Conduct a system update when Ubuntu has not yet provided precompiled
kernels
Experiment with the system capabilitiesUbuntu supplies precompiled versions of the kernel for 32- and 64-bit
processors. For each architecture, Ubuntu compiles a generic kernel that
works well for most uses, a server kernel that is optimized for server use, a
preempt kernel designed for use in low-latency servers, and an rt kernel for
times when instant response is more important than balanced use (such as in
professional audiovisual recording and editing). There is also a special kernel,
called virtual, available for use in virtual machines. These are all available
from the Ubuntu software repositories.
Also available are a series of packages called linux-backports-
modules-, each with a specific set of kernel modules backported from
newer mainline kernels into current version Ubuntu kernels. If you need an
updated driver for a piece of hardware, look at the backported modules first.
Kernel Versions
The Linux kernel is in a constant state of development. As new features are
added, bugs are fixed, and new technology is incorporated into the code base,
it becomes necessary to provide stable releases of the kernel for use in a
production environment. It is also important to have separate releases that
contain the newest code for developers to test. To keep track of the kernels,
version numbers are assigned to them. Programmers enjoy using sequential
version numbers that have abstract meaning. Is version 8 twice as advanced as
version 4 of the same application? Is version 1 of one application less
developed than version 3 of another? The version numbers cannot be used for
this kind of qualitative or quantitative comparison. It is entirely possible for
higher version numbers to have fewer features and more bugs than older
versions. The numbers exist solely to differentiate and organize sequential
revisions of software. The kernel version can be broken down into four
sections:
Major version—This is the major version number, which is 4 in our
examples.
Minor version—This is the minor version number, which is 15 in our
examples.
Sublevel number—This number indicates the current iteration of the
kernel; which is 3 in our examples.