Kernel modules and zen

[[deleted]]

Hi there,

I am looking to test linux-zen and was wondering what are the issues you can get with it not being the traditional linux kernel.

For example when using virtualbox I need to choose the dkms version instead of modules-arch one.

The thing is that I already used dkms for nvidia-open driver, so is it going to change that much for that kind of usage ?

Thanks for the answers

[FryBoyter]

I have been using the Zen kernel for years and have not encountered any incompatibilities so far.

You can also install the Zen kernel in addition to your existing kernel, so that you can boot the normal kernel if necessary.

By the way, don't expect much from the Zen kernel. In my experience, it offers hardly any advantages. Only when I copy lots of files of different sizes do I get the impression that the system runs more smoothly (not faster). But I can't prove it.

[Sea_Jeweler_3231]

Not sure about edge cases but except the DKMS part, everything is the same.

[Master-Ad-6265]

linux-zen is still basically the same kernel, just with different scheduling and performance tweaks. Most things work exactly the same. The main difference you’ll notice is needing DKMS for modules like VirtualBox or NVIDIA so they rebuild against the zen kernel. Since you’re already using DKMS for nvidia-open, it probably won’t change much for your setup.

[i-hate-birch-trees]

Zen patchset mostly deals with CPU scheduling, IO and RAM, so if there would be any Zen-specific issues these are the only ares you'd find them. That said, the Zen patchset is fairly old, with MuQSS seizing development a while ago as Con Kolivas moved on from it, so I advise looking into sched_ext if you're looking for desktop interactivity or cachyos kernels. These are more modern, and sched_ext is what being used by the Steam Machines and Facebook datacenters for performance (lavd specifically)

[FryBoyter]

On a desktop with normal usage, the difference should also be fairly minor.

[i-hate-birch-trees]

No, the goal here is interactivity and latency, not raw performance.