GNet Solutions » GNU/Linux Administration

• Table of contents
• Prepare the Environment
• Install Linux-ck from Repo-ck
  • Install nVidia driver
  • Install VirtualBox host driver:
• Install Linux-ck from the AUR
  • Install yaourt
  • Receive PGP keys
  • Install Linux-ck kernel
  • Install Linux-ck nVidia driver
  • Install Linux-ck VirtualBox host driver
• Enable Budget Fair Queueing (BFQ) I/O Scheduling
  • BFQ Script
• Resources

This is a guide for installing the Linux-ck kernel on Arch linux.

Prepare the Environment¶

• Make sure the system is up to date:
  

  sudo pacman -Syu
  

Install Linux-ck from Repo-ck¶

• Edit the pacman.conf:
  

  vi /etc/pacman.conf
  

  • And add the following to the end of the file:
    

    [repo-ck]
    Server = http://repo-ck.com/$arch
    Server = http://repo-ck.com/$arch
    Server = http://repo-ck.com/$arch
    Server = http://repo-ck.com/$arch
    Server = http://repo-ck.com/$arch
    

• Now repo key needs to be received and locally signed:
  

  pacman-key -r 5EE46C4C
  pacman-key --lsign-key 5EE46C4C
  

• Refresh the repo metadata:
  

  pacman -Sy
  

• (Optional) Identify the CPU:
  

  gcc -c -Q -march=native --help=target | grep march
  

• Install the generic Linux-ck kernel:
  

  pacman -S linux-ck-generic
  

  • (Optional) Or install the CPU specific kernel:
    

    pacman -S linux-ck-kx
    

• Install the generic Linux-ck kernel headers:
  

  pacman -S linux-ck-generic-headers
  

  • (Optional) Or install the CPU specific kernel:
    

    pacman -S linux-ck-kx
    

Install nVidia driver¶

• Install the generic Linux-ck nVidia driver:
  

  pacman -S nvidia-304xx-ck-generic
  

  • (Optional) Or install the CPU specific nVidia driver:
    

    pacman -S nvidia-304xx-ck-kx
    

Install VirtualBox host driver:¶

• Install the generic Linux-ck VirtualBox host driver:
  

  pacman -S virtualbox-ck-host-modules-generic
  

  • (Optional) Or install the CPU specific VirtualBox host driver:
    

    pacman -S virtualbox-ck-host-modules-kx
    

• Update the grub config:
  

  grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
  

Install Linux-ck from the AUR¶

Install yaourt¶

• Install yaourt

Receive PGP keys¶

• Receive Linus Torvalds' PGP key:
  

  gpg --recv-keys 79BE3E4300411886
  

  • Then utimately trust the key:
    

    trust
    5
    y
    quit
    

• Receive Greg Kroah-Hartman's PGP key:
  

  gpg --recv-keys 38DBBDC86092693E
  

  • Then ultimately trust the key:
    

    trust
    5
    y
    quit
    

Install Linux-ck kernel¶

• Install the linux-ck package from the AUR:
  

  yaourt linux-ck
  

  • (Optional) Install the linux-ck-headers package:
    

    yaourt linux-ck-headers
    

• Edit the PKGBUILD file and add the following:
  

  _BFQ_enable_="y" 
  

• Update the grub config:
  

  grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
  

Install Linux-ck nVidia driver¶

• (Optional) Install the linux-ck nvidia package:
  

  yaourt nvidia-304xx-ck
  

Install Linux-ck VirtualBox host driver¶

• (Optional) Install the linux-ck virtualbox host modules:
  

  yaourt virtualbox-ck-host-modules
  

Enable Budget Fair Queueing (BFQ) I/O Scheduling¶

• Check which I/O scheduler is in use:
  

  cat /sys/block/sda/queue/scheduler
  

  • Example output:
    

    noop deadline [cfq] bfq
    

• Enable BFQ on /dev/sda without rebooting:
  

  echo bfq > /sys/block/sda/queue/scheduler
  

• Check which I/O scheduler is in use:
  

  cat /sys/block/sda/queue/scheduler
  

  • Example output:
    

    noop deadline cfq [bfq]
    

• Use BFQ on /dev/sda at boot persistently, create the set_IO_scheduler.conf file:
  

  sudo vi /etc/tmpfiles.d/set_IO_scheduler.conf
  

  • And add the following:
    

    w /sys/block/sda/queue/scheduler - - - - bfq
    

BFQ Script¶

I had problems getting the tmpfiles.d configuration to work properly on systemd 219, so I created a script to easily enable BFQ on /dev/sda.

• Create the enable-bfq.sh script:
  

  sudo nano /usr/local/sbin/enable-bfq.sh
  

  • And add the following:
    

    #!/bin/sh
    ## Script to enable BFQ on /dev/sda
    echo bfq > /sys/block/sda/queue/scheduler
    

• Make it executable:
  

  sudo chmod +x /usr/local/sbin/enable-bfq.sh
  

Resources¶

• https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Kernels
• https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Linux-ck
• https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Repo-ck
• https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Linux-ck#How_to_enable_the_BFQ_I.2FO_Scheduler