Performance Tuning for Linux: An Introduction to Kernels

Chapter Description

In this chapter, you'll learn the key components of the Linux kernel to help you understand how the kernel is architected and organized.

By Badari Pulavarti

Introduction

Now that you’ve made important decisions about how to install Linux on your system, you need to learn more about the Linux kernel to make important tuning decisions. We’ll discuss how Linux evolved and then delve into its architecture. We’ll include information on how the kernel is organized, what its responsibilities are, and how memory management is handled. We’ll discuss process management and interprocess communication, followed by an overview of the Linux Symmetrical Multiprocessing Model. Finally, we’ll examine the Linux file systems.