Have I Gone Too Close to the Bleeding Edge Updating Kernel On AV Linux?

[macronus]

I actually can't think of any reason that I absolutely must install the latest Liquorix kernel just yet. I guess I got impatient waiting on the 6.14 kernel that will supposedly have the NTSYNC feature that's been getting some buzz.

Anyway, I installed the Liquorix 6.12 kernel, but am unable to recall which specific variant (6.12.13-2?), to experience occasional brief episodes of having my AV Linux desktop freeze. This would come and go until the one time I had to hit the reset button on my PC. After that I pulled the 6.12 kernel off of my setup and went back to using the preinstalled 6.6 kernel.

Not having learned my lesson, I decided to now stay back one kernel version behind and installed the Liquorix 6.11.10-1 kernel. This time I got a luckier. So far so good.

Is something like this a common experience? Rather than to immediately install the 6.14 kernel, when it finally does become available, should I wait until a 6.15 kernel is released and THEN install a final 6.14 kernel?

[CharlesV]

I believe the real question is what is your hardware ? (ie QSI )

Holding back from the leading kernels is good imo, at least hold back on minor versions. Running a 16.14 I would be waiting until its a 6.14.4 or 6.14.5 ish... I like to let folks figure things out first.

But... hardware could / should dictate how far you go too.

[FullScale4Me]

To me, the ONLY reason to go beyond the stock Kernel with MX is to get Bluetooth or WiFi support.

I'll always take stability over 'shiny new object' for my plain vanilla (websurfing & tech writing) usage. All of my hardware is many to 10+ years past warranty expiration.

[siamhie]

6.14 just hit rc5 two days ago. 6.13 went up to rc7 before it was released the next week as stable.
So if 6.14 follows suit, it will be at least two-three more weeks before 6.14 is released as stable.
Just depends on when Linus feels comfortable to release it. I've seen kernels go up to rc8 in the past.

I'm running XanMod's 6.13.5 kernel with no issues to report. MX-23.5 fluxbox.
I also have XanMod's 6.12.17 kernel installed as a backup.

[DukeComposed]

To me, the ONLY reason to go beyond the stock Kernel with MX is to get Bluetooth or WiFi support.

I'll always take stability over 'shiny new object' for my plain vanilla (websurfing & tech writing) usage. All of my hardware is many to 10+ years past warranty expiration.

Something a lot of people don't appreciate about the customized kernel configs is that they've been tweaked to improve performance, whatever that might mean, at the expense of stability and power management settings. Normally, a Liquorix kernel isn't going to be significantly worse for you than a non-Liquorix kernel. There are exceptions.

The kernel that comes with Debian or MX has been thoroughly tested to make it the most "unlikely to be something that causes you problems" it can be, for better (stability, general hardware compatibility) or for worse (maybe not l33t enough for gaming). Replacing the default kernel with something else is one of those "you don't need it until suddenly you do" type of situations.

Personally, I've been running Liquorix kernels up through 6.8 for the last few years and the figurative better "feel" of it over the default kernel is definitely a placebo effect. I could easily switch back to the default kernel without any experiencing any real loss of performance for my use cases, and that includes a media machine hooked up to a television.

Bottom line: Liquorix kernels are nice. You aren't missing anything by not using them, though, unless there's something the default kernel isn't doing or cannot provide.

[CatManDan]

[quote=siamhie post_id=812300 time=1741138264 user_id=30274
I'm running XanMod's 6.13.5 kernel with no issues to report. MX-23.5 fluxbox.
I also have XanMod's 6.12.17 kernel installed as a backup.
[/quote]

I have a similar setup - with the 6.13, the Broadcom DKMS threw errors (a reminder in my case to get rid of those packages as I have an Intel Wifi/Bluetooth device). Virtualbox on the other hand still works.

But I still have the 6.12 Xanmod and Liquorix as a backup should an update fail (and xanmod also lets me keep the older version as well).

With the core ultra 7 155h and the AX211, I need a rather new kernel (even had to update my install ISO's kernel to get the installation done with a working touchpad and wifi card).

[Stevo]

The Liquorix kernel has a much lower latency than Debian's, though, so it's a lot better for multimedia creation. It's used by AVLinux instead of a realtime kernel, though you can still install Debian's realtime if desired.

[Nokkaelaein]

The Liquorix kernel has a much lower latency than Debian's, though, so it's a lot better for multimedia creation.

Yep. Getting rid of xruns definitely isn't placebo. Also, the "at the expense of stability" seen in this thread needs an actual source, imo. The kernel's own documentation says it is tuned "for responsiveness at the cost of throughput and power usage" - not stability. Currently running a Liquorix kernel on six systems that I personally maintain, three laptops and three desktops. They are all workstation systems, not servers, but when needed there have been uptimes counted in weeks, never showing any sign of instability. This is of course just anecdotal, but in the industry the consensus seems to be, if some systems don't play nice with Liquorix kernels, there seems to be at least as many systems that actually play nicer with it than the vanilla kernel. In this case, I'm not referring to the better latency with "play nicer", I mean general stability and fewer problems with hardware.

[AVLinux]

Hi,

I can't speak to the OP's issues because I'm extremely cautious about Kernels and I decided to use and remain with 6.6.12 on AVL systems because it was a very solid and trouble free Kernel after much trial and error. I sound like a broken record here but I'm always baffled why people serially update the Kernel on a working production system. If your hardware is fully supported and there are no known security issues it's completely a 50/50 roll of the dice to upgrade a Kernel. That said there shouldn't be DE freezes with any Kernel, we really need a QSI to look at the hardware especially the Video card. For me nVidia and openGL compositing on Enlightenment have been a nightmare, even with a solid Kernel.

That all said I will need to test 6.13 at some point because it has supposedly (finally) added support for my Tascam Portacapture X8, it would be very Linux-like to gain hardware support and have the DE stop working...lol

[Stevo]

Our 6.13 is in ahs-staging, though I don't know if it enabled the Portacapture support in its configuration. We have all the DKMS packages we ship on the ISO updated as necessary, too.