RT-Preempt patch Linux
EtienneAr
April 2019
This document will present what I did to install (patch) real-time Linux.
1 Ubuntu 16.04
1.1 Download and install Ubuntu
I did the install, by downloading Ubuntu 16, and creating a live USB stick. Then I followed the Live USB
instructions.
wget http://releases.ubuntu.com/16.04/ubuntu-16.04.6-desktop-amd64.iso
#Choose the correct device which will be the output (a.k.a ’of’) to create
Live USB.
lsblk
sudo dd if=ubuntu-16.04.6-desktop-amd64.iso of=/dev/sdb status=progress &&
sync
1.2 (optional) Setup ssh connection
# On the freshly installed machine
sudo apt-get install openssh-server
sudo service ssh start
After this step everything can be done remotely :
# On another machine (connected to the same network ...)
ssh login@ip
From now on, everything will be done on the freshly installed machine (either by typing
physically on it, or by using a ssh conneciton).
1.3 Downgrading to kernel 4.14
wget https://kernel.ubuntu.com/˜kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.14.109/linux-headers
-4.14.109-0414109_4.14.109-0414109.201903271718_all.deb
wget https://kernel.ubuntu.com/˜kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.14.109/linux-headers
-4.14.109-0414109-generic_4.14.109-0414109.201903271718_amd64.deb
wget https://kernel.ubuntu.com/˜kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.14.109/linux-image-
1
unsigned-4.14.109-0414109-generic_4.14.109-0414109.201903271718_amd64.
deb
wget https://kernel.ubuntu.com/˜kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.14.109/linux-modules
-4.14.109-0414109-generic_4.14.109-0414109.201903271718_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-4.14.109-0414109_4.14.109-0414109.201903271718
_all.deb
sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-4.14.109-0414109-generic_4
.14.109-0414109.201903271718_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i linux-modules-4.14.109-0414109-generic_4
.14.109-0414109.201903271718_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i linux-image-unsigned-4.14.109-0414109-generic_4
.14.109-0414109.201903271718_amd64.deb
1.4 Setup grub :
Grub can let you select (at boot time) which kernel you want to use. It can be very useful if you want to
try several kernels, patched and not patched. If it is not setup correctly, here is how you can do it :
# Modify grub to boot on one kernel automatically
sudo vim /etc/default/grub
# Modify GRUB_DEFAULT=0 to GRUB_DEFAULT="Advanced options for Ubuntu>
Ubuntu, with Linux 4.14.109-0414109-generic"
# The second part (after ’>’) can be found in the menu entry.
# /!\ To do after a first sudo update-grub :
grep menuentry /boot/grub/grub.cfg
#If grub does not appear at boot time, you need to :
# place "#" symbol at the start of line GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0
sudo update-grub
sudo reboot
1.5 (optional) Get the system info (before changing the kernel too much)
mkdir info
cd info
uname -a > uname.txt
sudo cat /proc/cpuinfo > cpuinfo.txt
lspci > lspci.txt
1.6 (optional/Recommended) Test real-time capabilities
This software will test how your OS handles real time. You should launch it, run some other app while it’s
running and save the result to compare it later after patching your OS.
2
git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/utils/rt-tests/rt-tests.git
cd rt-tests
git checkout stable/v1.0
sudo apt-get install build-essential libnuma-dev
make
sudo ./cyclictest -a -t -n -p99
1.7 Get kernel and patch source code
sudo passwd root
su
mkdir -p /usr/src/kernels
cd /usr/src/kernels
wget http://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v4.x/linux-4.14.109.tar.gz
wget https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/projects/rt/4.4/patch
-4.14.109-rt57.patch.xz
1.8 Extract code and apply patch
tar xf linux-4.14.109.tar.xz
mv linux-4.14.109 linux-4.4.177-rt57
cd linux-4.14.109-rt57
xz -d ../patch-4.14.109-rt57.patch.xz
patch -p1 <../patch-4.14.109-rt57.patch
cp /boot/config-4.15.x-xxx-generic .config
### You may need this to make the config menu
apt-get install libncurses5-dev
# ’minimum’ configuration
make defconfig
# configure the kernel
make menuconfig
# The main setting to change is :
# * Processor type and features -> Preemption Model : Fully Preemptible
Kernel (RT)
# * ACPI -> (disable) Hibernation
# * Networking -> (disable) Radio Amateur
# * Networking > Wireless -> (disable) powersave
# * Device drivers -> (disable) Macintosh
# * Device drivers > Network > Ethernet driver support -> (disable) every
3
unecessary brand
# * Device drivers > Network > Wireless lan (see list)
# * Device drivers > Network -> (disable) USB
# ... Better settings can be done ...
(a) (b) (c)
Figure 1: List of the recommended drivers for Wireless Network devices
Remark: A lot of optimization can be done during the ’make menuconfig’ step, by disabling everything
that is not necessary.
1.9 Compile
### In my case, I need these to compile ###
apt-get install libsdl1.2-dev libssl-dev
make -j8 #8 is my number of cores
make modules_install install
1.10 Reboot
reboot
4
1.11 Checks
uname -a
sudo cat /proc/cpuinfo
lspci
sudo ./cyclictest -a -t -n -p99
1.12 (Optionnal) Test with ESPNOW Echo code
git clone https://github.com/thomasfla/Linux-ESPNOW.git
cd Linux-ESPNOW/ESPNOW_lib/
make
### Then the usual before testing ###
sudo ifconfig wlan0 down
sudo iwconfig wlan0 mode monitor
sudo ifconfig wlan0 up
sudo iwconfig wlan0 channel 10
sudo ./bin/exec wlan0
2 Miscellaneous
2.1 Remove an installed kernel :
#Current kernel
uname -r
#DO NOT REMOVE IT
dpkg --list ’linux-image-*’
sudo apt-get purge linux-image-x.x.x-x-generic
sudo update-grub2
