Linux Kernel Internals and Development (LFD420) Training in Petaluma

Enroll in or hire us to teach our Linux Kernel Internals and Development (LFD420) class in Petaluma, California by calling us @303.377.6176. Like all HSG classes, Linux Kernel Internals and Development (LFD420) may be offered either onsite or via instructor led virtual training. Consider looking at our public training schedule to see if it is scheduled: Public Training Classes
Provided there are enough attendees, Linux Kernel Internals and Development (LFD420) may be taught at one of our local training facilities.
We offer private customized training for groups of 3 or more attendees.

Course Description

 
This four-day course provides experienced programmers with a solid understanding of the Linux kernel. Upon mastering this material, you will have a basic understanding of the Linux architecture, kernel algorithms, scheduling, hardware and memory management, modularization techniques and debugging, as well as how the kernel developer community operates and how to efficiently work with it. This course includes extensive hands-on exercises and demonstrations designed to give you the necessary tools to develop and debug Linux kernel code. The course is based on both the most upstream recent Linux kernel version, and maintains compatibility with the kernel versions used by at least the last two releases of the major Linux distributions.
Course Length: 4 Days
Course Tuition: $2800 (US)

Prerequisites

Students attending this course should be proficient in the C programming language. Be familiar with basic Linux (UNIX) utilities such as ls, grep and tar. Be comfortable using any of the available text editors (e.g. emacs, vi, etc.). Experience with any major Linux distribution is helpful but not strictly required.

Course Outline

 
  1. Introduction
    • Objectives
    • Who You Are
    • The Linux Foundation
    • Linux Foundation Training
    • Course Registration
  2. Preliminaries
    • Procedures
    • Things change in Linux
    • Linux Distributions
    • Kernel Versions
    • Kernel Sources and Use of git
    • Platforms
    • Documentation and Links
  3. Kernel Architecture I
    • UNIX and Linux **
    • Monolithic and Micro Kernels
    • Object-Oriented Methods
    • Main Kernel Tasks
    • User-Space and Kernel-Space
    • Kernel Mode Linux **
  4. Kernel Programming Preview
    • Error Numbers and Getting Kernel Output
    • Task Structure
    • Memory Allocation
    • Transferring Data between User and Kernel Spaces
    • Linked Lists
    • String to Number Conversions
    • Jiffies
    • Labs
  5. Modules
    • What are Modules?
    • A Trivial Example
    • Compiling Modules
    • Modules vs Built-in
    • Module Utilities
    • Automatic Loading/Unloading of Modules
    • Module Usage Count
    • The module struct
    • Module Licensing
    • Exporting Symbols
    • Resolving Symbols **
    • Labs
  6. Kernel Architecture II
    • Processes, Threads, and Tasks
    • Process Context
    • Kernel Preemption
    • Real Time Preemption Patch
    • Dynamic Kernel Patching
    • Run-time Alternatives **
    • Porting to a New Platform **
  7. Kernel Initialization
    • Overview of System Initialization
    • System Boot
    • Das U-Boot for Embedded Systems**
  8. Kernel Configuration and Compilation
    • Installation and Layout of the Kernel Source
    • Kernel Browsers
    • Kernel Configuration Files
    • Kernel Building and Makefiles
    • initrd and initramfs
    • Labs
  9. System Calls
    • What are System Calls?
    • Available System Calls
    • How System Calls are Implemented
    • Adding a New System Call
    • Replacing System Calls from Modules
    • Labs
  10. Kernel Style and General Considerations
    • Coding Style
    • kernel-doc **
    • Using Generic Kernel Routines and Methods
    • Making a Kernel Patch
    • sparse
    • Using likely() and unlikely()
    • Writing Portable Code, CPU, 32/64-bit, Endianness
    • Writing for SMP
    • Writing for High Memory Systems
    • Power Management
    • Keeping Security in Mind
    • Mixing User- and Kernel-Space Headers **
    • Labs
  11. Race Conditions and Synchronization Methods
    • Concurrency and Synchronization Methods
    • Atomic Operations
    • Bit Operations
    • Spinlocks
    • Seqlocks
    • Disabling Preemption
    • Mutexes
    • Semaphores
    • Completion Functions
    • Read-Copy-Update (RCU)
    • Reference Counts
    • Labs
  12. SMP and Threads
    • SMP Kernels and Modules
    • Processor Affinity
    • CPUSETS
    • SMP Algorithms - Scheduling, Locking, etc.
    • Per-CPU Variables **
    • Labs
  13. Processes
    • What are Processes?
    • The task_struct
    • Creating User Processes and Threads
    • Creating Kernel Threads
    • Destroying Processes and Threads
    • Executing User-Space Processes From Within the Kernel
    • Labs
  14. Process Limits and Capabilities **
    • Process Limits
    • Capabilities
    • Labs
  15. Monitoring and Debugging
    • Debuginfo Packages
    • Tracing and Profiling
    • sysctl
    • SysRq Key
    • oops Messages
    • Kernel Debuggers
    • debugfs
    • Labs
  16. Scheduling Basics
    • Main Scheduling Tasks
    • SMP
    • Scheduling Priorities
    • Scheduling System Calls
    • The 2.4 schedule() Function
    • O(1) Scheduler
    • Time Slices and Priorities
    • Load Balancing
    • Priority Inversion and Priority Inheritance **
    • Labs
  17. Completely Fair Scheduler (CFS)
    • The CFS Scheduler
    • Calculating Priorities and Fair Times
    • Scheduling Classes
    • CFS Scheduler Details
    • Labs
  18. Memory Addressing
    • Virtual Memory Management
    • Systems With no MMU
    • Memory Addresses
    • High and Low Memory
    • Memory Zones
    • Special Device Nodes
    • NUMA
    • Paging
    • Page Tables
    • page structure
    • Kernel Samepage Merging (KSM) **
    • Labs
  19. Huge Pages
    • Huge Page Support
    • libhugetlbfs
    • Transparent Huge Pages
    • Labs
  20. Memory Allocation
    • Requesting and Releasing Pages
    • Buddy System
    • Slabs and Cache Allocations
    • Memory Pools
    • kmalloc()
    • vmalloc()
    • Early Allocations and bootmem()
    • Memory Defragmentation
    • Labs
  21. Process Address Space
    • Allocating User Memory and Address Spaces
    • Locking Pages
    • Memory Descriptors and Regions
    • Access Rights
    • Allocating and Freeing Memory Regions
    • Page Faults
    • Labs
  22. Disk Caches and Swapping
    • Caches
    • Page Cache Basics
    • What is Swapping?
    • Swap Areas
    • Swapping Pages In and Out
    • Controlling Swappiness
    • The Swap Cache
    • Reverse Mapping **
    • OOM Killer
    • Labs
  23. Device Drivers**
    • Types of Devices
    • Device Nodes
    • Character Drivers
    • An Example
    • Labs
  24. Signals
    • What are Signals?
    • Available Signals
    • System Calls for Signals
    • Sigaction
    • Signals and Threads
    • How the Kernel Installs Signal Handlers
    • How the Kernel Sends Signals
    • How the Kernel Invokes Signal Handlers
    • Real Time Signals
    • Labs

** These sections may be considered in part or in whole as optional. They contain either background reference material, specialized topics, or advanced subjects. The instructor may choose to cover or not cover them depending on classroom experience and time constraints

Linux Unix Uses & Stats

Linux Unix is Used For:
Desktop Mainframe Computers Mobile Devices Embedded Devices
Difficulty
Popularity
Year Created
1991/1971
Pros
Performance:
Linux supports many efficient tools and operates them seamlessly. Because it's architecture is lightweight it runs faster than both Windows 8.1 and 10. 
 
Security:
Because Linux is an open-source software,  anyone can contribute code to help enhance the users’ experience i.e., adding features, fixing bugs, reducing security risks, and more.
 
 
Software Development:
The terminal in Linux is a *wild card*. You can do almost anything with it. This includes software installation, application and server configurations, file system management, and etc.
 
Large-scale:
Open-source projects benefit from having an attentive community. As a result, Linux is more secure than Windows. Instead of installing anti viruses to clean malware, you just have to stick to the recommended repositories. 
 
Efficient: 
Developers have the convenience of running servers, training machine learning models, accessing remote machines, and compiling and running scripts from the same terminal window. 
 
Free: 
Linux is free (you can put it on as many systems as you like) and you can change it to suit your needs.
Cons
Learning Curve: 
Linux is not for everyone, there is a learning curve in switching to Ubuntu. To actually learn Linux efficiently would take a user one to several years.
 
No Tech Support:
Unlike Windows, there isn’t a dedicated tech support, so getting help for things is up to you. 
 
Designer Compatabilty:
Linux is not as user friendly as Windows or as ‘straight out of the box design’ As an example for design choices, Adobe hasn’t released any of its products to Linux users. So it’s impossible to run them directly. The Ubuntu alternative is a free software called GIMP. 
 
Gaming Capabilities: 
Most games aren’t available in Linux. But that’s not to say you can’t make it happen, it's just not as easy.   
Linux Unix Job Market
Average Salary
$85k-$105k
Job Count
n/a
Top Job Locations

New York City
Boston
San Francisco 

Complimentary Skills to have along with Linux Unix
The following are types of jobs that may require Linux skills.  The top 15 job titles on Dice.com that mention Linux in their postings are:
- DevOps Engineer
- Software Engineer
- Java Developer
- Systems Engineer
- Systems Administrator
- Senior Software Engineer
- Network Engineer
- Python Developer
- Linux Systems Administrator
- Software Developer
- System Administrator
- Linux Administrator
- Linux Engineer
- Senior Java Developer
- C++ Developer

Interesting Reads Take a class with us and receive a book of your choosing for 50% off MSRP.