Recently I have seen an WebUpd8 article about an alternative kenrel to the stock Ubuntu kernel, the pf-kernel, that supposed increases performance. I am running Ubuntu 12.10 using kernel 3.5.0-30 generic, with the elevator=noop
tweak as I have the OS installed on an SSD, with a separate HDD for data and stuff.
Will the supposed improvements of the pf-kernel really have an effect on an SSD-based system, or are they more inclined towards HDD performance improvement? Besides, using a laptop, so any changes that harm battery life are not desirable.
pf-kernel modifications/patches:
- -ck patchset with BFS CPU scheduler: Con Kolivas' ck1 patchset which includes the BFS scheduler that brings better desktop interactivity and responsiveness;
- BFQ I/O scheduler : using this patch, the disk should be virtually as responsive as if it was idle, no matter what the load is (this is available by default in Sabayon and CyanogenMod);
- TuxOnIce: an alternative suspend / hibernate framework that uses image compression, supports any number of swap partitions and/or files, has the ability to cancel hibernating or restoring the image by pressing escape key and more;
- UKSM: Memory De-Duplication;
- EnhanceIO: a driver based on EhanceIO SSD caching software derived from Facebook's open source Flashcache project that's useful for using SSDs as cache devices for traditional HDDs.