Canonical announced the new features of the real-time kernel of Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, which are available for testing. The beta real-time kernel is based on upstream v5.15, and the 22.04 LTS kernel integrates the out-of-tree PREEMPT_RT patch for x86_64 and AArch64 architectures.
Once in GA (General Availability), the new real-time core will provide the next generation of robotics, IoT and telecom innovations with deterministic response times to meet their extremely low latency requirements.
Deterministic response time
The real-time Ubuntu beta’s scheduler can preempt threads in the kernel, including critical sections, interrupt handlers, and interrupt-disable code sequences, guaranteeing bounded responses. The PREEMPT_RT patch (not yet fully upstream) makes the test kernel more preemptible than the mainline by minimizing non-preemptible critical sections of the kernel code.
Ready for production
Since this is a beta kernel, it does not provide any support and is not recommended for production workloads. We are committed to bringing real-time kernels to the production level, and your feedback will help us achieve this goal. Please consider testing and positively influencing the Ubuntu community by reporting any bugs you may encounter here.
Also, please consider joining our free beta program to create an open communication channel with our team to provide feedback and share suggestions. As live Ubuntu beta testers, we’ll be the first to notify you once the kernel is ready for production.
Get the beta real-time kernel
Test kernels are available and free for personal use through the Ubuntu Subscription Individual Edition (UA-I), the most comprehensive Linux enterprise subscription that covers all aspects of open infrastructure.
To add your personal computer to a UA subscription, run:
ua attach <free TOEKN >
Make sure you are using at least version 27.8 of the ubuntu-advantage-tools package, you can check the current version with this command:
ua version
To upgrade ubuntu-advantage-tools to 27.8 in Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy Jellyfish), run the command:
sudo apt install ubuntu – advantage – tools = 27.8 ~ 22.04.1
To enable the beta real-time kernel, run:
ua enable realtime – kernel –beta
Note that you will need to manually configure grub to revert to the original kernel after enabling the live kernel. For more information, please refer to:
ua help realtime – kernel