Compiling a clean default Linux kernel on x86_64 hardware now takes approximately 15 seconds. Experts anticipate that next-generation processors will reduce this time to 10 seconds. Meanwhile, allmodconfig builds, which include every possible kernel module, now complete in under two minutes.
These performance gains stem from a series of patches developed by Linux memory management developer Lorenzo Stoakes. By utilizing AI and LLMs to identify bottlenecks in the Kbuild code, the project aims to improve parallel processing. The proposed updates are expected to arrive in Linux 7.4.
The patch series promises a 36 percent increase in speed for standard builds and a 70 percent improvement for incremental builds. These optimizations benefit users regardless of whether they utilize high-end hardware or older processors, significantly accelerating the development workflow.
Testing on a dual AMD EPYC 9754 server showed a reduction in defconfig build times from 28 to 20 seconds. Currently, the AMD EPYC 9575F processor, featuring 64 cores and 128 threads per socket, remains the fastest setup for these tasks, consistently achieving build times around 20 seconds.
