policy design
- Kernel self-protection project (KSPP) recommendations
- Stack protector, GCC plugins, and control flow integrity
- Restricting kernel module loading (modules_disabled)
- Using lockdown LSM for secure boot environments
- Hardening sysctl settings for production systems
- Kernel Address Space Layout Randomization (KASLR)
- Preventing direct physical access attacks (firewire, Thunderbolt)
- Secure kernel logging and audit trail configuration
Module 13: Kernel Debugging and Tracing Tools - Using ftrace for function, graph, and event tracing
- Kernel markers and dynamic tracepoint usage
- perf: CPU profiling, cache misses, and branch prediction
- Using kprobes and jprobes for dynamic instrumentation
- kdump and vmcore analysis for post-mortem debugging
- KGDB: remote kernel debugging with GDB
- Using QEMU and GDB for safe kernel debugging
- Parsing oops and panic output to identify root cause
- Enabling DEBUG_KERNEL and CONFIG_DEBUG_INFO
- Static analysis with sparse and Coccinelle
Module 14: Performance Monitoring and Optimisation - Using trace-cmd and kernelshark for visualisation
- Identifying CPU bottlenecks with perf top and record
- Memory bandwidth and NUMA node analysis
- Reducing context switches and scheduler overhead
- CPU cache optimisation: L1, L2, L3 utilisation
- Tuning kernel parameters via sysfs and sysctl
- Using BPF for custom monitoring probes without kernel rebuilds
- Analyzing I/O patterns with iostat and blktrace
- Reducing interrupt coalescing for latency-sensitive apps
- Implementing custom performance metrics pipelines
Module 15: Filesystems and VFS Layer Internals - Virtual File System (VFS) architecture and data structures
- Inode, dentry, superblock, and file object relationships
- Mounting and unmounting: kernel-level operations
- Page cache and writeback mechanisms
- Implementing a minimal filesystem module
- ext4 internals: extents, journaling, and barriers
- XFS performance characteristics and tuning
- Btrfs: copy-on-write, snapshots, and subvolumes
- OverlayFS and container filesystem integration
- Debugging filesystem corruption and recovery paths
Module 16: Power Management and CPU Idle States - CPU idle governors: ladder, menu, and their impact
- ACPI processor states (C-states) and kernel control
- Using cpuidle and thermal subsystem interaction
- Suspend-to-RAM and hibernation mechanisms
- Runtime power management for devices
- Tuning for battery life vs performance
- Analysing power consumption with powercap and RAPL
- Driver-specific power management callbacks
- Thermal throttling and trip point configuration
- PM QoS (Quality of Service) for latency-critical tasks
Module 17: Kernel Testing and Validation Frameworks - Running kselftest for kernel subsystem validation
- Writing custom test cases for new kernel code
- Using KUnit for unit testing in the kernel
- Integration with CI pipelines for automated kernel builds
- Stress testing with stress-ng and custom kernel workloads
- Regression testing across kernel versions
- Fuzzing kernel interfaces with syzkaller
- Validating module loading and unloading sequences
- Testing race conditions with intentional thread scheduling
- Using valgrind-like tools for memory error detection
Module 18: Kernel Integration with Userspace Systems - System call interface and defining new syscalls
- Using ioctl for custom device control
- Netlink sockets for kernel-to-userspace communication
- uevent and device state notifications
- Implementing custom ioctls with proper validation
- Using fanotify for filesystem event monitoring
- Inotify limitations and kernel-side enhancements
- Interfacing with systemd via kernel signals and notifications
- Passing structured data between kernel and userspace
- Security considerations in userspace-kernel boundaries
Module 19: Real-World Deployment and Production Hardening - Rolling out custom kernels in staging environments
- Canary deployments and rollback strategies
- Kernel versioning and change logging practices
- Monitoring kernel performance in production
- Alerting on kernel oops, warnings, and soft lockups
- Secure patching and CVE response procedures
- Using kernel hotfixes with livepatch and kGraft
- Compliance requirements for regulated industries
- Documentation standards for internal kernel modifications
- Building an internal kernel expertise team
Module 20: Final Integration Project & Certification - Designing a custom kernel modification for a high-performance use case
- Selecting target subsystem: networking, storage, or real-time scheduling
- Defining performance metrics and success criteria
- Implementing and testing the modification in a secure environment
- Documenting design decisions, trade-offs, and testing results
- Submitting project for expert review by The Art of Service panel
- Receiving full feedback and improvement recommendations
- Finalising the project for production-readiness
- Generating a board-ready technical proposal with performance benchmarks
- Issuance of Certificate of Completion by The Art of Service
- vmlinuz, initramfs, and boot loader integration (GRUB, U-Boot)
- Analysing boot time bottlenecks with bootgraph and tracepoints
- Customising kernel command line parameters for performance tuning
- Implementing early printk for debugging boot failures
- Using kexec for fast kernel switching and live updates
- Secure boot considerations and UEFI integration
- Handling kernel image signing for regulated environments
- Analysing boot sequence with systemd-analyze and bootchart
- Reducing boot latency for embedded and real-time applications
- Building and testing minimal bootable kernel images
Module 4: Kernel Programming Fundamentals - Coding standards and style in the Linux kernel (checkpatch.pl)
- Using kernel-specific data types (u32, atomic_t, etc.)
- Kernel memory allocation: kmalloc, vmalloc, and slab allocation
- Understanding the difference between GFP_KERNEL and GFP_ATOMIC
- Writing your first kernel module: init, exit, and licensing
- Using printk for logging and dynamic debug control
- Interfacing with user space: procfs, sysfs, debugfs
- Using pr_info, pr_debug, and log level management
- Kernel symbol export and module dependency resolution
- Error handling and return codes in kernel functions
Module 5: Kernel Synchronisation and Concurrency Control - Understanding race conditions in kernel code
- Atomic operations and their appropriate use cases
- Spinlocks: implementation, overhead, and best practices
- Read-write locks and their performance trade-offs
- Semaphores vs. mutexes in kernel contexts
- Per-CPU variables and avoiding false sharing
- RCU (Read-Copy-Update): theory and practical implementation
- Deadlock detection and prevention strategies
- Using lockdep to validate synchronisation correctness
- Reducing lock contention in high-throughput subsystems
Module 6: Memory Management in the Kernel - Virtual memory layout in Linux (user vs kernel space)
- Page tables, TLB, and hardware integration
- Understanding the buddy allocator and page management
- Slab, SLUB, and SLOB allocators: differences and use cases
- Caching strategies for frequently allocated kernel objects
- Understanding memory zones: DMA, Normal, HighMem
- Memory overcommit policies and their system impact
- Kernel memory leak detection with kmemleak
- Using vmalloc for large, non-contiguous allocations
- Tuning swappiness and memory pressure thresholds
Module 7: Process Scheduling and Real-Time Performance - CFS (Completely Fair Scheduler) internals and tuning
- Real-time scheduling classes: SCHED_FIFO and SCHED_RR
- Migrating processes between CPUs and NUMA optimisation
- Using chrt and sched_setattr for priority control
- Kernel preemption models: PREEMPT_NONE, VOLUNTARY, FULL
- Reducing scheduling latency for real-time workloads
- Configuring CPU isolation with kernel parameters
- Analysing scheduling behaviour with ftrace and perf
- Thread management in kernel threads (kthreads)
- Energy-aware scheduling and power-performance trade-offs
Module 8: Interrupt Handling and Bottom Halves - Top half vs bottom half interrupt processing
- Softirqs: usage, limitations, and debugging
- Tasklets and their deprecation in modern kernels
- Workqueues: creating, scheduling, and flushing tasks
- Using threaded IRQs for long-running handlers
- Interrupt affinity and CPU binding for load distribution
- NAPI in network drivers and interrupt coalescing
- Analysing interrupt latency with cyclictest
- MSI and MSI-X interrupt vectors in PCIe devices
- Debugging interrupt storms and CPU saturation
Module 9: Kernel Timers and Delayed Work - Jiffies and HZ configuration trade-offs
- Implementing timer_list for deferred execution
- HRTimers (High-Resolution Timers) for sub-millisecond precision
- Using mod_timer and del_timer safely in modules
- Deferrable timers for power efficiency
- Timeout handling in driver and subsystem code
- Kernel delay functions: msleep, usleep_range
- Avoiding busy-wait loops in kernel code
- Timer slack and its impact on power management
- Profiling timer jitter and scheduling delays
Module 10: Device Drivers: Character and Block - Character driver structure: file_operations and device registration
- Dynamically assigning major and minor numbers
- Using udev and device tree integration
- Implementing open, read, write, ioctl in drivers
- Memory mapping with mmap in character drivers
- Blocking vs non-blocking I/O in driver design
- Block driver internals: request queues and elevator algorithms
- Using blk-mq for modern high-performance storage
- Creating virtual block devices for testing
- Debugging driver I/O with blktrace and bioset analysis
Module 11: Network Subsystem and Socket Layer - Network stack architecture: from NIC to application
- Netdevice operations and driver registration
- SKB (Socket Buffer) management and recycling
- NAPI and polling-based network packet processing
- Tuning network buffer sizes and queue lengths
- Implementing custom packet processing hooks
- Using netfilter for packet inspection and filtering
- XDP (eXpress Data Path) for ultra-low latency processing
- Tuning TCP parameters at kernel level for throughput
- Analysing network performance with tcpdump and netstat extended
Module 12: Kernel Security Models and Hardening - POSIX capabilities and their kernel enforcement
- Smack, SELinux, AppArmor: integration and policy design
- Kernel self-protection project (KSPP) recommendations
- Stack protector, GCC plugins, and control flow integrity
- Restricting kernel module loading (modules_disabled)
- Using lockdown LSM for secure boot environments
- Hardening sysctl settings for production systems
- Kernel Address Space Layout Randomization (KASLR)
- Preventing direct physical access attacks (firewire, Thunderbolt)
- Secure kernel logging and audit trail configuration
Module 13: Kernel Debugging and Tracing Tools - Using ftrace for function, graph, and event tracing
- Kernel markers and dynamic tracepoint usage
- perf: CPU profiling, cache misses, and branch prediction
- Using kprobes and jprobes for dynamic instrumentation
- kdump and vmcore analysis for post-mortem debugging
- KGDB: remote kernel debugging with GDB
- Using QEMU and GDB for safe kernel debugging
- Parsing oops and panic output to identify root cause
- Enabling DEBUG_KERNEL and CONFIG_DEBUG_INFO
- Static analysis with sparse and Coccinelle
Module 14: Performance Monitoring and Optimisation - Using trace-cmd and kernelshark for visualisation
- Identifying CPU bottlenecks with perf top and record
- Memory bandwidth and NUMA node analysis
- Reducing context switches and scheduler overhead
- CPU cache optimisation: L1, L2, L3 utilisation
- Tuning kernel parameters via sysfs and sysctl
- Using BPF for custom monitoring probes without kernel rebuilds
- Analyzing I/O patterns with iostat and blktrace
- Reducing interrupt coalescing for latency-sensitive apps
- Implementing custom performance metrics pipelines
Module 15: Filesystems and VFS Layer Internals - Virtual File System (VFS) architecture and data structures
- Inode, dentry, superblock, and file object relationships
- Mounting and unmounting: kernel-level operations
- Page cache and writeback mechanisms
- Implementing a minimal filesystem module
- ext4 internals: extents, journaling, and barriers
- XFS performance characteristics and tuning
- Btrfs: copy-on-write, snapshots, and subvolumes
- OverlayFS and container filesystem integration
- Debugging filesystem corruption and recovery paths
Module 16: Power Management and CPU Idle States - CPU idle governors: ladder, menu, and their impact
- ACPI processor states (C-states) and kernel control
- Using cpuidle and thermal subsystem interaction
- Suspend-to-RAM and hibernation mechanisms
- Runtime power management for devices
- Tuning for battery life vs performance
- Analysing power consumption with powercap and RAPL
- Driver-specific power management callbacks
- Thermal throttling and trip point configuration
- PM QoS (Quality of Service) for latency-critical tasks
Module 17: Kernel Testing and Validation Frameworks - Running kselftest for kernel subsystem validation
- Writing custom test cases for new kernel code
- Using KUnit for unit testing in the kernel
- Integration with CI pipelines for automated kernel builds
- Stress testing with stress-ng and custom kernel workloads
- Regression testing across kernel versions
- Fuzzing kernel interfaces with syzkaller
- Validating module loading and unloading sequences
- Testing race conditions with intentional thread scheduling
- Using valgrind-like tools for memory error detection
Module 18: Kernel Integration with Userspace Systems - System call interface and defining new syscalls
- Using ioctl for custom device control
- Netlink sockets for kernel-to-userspace communication
- uevent and device state notifications
- Implementing custom ioctls with proper validation
- Using fanotify for filesystem event monitoring
- Inotify limitations and kernel-side enhancements
- Interfacing with systemd via kernel signals and notifications
- Passing structured data between kernel and userspace
- Security considerations in userspace-kernel boundaries
Module 19: Real-World Deployment and Production Hardening - Rolling out custom kernels in staging environments
- Canary deployments and rollback strategies
- Kernel versioning and change logging practices
- Monitoring kernel performance in production
- Alerting on kernel oops, warnings, and soft lockups
- Secure patching and CVE response procedures
- Using kernel hotfixes with livepatch and kGraft
- Compliance requirements for regulated industries
- Documentation standards for internal kernel modifications
- Building an internal kernel expertise team
Module 20: Final Integration Project & Certification - Designing a custom kernel modification for a high-performance use case
- Selecting target subsystem: networking, storage, or real-time scheduling
- Defining performance metrics and success criteria
- Implementing and testing the modification in a secure environment
- Documenting design decisions, trade-offs, and testing results
- Submitting project for expert review by The Art of Service panel
- Receiving full feedback and improvement recommendations
- Finalising the project for production-readiness
- Generating a board-ready technical proposal with performance benchmarks
- Issuance of Certificate of Completion by The Art of Service
- Understanding race conditions in kernel code
- Atomic operations and their appropriate use cases
- Spinlocks: implementation, overhead, and best practices
- Read-write locks and their performance trade-offs
- Semaphores vs. mutexes in kernel contexts
- Per-CPU variables and avoiding false sharing
- RCU (Read-Copy-Update): theory and practical implementation
- Deadlock detection and prevention strategies
- Using lockdep to validate synchronisation correctness
- Reducing lock contention in high-throughput subsystems
Module 6: Memory Management in the Kernel - Virtual memory layout in Linux (user vs kernel space)
- Page tables, TLB, and hardware integration
- Understanding the buddy allocator and page management
- Slab, SLUB, and SLOB allocators: differences and use cases
- Caching strategies for frequently allocated kernel objects
- Understanding memory zones: DMA, Normal, HighMem
- Memory overcommit policies and their system impact
- Kernel memory leak detection with kmemleak
- Using vmalloc for large, non-contiguous allocations
- Tuning swappiness and memory pressure thresholds
Module 7: Process Scheduling and Real-Time Performance - CFS (Completely Fair Scheduler) internals and tuning
- Real-time scheduling classes: SCHED_FIFO and SCHED_RR
- Migrating processes between CPUs and NUMA optimisation
- Using chrt and sched_setattr for priority control
- Kernel preemption models: PREEMPT_NONE, VOLUNTARY, FULL
- Reducing scheduling latency for real-time workloads
- Configuring CPU isolation with kernel parameters
- Analysing scheduling behaviour with ftrace and perf
- Thread management in kernel threads (kthreads)
- Energy-aware scheduling and power-performance trade-offs
Module 8: Interrupt Handling and Bottom Halves - Top half vs bottom half interrupt processing
- Softirqs: usage, limitations, and debugging
- Tasklets and their deprecation in modern kernels
- Workqueues: creating, scheduling, and flushing tasks
- Using threaded IRQs for long-running handlers
- Interrupt affinity and CPU binding for load distribution
- NAPI in network drivers and interrupt coalescing
- Analysing interrupt latency with cyclictest
- MSI and MSI-X interrupt vectors in PCIe devices
- Debugging interrupt storms and CPU saturation
Module 9: Kernel Timers and Delayed Work - Jiffies and HZ configuration trade-offs
- Implementing timer_list for deferred execution
- HRTimers (High-Resolution Timers) for sub-millisecond precision
- Using mod_timer and del_timer safely in modules
- Deferrable timers for power efficiency
- Timeout handling in driver and subsystem code
- Kernel delay functions: msleep, usleep_range
- Avoiding busy-wait loops in kernel code
- Timer slack and its impact on power management
- Profiling timer jitter and scheduling delays
Module 10: Device Drivers: Character and Block - Character driver structure: file_operations and device registration
- Dynamically assigning major and minor numbers
- Using udev and device tree integration
- Implementing open, read, write, ioctl in drivers
- Memory mapping with mmap in character drivers
- Blocking vs non-blocking I/O in driver design
- Block driver internals: request queues and elevator algorithms
- Using blk-mq for modern high-performance storage
- Creating virtual block devices for testing
- Debugging driver I/O with blktrace and bioset analysis
Module 11: Network Subsystem and Socket Layer - Network stack architecture: from NIC to application
- Netdevice operations and driver registration
- SKB (Socket Buffer) management and recycling
- NAPI and polling-based network packet processing
- Tuning network buffer sizes and queue lengths
- Implementing custom packet processing hooks
- Using netfilter for packet inspection and filtering
- XDP (eXpress Data Path) for ultra-low latency processing
- Tuning TCP parameters at kernel level for throughput
- Analysing network performance with tcpdump and netstat extended
Module 12: Kernel Security Models and Hardening - POSIX capabilities and their kernel enforcement
- Smack, SELinux, AppArmor: integration and policy design
- Kernel self-protection project (KSPP) recommendations
- Stack protector, GCC plugins, and control flow integrity
- Restricting kernel module loading (modules_disabled)
- Using lockdown LSM for secure boot environments
- Hardening sysctl settings for production systems
- Kernel Address Space Layout Randomization (KASLR)
- Preventing direct physical access attacks (firewire, Thunderbolt)
- Secure kernel logging and audit trail configuration
Module 13: Kernel Debugging and Tracing Tools - Using ftrace for function, graph, and event tracing
- Kernel markers and dynamic tracepoint usage
- perf: CPU profiling, cache misses, and branch prediction
- Using kprobes and jprobes for dynamic instrumentation
- kdump and vmcore analysis for post-mortem debugging
- KGDB: remote kernel debugging with GDB
- Using QEMU and GDB for safe kernel debugging
- Parsing oops and panic output to identify root cause
- Enabling DEBUG_KERNEL and CONFIG_DEBUG_INFO
- Static analysis with sparse and Coccinelle
Module 14: Performance Monitoring and Optimisation - Using trace-cmd and kernelshark for visualisation
- Identifying CPU bottlenecks with perf top and record
- Memory bandwidth and NUMA node analysis
- Reducing context switches and scheduler overhead
- CPU cache optimisation: L1, L2, L3 utilisation
- Tuning kernel parameters via sysfs and sysctl
- Using BPF for custom monitoring probes without kernel rebuilds
- Analyzing I/O patterns with iostat and blktrace
- Reducing interrupt coalescing for latency-sensitive apps
- Implementing custom performance metrics pipelines
Module 15: Filesystems and VFS Layer Internals - Virtual File System (VFS) architecture and data structures
- Inode, dentry, superblock, and file object relationships
- Mounting and unmounting: kernel-level operations
- Page cache and writeback mechanisms
- Implementing a minimal filesystem module
- ext4 internals: extents, journaling, and barriers
- XFS performance characteristics and tuning
- Btrfs: copy-on-write, snapshots, and subvolumes
- OverlayFS and container filesystem integration
- Debugging filesystem corruption and recovery paths
Module 16: Power Management and CPU Idle States - CPU idle governors: ladder, menu, and their impact
- ACPI processor states (C-states) and kernel control
- Using cpuidle and thermal subsystem interaction
- Suspend-to-RAM and hibernation mechanisms
- Runtime power management for devices
- Tuning for battery life vs performance
- Analysing power consumption with powercap and RAPL
- Driver-specific power management callbacks
- Thermal throttling and trip point configuration
- PM QoS (Quality of Service) for latency-critical tasks
Module 17: Kernel Testing and Validation Frameworks - Running kselftest for kernel subsystem validation
- Writing custom test cases for new kernel code
- Using KUnit for unit testing in the kernel
- Integration with CI pipelines for automated kernel builds
- Stress testing with stress-ng and custom kernel workloads
- Regression testing across kernel versions
- Fuzzing kernel interfaces with syzkaller
- Validating module loading and unloading sequences
- Testing race conditions with intentional thread scheduling
- Using valgrind-like tools for memory error detection
Module 18: Kernel Integration with Userspace Systems - System call interface and defining new syscalls
- Using ioctl for custom device control
- Netlink sockets for kernel-to-userspace communication
- uevent and device state notifications
- Implementing custom ioctls with proper validation
- Using fanotify for filesystem event monitoring
- Inotify limitations and kernel-side enhancements
- Interfacing with systemd via kernel signals and notifications
- Passing structured data between kernel and userspace
- Security considerations in userspace-kernel boundaries
Module 19: Real-World Deployment and Production Hardening - Rolling out custom kernels in staging environments
- Canary deployments and rollback strategies
- Kernel versioning and change logging practices
- Monitoring kernel performance in production
- Alerting on kernel oops, warnings, and soft lockups
- Secure patching and CVE response procedures
- Using kernel hotfixes with livepatch and kGraft
- Compliance requirements for regulated industries
- Documentation standards for internal kernel modifications
- Building an internal kernel expertise team
Module 20: Final Integration Project & Certification - Designing a custom kernel modification for a high-performance use case
- Selecting target subsystem: networking, storage, or real-time scheduling
- Defining performance metrics and success criteria
- Implementing and testing the modification in a secure environment
- Documenting design decisions, trade-offs, and testing results
- Submitting project for expert review by The Art of Service panel
- Receiving full feedback and improvement recommendations
- Finalising the project for production-readiness
- Generating a board-ready technical proposal with performance benchmarks
- Issuance of Certificate of Completion by The Art of Service
- CFS (Completely Fair Scheduler) internals and tuning
- Real-time scheduling classes: SCHED_FIFO and SCHED_RR
- Migrating processes between CPUs and NUMA optimisation
- Using chrt and sched_setattr for priority control
- Kernel preemption models: PREEMPT_NONE, VOLUNTARY, FULL
- Reducing scheduling latency for real-time workloads
- Configuring CPU isolation with kernel parameters
- Analysing scheduling behaviour with ftrace and perf
- Thread management in kernel threads (kthreads)
- Energy-aware scheduling and power-performance trade-offs
Module 8: Interrupt Handling and Bottom Halves - Top half vs bottom half interrupt processing
- Softirqs: usage, limitations, and debugging
- Tasklets and their deprecation in modern kernels
- Workqueues: creating, scheduling, and flushing tasks
- Using threaded IRQs for long-running handlers
- Interrupt affinity and CPU binding for load distribution
- NAPI in network drivers and interrupt coalescing
- Analysing interrupt latency with cyclictest
- MSI and MSI-X interrupt vectors in PCIe devices
- Debugging interrupt storms and CPU saturation
Module 9: Kernel Timers and Delayed Work - Jiffies and HZ configuration trade-offs
- Implementing timer_list for deferred execution
- HRTimers (High-Resolution Timers) for sub-millisecond precision
- Using mod_timer and del_timer safely in modules
- Deferrable timers for power efficiency
- Timeout handling in driver and subsystem code
- Kernel delay functions: msleep, usleep_range
- Avoiding busy-wait loops in kernel code
- Timer slack and its impact on power management
- Profiling timer jitter and scheduling delays
Module 10: Device Drivers: Character and Block - Character driver structure: file_operations and device registration
- Dynamically assigning major and minor numbers
- Using udev and device tree integration
- Implementing open, read, write, ioctl in drivers
- Memory mapping with mmap in character drivers
- Blocking vs non-blocking I/O in driver design
- Block driver internals: request queues and elevator algorithms
- Using blk-mq for modern high-performance storage
- Creating virtual block devices for testing
- Debugging driver I/O with blktrace and bioset analysis
Module 11: Network Subsystem and Socket Layer - Network stack architecture: from NIC to application
- Netdevice operations and driver registration
- SKB (Socket Buffer) management and recycling
- NAPI and polling-based network packet processing
- Tuning network buffer sizes and queue lengths
- Implementing custom packet processing hooks
- Using netfilter for packet inspection and filtering
- XDP (eXpress Data Path) for ultra-low latency processing
- Tuning TCP parameters at kernel level for throughput
- Analysing network performance with tcpdump and netstat extended
Module 12: Kernel Security Models and Hardening - POSIX capabilities and their kernel enforcement
- Smack, SELinux, AppArmor: integration and policy design
- Kernel self-protection project (KSPP) recommendations
- Stack protector, GCC plugins, and control flow integrity
- Restricting kernel module loading (modules_disabled)
- Using lockdown LSM for secure boot environments
- Hardening sysctl settings for production systems
- Kernel Address Space Layout Randomization (KASLR)
- Preventing direct physical access attacks (firewire, Thunderbolt)
- Secure kernel logging and audit trail configuration
Module 13: Kernel Debugging and Tracing Tools - Using ftrace for function, graph, and event tracing
- Kernel markers and dynamic tracepoint usage
- perf: CPU profiling, cache misses, and branch prediction
- Using kprobes and jprobes for dynamic instrumentation
- kdump and vmcore analysis for post-mortem debugging
- KGDB: remote kernel debugging with GDB
- Using QEMU and GDB for safe kernel debugging
- Parsing oops and panic output to identify root cause
- Enabling DEBUG_KERNEL and CONFIG_DEBUG_INFO
- Static analysis with sparse and Coccinelle
Module 14: Performance Monitoring and Optimisation - Using trace-cmd and kernelshark for visualisation
- Identifying CPU bottlenecks with perf top and record
- Memory bandwidth and NUMA node analysis
- Reducing context switches and scheduler overhead
- CPU cache optimisation: L1, L2, L3 utilisation
- Tuning kernel parameters via sysfs and sysctl
- Using BPF for custom monitoring probes without kernel rebuilds
- Analyzing I/O patterns with iostat and blktrace
- Reducing interrupt coalescing for latency-sensitive apps
- Implementing custom performance metrics pipelines
Module 15: Filesystems and VFS Layer Internals - Virtual File System (VFS) architecture and data structures
- Inode, dentry, superblock, and file object relationships
- Mounting and unmounting: kernel-level operations
- Page cache and writeback mechanisms
- Implementing a minimal filesystem module
- ext4 internals: extents, journaling, and barriers
- XFS performance characteristics and tuning
- Btrfs: copy-on-write, snapshots, and subvolumes
- OverlayFS and container filesystem integration
- Debugging filesystem corruption and recovery paths
Module 16: Power Management and CPU Idle States - CPU idle governors: ladder, menu, and their impact
- ACPI processor states (C-states) and kernel control
- Using cpuidle and thermal subsystem interaction
- Suspend-to-RAM and hibernation mechanisms
- Runtime power management for devices
- Tuning for battery life vs performance
- Analysing power consumption with powercap and RAPL
- Driver-specific power management callbacks
- Thermal throttling and trip point configuration
- PM QoS (Quality of Service) for latency-critical tasks
Module 17: Kernel Testing and Validation Frameworks - Running kselftest for kernel subsystem validation
- Writing custom test cases for new kernel code
- Using KUnit for unit testing in the kernel
- Integration with CI pipelines for automated kernel builds
- Stress testing with stress-ng and custom kernel workloads
- Regression testing across kernel versions
- Fuzzing kernel interfaces with syzkaller
- Validating module loading and unloading sequences
- Testing race conditions with intentional thread scheduling
- Using valgrind-like tools for memory error detection
Module 18: Kernel Integration with Userspace Systems - System call interface and defining new syscalls
- Using ioctl for custom device control
- Netlink sockets for kernel-to-userspace communication
- uevent and device state notifications
- Implementing custom ioctls with proper validation
- Using fanotify for filesystem event monitoring
- Inotify limitations and kernel-side enhancements
- Interfacing with systemd via kernel signals and notifications
- Passing structured data between kernel and userspace
- Security considerations in userspace-kernel boundaries
Module 19: Real-World Deployment and Production Hardening - Rolling out custom kernels in staging environments
- Canary deployments and rollback strategies
- Kernel versioning and change logging practices
- Monitoring kernel performance in production
- Alerting on kernel oops, warnings, and soft lockups
- Secure patching and CVE response procedures
- Using kernel hotfixes with livepatch and kGraft
- Compliance requirements for regulated industries
- Documentation standards for internal kernel modifications
- Building an internal kernel expertise team
Module 20: Final Integration Project & Certification - Designing a custom kernel modification for a high-performance use case
- Selecting target subsystem: networking, storage, or real-time scheduling
- Defining performance metrics and success criteria
- Implementing and testing the modification in a secure environment
- Documenting design decisions, trade-offs, and testing results
- Submitting project for expert review by The Art of Service panel
- Receiving full feedback and improvement recommendations
- Finalising the project for production-readiness
- Generating a board-ready technical proposal with performance benchmarks
- Issuance of Certificate of Completion by The Art of Service
- Jiffies and HZ configuration trade-offs
- Implementing timer_list for deferred execution
- HRTimers (High-Resolution Timers) for sub-millisecond precision
- Using mod_timer and del_timer safely in modules
- Deferrable timers for power efficiency
- Timeout handling in driver and subsystem code
- Kernel delay functions: msleep, usleep_range
- Avoiding busy-wait loops in kernel code
- Timer slack and its impact on power management
- Profiling timer jitter and scheduling delays
Module 10: Device Drivers: Character and Block - Character driver structure: file_operations and device registration
- Dynamically assigning major and minor numbers
- Using udev and device tree integration
- Implementing open, read, write, ioctl in drivers
- Memory mapping with mmap in character drivers
- Blocking vs non-blocking I/O in driver design
- Block driver internals: request queues and elevator algorithms
- Using blk-mq for modern high-performance storage
- Creating virtual block devices for testing
- Debugging driver I/O with blktrace and bioset analysis
Module 11: Network Subsystem and Socket Layer - Network stack architecture: from NIC to application
- Netdevice operations and driver registration
- SKB (Socket Buffer) management and recycling
- NAPI and polling-based network packet processing
- Tuning network buffer sizes and queue lengths
- Implementing custom packet processing hooks
- Using netfilter for packet inspection and filtering
- XDP (eXpress Data Path) for ultra-low latency processing
- Tuning TCP parameters at kernel level for throughput
- Analysing network performance with tcpdump and netstat extended
Module 12: Kernel Security Models and Hardening - POSIX capabilities and their kernel enforcement
- Smack, SELinux, AppArmor: integration and policy design
- Kernel self-protection project (KSPP) recommendations
- Stack protector, GCC plugins, and control flow integrity
- Restricting kernel module loading (modules_disabled)
- Using lockdown LSM for secure boot environments
- Hardening sysctl settings for production systems
- Kernel Address Space Layout Randomization (KASLR)
- Preventing direct physical access attacks (firewire, Thunderbolt)
- Secure kernel logging and audit trail configuration
Module 13: Kernel Debugging and Tracing Tools - Using ftrace for function, graph, and event tracing
- Kernel markers and dynamic tracepoint usage
- perf: CPU profiling, cache misses, and branch prediction
- Using kprobes and jprobes for dynamic instrumentation
- kdump and vmcore analysis for post-mortem debugging
- KGDB: remote kernel debugging with GDB
- Using QEMU and GDB for safe kernel debugging
- Parsing oops and panic output to identify root cause
- Enabling DEBUG_KERNEL and CONFIG_DEBUG_INFO
- Static analysis with sparse and Coccinelle
Module 14: Performance Monitoring and Optimisation - Using trace-cmd and kernelshark for visualisation
- Identifying CPU bottlenecks with perf top and record
- Memory bandwidth and NUMA node analysis
- Reducing context switches and scheduler overhead
- CPU cache optimisation: L1, L2, L3 utilisation
- Tuning kernel parameters via sysfs and sysctl
- Using BPF for custom monitoring probes without kernel rebuilds
- Analyzing I/O patterns with iostat and blktrace
- Reducing interrupt coalescing for latency-sensitive apps
- Implementing custom performance metrics pipelines
Module 15: Filesystems and VFS Layer Internals - Virtual File System (VFS) architecture and data structures
- Inode, dentry, superblock, and file object relationships
- Mounting and unmounting: kernel-level operations
- Page cache and writeback mechanisms
- Implementing a minimal filesystem module
- ext4 internals: extents, journaling, and barriers
- XFS performance characteristics and tuning
- Btrfs: copy-on-write, snapshots, and subvolumes
- OverlayFS and container filesystem integration
- Debugging filesystem corruption and recovery paths
Module 16: Power Management and CPU Idle States - CPU idle governors: ladder, menu, and their impact
- ACPI processor states (C-states) and kernel control
- Using cpuidle and thermal subsystem interaction
- Suspend-to-RAM and hibernation mechanisms
- Runtime power management for devices
- Tuning for battery life vs performance
- Analysing power consumption with powercap and RAPL
- Driver-specific power management callbacks
- Thermal throttling and trip point configuration
- PM QoS (Quality of Service) for latency-critical tasks
Module 17: Kernel Testing and Validation Frameworks - Running kselftest for kernel subsystem validation
- Writing custom test cases for new kernel code
- Using KUnit for unit testing in the kernel
- Integration with CI pipelines for automated kernel builds
- Stress testing with stress-ng and custom kernel workloads
- Regression testing across kernel versions
- Fuzzing kernel interfaces with syzkaller
- Validating module loading and unloading sequences
- Testing race conditions with intentional thread scheduling
- Using valgrind-like tools for memory error detection
Module 18: Kernel Integration with Userspace Systems - System call interface and defining new syscalls
- Using ioctl for custom device control
- Netlink sockets for kernel-to-userspace communication
- uevent and device state notifications
- Implementing custom ioctls with proper validation
- Using fanotify for filesystem event monitoring
- Inotify limitations and kernel-side enhancements
- Interfacing with systemd via kernel signals and notifications
- Passing structured data between kernel and userspace
- Security considerations in userspace-kernel boundaries
Module 19: Real-World Deployment and Production Hardening - Rolling out custom kernels in staging environments
- Canary deployments and rollback strategies
- Kernel versioning and change logging practices
- Monitoring kernel performance in production
- Alerting on kernel oops, warnings, and soft lockups
- Secure patching and CVE response procedures
- Using kernel hotfixes with livepatch and kGraft
- Compliance requirements for regulated industries
- Documentation standards for internal kernel modifications
- Building an internal kernel expertise team
Module 20: Final Integration Project & Certification - Designing a custom kernel modification for a high-performance use case
- Selecting target subsystem: networking, storage, or real-time scheduling
- Defining performance metrics and success criteria
- Implementing and testing the modification in a secure environment
- Documenting design decisions, trade-offs, and testing results
- Submitting project for expert review by The Art of Service panel
- Receiving full feedback and improvement recommendations
- Finalising the project for production-readiness
- Generating a board-ready technical proposal with performance benchmarks
- Issuance of Certificate of Completion by The Art of Service
- Network stack architecture: from NIC to application
- Netdevice operations and driver registration
- SKB (Socket Buffer) management and recycling
- NAPI and polling-based network packet processing
- Tuning network buffer sizes and queue lengths
- Implementing custom packet processing hooks
- Using netfilter for packet inspection and filtering
- XDP (eXpress Data Path) for ultra-low latency processing
- Tuning TCP parameters at kernel level for throughput
- Analysing network performance with tcpdump and netstat extended
Module 12: Kernel Security Models and Hardening - POSIX capabilities and their kernel enforcement
- Smack, SELinux, AppArmor: integration and policy design
- Kernel self-protection project (KSPP) recommendations
- Stack protector, GCC plugins, and control flow integrity
- Restricting kernel module loading (modules_disabled)
- Using lockdown LSM for secure boot environments
- Hardening sysctl settings for production systems
- Kernel Address Space Layout Randomization (KASLR)
- Preventing direct physical access attacks (firewire, Thunderbolt)
- Secure kernel logging and audit trail configuration
Module 13: Kernel Debugging and Tracing Tools - Using ftrace for function, graph, and event tracing
- Kernel markers and dynamic tracepoint usage
- perf: CPU profiling, cache misses, and branch prediction
- Using kprobes and jprobes for dynamic instrumentation
- kdump and vmcore analysis for post-mortem debugging
- KGDB: remote kernel debugging with GDB
- Using QEMU and GDB for safe kernel debugging
- Parsing oops and panic output to identify root cause
- Enabling DEBUG_KERNEL and CONFIG_DEBUG_INFO
- Static analysis with sparse and Coccinelle
Module 14: Performance Monitoring and Optimisation - Using trace-cmd and kernelshark for visualisation
- Identifying CPU bottlenecks with perf top and record
- Memory bandwidth and NUMA node analysis
- Reducing context switches and scheduler overhead
- CPU cache optimisation: L1, L2, L3 utilisation
- Tuning kernel parameters via sysfs and sysctl
- Using BPF for custom monitoring probes without kernel rebuilds
- Analyzing I/O patterns with iostat and blktrace
- Reducing interrupt coalescing for latency-sensitive apps
- Implementing custom performance metrics pipelines
Module 15: Filesystems and VFS Layer Internals - Virtual File System (VFS) architecture and data structures
- Inode, dentry, superblock, and file object relationships
- Mounting and unmounting: kernel-level operations
- Page cache and writeback mechanisms
- Implementing a minimal filesystem module
- ext4 internals: extents, journaling, and barriers
- XFS performance characteristics and tuning
- Btrfs: copy-on-write, snapshots, and subvolumes
- OverlayFS and container filesystem integration
- Debugging filesystem corruption and recovery paths
Module 16: Power Management and CPU Idle States - CPU idle governors: ladder, menu, and their impact
- ACPI processor states (C-states) and kernel control
- Using cpuidle and thermal subsystem interaction
- Suspend-to-RAM and hibernation mechanisms
- Runtime power management for devices
- Tuning for battery life vs performance
- Analysing power consumption with powercap and RAPL
- Driver-specific power management callbacks
- Thermal throttling and trip point configuration
- PM QoS (Quality of Service) for latency-critical tasks
Module 17: Kernel Testing and Validation Frameworks - Running kselftest for kernel subsystem validation
- Writing custom test cases for new kernel code
- Using KUnit for unit testing in the kernel
- Integration with CI pipelines for automated kernel builds
- Stress testing with stress-ng and custom kernel workloads
- Regression testing across kernel versions
- Fuzzing kernel interfaces with syzkaller
- Validating module loading and unloading sequences
- Testing race conditions with intentional thread scheduling
- Using valgrind-like tools for memory error detection
Module 18: Kernel Integration with Userspace Systems - System call interface and defining new syscalls
- Using ioctl for custom device control
- Netlink sockets for kernel-to-userspace communication
- uevent and device state notifications
- Implementing custom ioctls with proper validation
- Using fanotify for filesystem event monitoring
- Inotify limitations and kernel-side enhancements
- Interfacing with systemd via kernel signals and notifications
- Passing structured data between kernel and userspace
- Security considerations in userspace-kernel boundaries
Module 19: Real-World Deployment and Production Hardening - Rolling out custom kernels in staging environments
- Canary deployments and rollback strategies
- Kernel versioning and change logging practices
- Monitoring kernel performance in production
- Alerting on kernel oops, warnings, and soft lockups
- Secure patching and CVE response procedures
- Using kernel hotfixes with livepatch and kGraft
- Compliance requirements for regulated industries
- Documentation standards for internal kernel modifications
- Building an internal kernel expertise team
Module 20: Final Integration Project & Certification - Designing a custom kernel modification for a high-performance use case
- Selecting target subsystem: networking, storage, or real-time scheduling
- Defining performance metrics and success criteria
- Implementing and testing the modification in a secure environment
- Documenting design decisions, trade-offs, and testing results
- Submitting project for expert review by The Art of Service panel
- Receiving full feedback and improvement recommendations
- Finalising the project for production-readiness
- Generating a board-ready technical proposal with performance benchmarks
- Issuance of Certificate of Completion by The Art of Service
- Using ftrace for function, graph, and event tracing
- Kernel markers and dynamic tracepoint usage
- perf: CPU profiling, cache misses, and branch prediction
- Using kprobes and jprobes for dynamic instrumentation
- kdump and vmcore analysis for post-mortem debugging
- KGDB: remote kernel debugging with GDB
- Using QEMU and GDB for safe kernel debugging
- Parsing oops and panic output to identify root cause
- Enabling DEBUG_KERNEL and CONFIG_DEBUG_INFO
- Static analysis with sparse and Coccinelle
Module 14: Performance Monitoring and Optimisation - Using trace-cmd and kernelshark for visualisation
- Identifying CPU bottlenecks with perf top and record
- Memory bandwidth and NUMA node analysis
- Reducing context switches and scheduler overhead
- CPU cache optimisation: L1, L2, L3 utilisation
- Tuning kernel parameters via sysfs and sysctl
- Using BPF for custom monitoring probes without kernel rebuilds
- Analyzing I/O patterns with iostat and blktrace
- Reducing interrupt coalescing for latency-sensitive apps
- Implementing custom performance metrics pipelines
Module 15: Filesystems and VFS Layer Internals - Virtual File System (VFS) architecture and data structures
- Inode, dentry, superblock, and file object relationships
- Mounting and unmounting: kernel-level operations
- Page cache and writeback mechanisms
- Implementing a minimal filesystem module
- ext4 internals: extents, journaling, and barriers
- XFS performance characteristics and tuning
- Btrfs: copy-on-write, snapshots, and subvolumes
- OverlayFS and container filesystem integration
- Debugging filesystem corruption and recovery paths
Module 16: Power Management and CPU Idle States - CPU idle governors: ladder, menu, and their impact
- ACPI processor states (C-states) and kernel control
- Using cpuidle and thermal subsystem interaction
- Suspend-to-RAM and hibernation mechanisms
- Runtime power management for devices
- Tuning for battery life vs performance
- Analysing power consumption with powercap and RAPL
- Driver-specific power management callbacks
- Thermal throttling and trip point configuration
- PM QoS (Quality of Service) for latency-critical tasks
Module 17: Kernel Testing and Validation Frameworks - Running kselftest for kernel subsystem validation
- Writing custom test cases for new kernel code
- Using KUnit for unit testing in the kernel
- Integration with CI pipelines for automated kernel builds
- Stress testing with stress-ng and custom kernel workloads
- Regression testing across kernel versions
- Fuzzing kernel interfaces with syzkaller
- Validating module loading and unloading sequences
- Testing race conditions with intentional thread scheduling
- Using valgrind-like tools for memory error detection
Module 18: Kernel Integration with Userspace Systems - System call interface and defining new syscalls
- Using ioctl for custom device control
- Netlink sockets for kernel-to-userspace communication
- uevent and device state notifications
- Implementing custom ioctls with proper validation
- Using fanotify for filesystem event monitoring
- Inotify limitations and kernel-side enhancements
- Interfacing with systemd via kernel signals and notifications
- Passing structured data between kernel and userspace
- Security considerations in userspace-kernel boundaries
Module 19: Real-World Deployment and Production Hardening - Rolling out custom kernels in staging environments
- Canary deployments and rollback strategies
- Kernel versioning and change logging practices
- Monitoring kernel performance in production
- Alerting on kernel oops, warnings, and soft lockups
- Secure patching and CVE response procedures
- Using kernel hotfixes with livepatch and kGraft
- Compliance requirements for regulated industries
- Documentation standards for internal kernel modifications
- Building an internal kernel expertise team
Module 20: Final Integration Project & Certification - Designing a custom kernel modification for a high-performance use case
- Selecting target subsystem: networking, storage, or real-time scheduling
- Defining performance metrics and success criteria
- Implementing and testing the modification in a secure environment
- Documenting design decisions, trade-offs, and testing results
- Submitting project for expert review by The Art of Service panel
- Receiving full feedback and improvement recommendations
- Finalising the project for production-readiness
- Generating a board-ready technical proposal with performance benchmarks
- Issuance of Certificate of Completion by The Art of Service
- Virtual File System (VFS) architecture and data structures
- Inode, dentry, superblock, and file object relationships
- Mounting and unmounting: kernel-level operations
- Page cache and writeback mechanisms
- Implementing a minimal filesystem module
- ext4 internals: extents, journaling, and barriers
- XFS performance characteristics and tuning
- Btrfs: copy-on-write, snapshots, and subvolumes
- OverlayFS and container filesystem integration
- Debugging filesystem corruption and recovery paths
Module 16: Power Management and CPU Idle States - CPU idle governors: ladder, menu, and their impact
- ACPI processor states (C-states) and kernel control
- Using cpuidle and thermal subsystem interaction
- Suspend-to-RAM and hibernation mechanisms
- Runtime power management for devices
- Tuning for battery life vs performance
- Analysing power consumption with powercap and RAPL
- Driver-specific power management callbacks
- Thermal throttling and trip point configuration
- PM QoS (Quality of Service) for latency-critical tasks
Module 17: Kernel Testing and Validation Frameworks - Running kselftest for kernel subsystem validation
- Writing custom test cases for new kernel code
- Using KUnit for unit testing in the kernel
- Integration with CI pipelines for automated kernel builds
- Stress testing with stress-ng and custom kernel workloads
- Regression testing across kernel versions
- Fuzzing kernel interfaces with syzkaller
- Validating module loading and unloading sequences
- Testing race conditions with intentional thread scheduling
- Using valgrind-like tools for memory error detection
Module 18: Kernel Integration with Userspace Systems - System call interface and defining new syscalls
- Using ioctl for custom device control
- Netlink sockets for kernel-to-userspace communication
- uevent and device state notifications
- Implementing custom ioctls with proper validation
- Using fanotify for filesystem event monitoring
- Inotify limitations and kernel-side enhancements
- Interfacing with systemd via kernel signals and notifications
- Passing structured data between kernel and userspace
- Security considerations in userspace-kernel boundaries
Module 19: Real-World Deployment and Production Hardening - Rolling out custom kernels in staging environments
- Canary deployments and rollback strategies
- Kernel versioning and change logging practices
- Monitoring kernel performance in production
- Alerting on kernel oops, warnings, and soft lockups
- Secure patching and CVE response procedures
- Using kernel hotfixes with livepatch and kGraft
- Compliance requirements for regulated industries
- Documentation standards for internal kernel modifications
- Building an internal kernel expertise team
Module 20: Final Integration Project & Certification - Designing a custom kernel modification for a high-performance use case
- Selecting target subsystem: networking, storage, or real-time scheduling
- Defining performance metrics and success criteria
- Implementing and testing the modification in a secure environment
- Documenting design decisions, trade-offs, and testing results
- Submitting project for expert review by The Art of Service panel
- Receiving full feedback and improvement recommendations
- Finalising the project for production-readiness
- Generating a board-ready technical proposal with performance benchmarks
- Issuance of Certificate of Completion by The Art of Service
- Running kselftest for kernel subsystem validation
- Writing custom test cases for new kernel code
- Using KUnit for unit testing in the kernel
- Integration with CI pipelines for automated kernel builds
- Stress testing with stress-ng and custom kernel workloads
- Regression testing across kernel versions
- Fuzzing kernel interfaces with syzkaller
- Validating module loading and unloading sequences
- Testing race conditions with intentional thread scheduling
- Using valgrind-like tools for memory error detection
Module 18: Kernel Integration with Userspace Systems - System call interface and defining new syscalls
- Using ioctl for custom device control
- Netlink sockets for kernel-to-userspace communication
- uevent and device state notifications
- Implementing custom ioctls with proper validation
- Using fanotify for filesystem event monitoring
- Inotify limitations and kernel-side enhancements
- Interfacing with systemd via kernel signals and notifications
- Passing structured data between kernel and userspace
- Security considerations in userspace-kernel boundaries
Module 19: Real-World Deployment and Production Hardening - Rolling out custom kernels in staging environments
- Canary deployments and rollback strategies
- Kernel versioning and change logging practices
- Monitoring kernel performance in production
- Alerting on kernel oops, warnings, and soft lockups
- Secure patching and CVE response procedures
- Using kernel hotfixes with livepatch and kGraft
- Compliance requirements for regulated industries
- Documentation standards for internal kernel modifications
- Building an internal kernel expertise team
Module 20: Final Integration Project & Certification - Designing a custom kernel modification for a high-performance use case
- Selecting target subsystem: networking, storage, or real-time scheduling
- Defining performance metrics and success criteria
- Implementing and testing the modification in a secure environment
- Documenting design decisions, trade-offs, and testing results
- Submitting project for expert review by The Art of Service panel
- Receiving full feedback and improvement recommendations
- Finalising the project for production-readiness
- Generating a board-ready technical proposal with performance benchmarks
- Issuance of Certificate of Completion by The Art of Service
- Rolling out custom kernels in staging environments
- Canary deployments and rollback strategies
- Kernel versioning and change logging practices
- Monitoring kernel performance in production
- Alerting on kernel oops, warnings, and soft lockups
- Secure patching and CVE response procedures
- Using kernel hotfixes with livepatch and kGraft
- Compliance requirements for regulated industries
- Documentation standards for internal kernel modifications
- Building an internal kernel expertise team