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Optimised Kernel

The Linux kernel is world-renowned for its superb efficiency and its capacity to be configured to match particular requirements. Ubuntu Server Edition includes a specially configured kernel to match the requirements of all common workloads typically found on a server so that you get the most out of your hardware while maintaining optimal power consumption. Whether you will be running on Intel, AMD or Sun Sparc processors in 32 or 64 bit modes, our engineers have worked closely with the hardware manufacturers in order to ensure optimisation for the specific architectures, right up to the most recent ones at the time of release.

Here is a list of the server-specific kernel optimisations that we include:

• The Server Edition uses the Deadline I/O scheduler instead of the CFQ scheduler used by the Desktop Edition.

• Pre-emption is turned off in the Server Edition.

• The timer interrupt is 100 Hz in the Server Edition and 250 Hz in the Desktop Edition.

• The Server Edition is optimised for i686 processors while the Desktop Edition is optimised for both the i586 and i686.

• Virtualization is better supported in the Server Edition through the enabling of IPC namespaces.

• Multiple routing tables for the IPv6 protocol are also supported in the Server Edition.

• For 32-bit systems the Server Edition is configured to use PAE which allows addressing up to 64GB of memory while the Desktop Edition is configured for 4GB.

• When running a 64-bit version of Ubuntu on 64-bit processors you are not limited by memory addressing space.

Optimised for Virtualization

Ubuntu Server Edition is optimised to run in a virtual environment through work done on multiple aspects of the Linux Kernel, including IO drivers and usage of hardware features. This work is done, for KVM, our selected open source technology, as well as in co-operation with leading virtualization vendors to ensure performance and availability when used not only as a guest operating system, but also as a virtualization host.
More on virtualization >>

Additionally, for companies that would like to take advantage of our optimisation work to distribute their software as a virtual appliance, the Canonical ISV team can explain how to use Ubuntu JeOS, a Server flavour built to run virtual appliances in VMware or KVM environments. JeOS can also be used by users to deploy their custom application on virtualization farms.
More on Ubuntu Server Edition JeOS >>

New in 8.10

DKMS (by Dell) is included in Ubuntu 8.10, allowing kernel drivers to be automatically rebuilt when new kernels are released. This makes it possible for kernel package updates to be made available immediately without waiting for rebuilds of driver packages, and without third-party driver packages becoming out of date when installing these kernel updates.