Deep DivesDeep Dives
Linux genpd Power Domains: Why a Rail Won’t Power Off?
How genpd power domains decide to cut power in the Linux kernel: the checks in genpd_power_off(), the stay_on rule, and reading pm_genpd_summary.
RB Aug 25 · 18 min
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Field notes from the Linux trenches
Deep dives, debugging war-stories and career guidance for engineers who work where the kernel meets real hardware.
Deep Dives
InsightsInsights
Kernel Cleanup Helpers: What Your LTS Actually Has
Kernel cleanup helpers are in every LTS, but the subsystem helpers and conditional guards arrived at point releases. Check your tree, not…
RB Aug 24 · 13 min
Debug StoriesDebug Stories
Debug Story: A Circular Locking Dependency in a Driver
A lockdep circular locking dependency warning appeared with no hang. Here is how the AB-BA lock inversion between two driver mutexes was…
RB Aug 24 · 8 min
CareerCareer
The Recording Is Not the Problem. Postponing It Is.
Lecture-capture research finds no harm in simply providing recordings. The damage comes from somewhere else: an hour that can always be moved…
RB Aug 23 · 9 min
TutorialsTutorials
Buildroot for Embedded Linux — Part 1: Your First Buildroot Root Filesystem
Build your first Buildroot root filesystem for ARM and boot it under QEMU. Part 1 of a hands-on Buildroot series for embedded…
RB Aug 23 · 8 min
System DesignSystem Design
In-Tree vs Out-of-Tree Driver: Where Your Code Should Live
In-tree vs out-of-tree driver: why upstreaming hardware you own usually costs less over a product life, and when an external module is…
RB Aug 22 · 8 min
Kernel SecurityKernel Security
Linux Kernel CVEs: What to Patch by Device (16 – 22 Aug 2026)
6 Linux kernel CVEs (16-22 Aug 2026) with the minimum safe version per branch - including CVE-2026-74578, CVE-2026-74582 and what to patch…
RB Aug 22 · 20 min
Deep DivesDeep Dives
The Linux DMA API: Coherent and Streaming Mappings Explained
A working guide to the Linux DMA API: coherent vs streaming mappings, cache sync rules, the dma-coherent property, and debugging with CONFIG_DMA_API_DEBUG.
RB Aug 21 · 15 min
NewsNews
Linux Makes the x86 TSC a Baseline: What Changes for Embedded Systems?
Linux now treats the x86 TSC as a baseline and requires the Time Stamp Counter. How Arm, RISC-V and others guarantee a…
RB Aug 21 · 11 min
NewsNews
Kernel & Embedded News: 32-bit Arm Deprecations in 7.3; Rsync 3.5
Linux 7.3 begins a broad 32-bit Arm deprecation, rsync 3.5 fixes 33 CVEs, Arm preps 128-bit page tables, Pine64 pauses devices, and…
RB Aug 20 · 10 min
InsightsInsights
Device Tree Ownership Is Moving Up Into Firmware
Under Arm SystemReady and EBBR, a firmware-provided device tree moves board ownership to the platform and makes firmware update a requirement, not…
RB Aug 20 · 11 min
Edge AIEdge AI
The Mainline NPU Driver on RK3588, and What It Cannot Do Yet
The mainline NPU driver for RK3588 is real, in drivers/accel since Linux 6.18. What it does, what it does not, and where…
RB Aug 19 · 7 min
CareerCareer
Your Code Got Cheap. Your Judgement Did Not.
The kernel's two documents on tool-generated contributions add almost nothing about code quality. They regulate evidence, disclosure and accountability instead — which…
RB Aug 19 · 12 min
Edge AIEdge AI
Operator Fallback: Why Your Accelerated Model Still Runs on the CPU
Operator fallback pushes unsupported ops back to the CPU and fragments the graph. What it costs on real devices, and how to…
RB Aug 18 · 10 min
NewsNews
Kernel & Embedded News: Linux 7.3 Merge Window; QEMU 11.1 Released
The Linux 7.3 merge window is open: an SMP rework cuts scheduling latency, BPF reaches binfmt_misc, QEMU 11.1 ships, and Radxa adds…
RB Aug 18 · 9 min
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