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Understanding the Linux Kernel: From I/O Ports to Process Management 3rd Edition

by Daniel P. Bovet (Author), Marco Cesati (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 214 ratings
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In order to thoroughly understand what makes Linux tick and why it works so well on a wide variety of systems, you need to delve deep into the heart of the kernel. The kernel handles all interactions between the CPU and the external world, and determines which programs will share processor time, in what order. It manages limited memory so well that hundreds of processes can share the system efficiently, and expertly organizes data transfers so that the CPU isn't kept waiting any longer than necessary for the relatively slow disks.

The third edition of Understanding the Linux Kernel takes you on a guided tour of the most significant data structures, algorithms, and programming tricks used in the kernel. Probing beyond superficial features, the authors offer valuable insights to people who want to know how things really work inside their machine. Important Intel-specific features are discussed. Relevant segments of code are dissected line by line. But the book covers more than just the functioning of the code; it explains the theoretical underpinnings of why Linux does things the way it does.

This edition of the book covers Version 2.6, which has seen significant changes to nearly every kernel subsystem, particularly in the areas of memory management and block devices. The book focuses on the following topics:

  • Memory management, including file buffering, process swapping, and Direct memory Access (DMA)
  • The Virtual Filesystem layer and the Second and Third Extended Filesystems
  • Process creation and scheduling
  • Signals, interrupts, and the essential interfaces to device drivers
  • Timing
  • Synchronization within the kernel
  • Interprocess Communication (IPC)
  • Program execution

Understanding the Linux Kernel will acquaint you with all the inner workings of Linux, but it's more than just an academic exercise. You'll learn what conditions bring out Linux's best performance, and you'll see how it meets the challenge of providing good system response during process scheduling, file access, and memory management in a wide variety of environments. This book will help you make the most of your Linux system.

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  1. ISBN-10
    0596005652
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0596005658
  3. Edition
    3rd
  4. Publisher
    O'Reilly Media
  5. Publication date
    December 27, 2005
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    7 x 1.8 x 9.19 inches
  8. Print length
    942 pages
  9. See all details
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About the Author

Daniel P. Bovet got a Ph.D. in computer science at UCLA in 1968 and is now full Professor at the University of Rome, "Tor Vergata," Italy. He had to wait over 25 years before being able to teach an operating system course in a proper manner because of the lack of source code for modern, well-designed systems. Now, thanks to cheap PCs and to Linux, Marco and Dan are able to cover all the facets of an operating system from booting to tuning and are able to hand out tough, satisfying homework to their students. (These young guys working at home on their PCs are really spoiled; they never had to fight with punched cards.) In fact, Dan was so fascinated by the accomplishments of Linus Torvalds and his followers that he spent the last few years trying to unravel some of Linux's mysteries. It seemed natural, after all that work, to write a book about what he found.

Marco Cesati received a degree in mathematics in 1992 and a Ph.D. in computer science (University of Rome, "La Sapienza") in 1995. He is now a research assistant in the computer science department of the School of Engineering (University of Rome, "Tor Vergata"). In the past, he served as system administrator and Unix programmer for the university (as a Ph.D. student) and for several institutions (as a consultant).

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ O'Reilly Media; 3rd edition (December 27, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 942 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0596005652
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0596005658
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.26 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 1.8 x 9.19 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 214 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
214 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the content captivating, with awesome introductions and illustrations. They say the book is advanced and a great way to get started with the Linux kernel. Opinions are mixed on readability, with some finding it well-written in a concise manner, while others say it's somewhat hard to read and follow.

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Content qualityReadability
29 customers mention "Content quality"29 positive0 negative

Customers find the book fascinating, with a good overview. They appreciate the awesome introductions and illustrations. Readers say the book is great for learning the Linux kernel. They say it conveys a deep understanding in terms that an average computer programmer can grasp.

"...The level of the book is advanced and I recommendconcurrently with it, the reader to study also thebook:..." Read more

"...to look for more information and provides a well organized and intuitive guide to the Linux kernel in general...." Read more

"...What makes this book unique is that it discusses lots of details related to hardware stuff like segmentation/paging/interrupt/exception, etc...." Read more

"This is a great book for learning the Linux kernel. I've only read the first few chapters, but I've already learned so much...." Read more

20 customers mention "Readability"11 positive9 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the readability of the book. Some mention it's well-written in a concise manner, while others say it's somewhat hard to read and follow.

"...current 2.6 Linux kernel.The presentation is at a considerable level of detail,..." Read more

"...Not an easy read, but it pays off." Read more

"...does give you the locations to look for more information and provides a well organized and intuitive guide to the Linux kernel in general...." Read more

"...I would give it 4 stars but it's not quite as well written as some of the other books on Free software published by O'Reilly." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Stergios Papadimitriou
5.0 out of 5 stars A detailed and comprehensive explanation of the inner workings of the latest 2.6 Linux kernel
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2006
Verified Purchase
The book "Undestanding the Linux Kernel",

explains clearly the inner workings of the

current 2.6 Linux kernel.

The presentation is at a considerable level of detail,

the authors fully describe the important data structures,

and the significant chunks of code.

The book is indispensable to any serious

Linux kernel developer.

However, it can be used also at the context

of an "Operating Systems Design" academic course

and the students can learn a lot from the

technologically advanced Linux 2.6 kernel implementation

and can modify/recompile and install their own version!

The level of the book is advanced and I recommend

concurrently with it, the reader to study also the

book:

"Linux kernel development" by Robert Love

that presents the algorithms also very clearly,

but with a more academic view,

without zooming to all the implementation concerns.

I own both books and by studing them, I can have

the significant experience of customizing the source code

of the superior Linux 2.6 kernel.
63 people found this helpful
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M. Carey
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Reference Work
Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2010
Verified Purchase
The Understanding the Linux Kernel (3rd edition) covers essentially all the kernel's major systems and methodologies in depth. It also conveys a deep understanding in terms that an average computer programmer can grasp with effort. Those of you who have designed and built your own operating systems will also gain insight with this book into the reasoning used to do things like memory allocation, device I/O copy operations, and deep memory management techniques. It covers in depth the 32 bit paging systems, but is a little shy on the new SLUB allocator and x86_64 bit paging. IA64 is covered in adequate detail, but more focus is on the 32 bit side of the house. Overall it does give you the locations to look for more information and provides a well organized and intuitive guide to the Linux kernel in general. Highly recommended reading if you are looking to truly understand the Linux kernel, or do things around it (i.e. circumvention of security mechanisms, etc.).
4 people found this helpful
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BHY
5.0 out of 5 stars one of the best unix/linux kernel books
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2014
Verified Purchase
There are lots of good unix kernel books such as those written by Maurice J. Bach or Marshall Kirk McKusick. What makes this book unique is that it discusses lots of details related to hardware stuff like segmentation/paging/interrupt/exception, etc.(it's x86 specific, but it should not really matter). After reading this book, you would understand how it really works on the metal level, not just a high level design and concepts which are also dicsusses in great detail in this book. Not an easy read, but it pays off.
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MacGruber
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for those wanting a deeper understanding of Linux
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2013
Verified Purchase
This is a great book for learning the Linux kernel. I've only read the first few chapters, but I've already learned so much. Be careful though - if you don't already have some background in Linux and OS concepts much of this will probably go over your head. The book is best for people who have a good amount of exposure to a variety of operating systems, specifically Unix, and want to get a deeper understanding of the Linux kernel.
4 people found this helpful
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Roman
5.0 out of 5 stars Still useful book
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2021
Verified Purchase
I have several books on Linux kernel. This book is very old now in 2021, and partly outdated, but still is very valuable source of information about how different subsystems of kernel work. It contains information not only how to use kernel to write drivers, but also description of internals, like interrupts, workqueues, synchronization primitives, memory subsytem, filesystems.
8 people found this helpful
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Truman
5.0 out of 5 stars Another Excellent book on the Kernel
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2011
Verified Purchase
Well written, but not overly wordy, this one is at my fingertips at all times. I actually have a copy at home, and one at work, as I constantly need to look up a smaller tidbit, only to completely forget it moments later :) Such is life.

What I love about it most, is how long it takes me to find, understand, and incorporate what I need to get working- The layout is fantastic that way, and info presented in a clear way, which is easy to understand :)

Totally Recommended. (pick up the programming interface from no starch press as well)
4 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars a solid companion for walking though the kernel source
Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2011
Verified Purchase
My need was specific, i.e., to add a new system call interface to Linux without ever having worked with the Linux kernel before. This book has been a fine guide for accomplishing this. The Linux kernel moves fast enough that no published text could be completely consistent with the current source. However, this was close enough to give me a lay of the land and the treatment of memory management and process/thread control had enough routine names and labels that I could search through the source with relative ease. I would recommend it for anyone else jumping into the kernel for the first time.
2 people found this helpful
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GoClick
3.0 out of 5 stars This book might melt your brain
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2008
Verified Purchase
Prepare to have you brain melted. This book is FACINATING but not for everyone. It's EXCEEDINGLY nerdy and doesn't attempt to simplify complex nitty gritty details, and it shouldn't. This book is an excelent place to start if you want to dig deeper into the kernel itself. It would be an excelent choice to read before a book on drivers ( Linux Device Drivers (Nutshell Handbook) ) or low level networking  Understanding Linux Network Internals ) which are both also very good books.

I would give it 4 stars but it's not quite as well written as some of the other books on Free software published by O'Reilly.
12 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Douglas Ribas de Mattos
5.0 out of 5 stars N/A
Reviewed in Brazil on May 30, 2024
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RMV Motion Incorporated
5.0 out of 5 stars Kernel
Reviewed in Canada on November 1, 2021
Verified Purchase
Full of good information
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Marco
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente Libro
Reviewed in Mexico on April 14, 2018
Verified Purchase
Es un libro que para aquellos que busquen entender como funciona realmente el Kernel de Linux, no se decepcionaran, aunque es cierto que si es bastante tecnico y deberas tener conocimientos previos de Ciencias de la Computación o Ingenieria.
One person found this helpful
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RT Tamvada
5.0 out of 5 stars The starting point of understanding the linux kernel
Reviewed in India on November 21, 2016
Verified Purchase
A must have book for all linux kernel programmers for understanding the system level programming. Quality is great and content is quite exhaustive.
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Daniele Mazzi
5.0 out of 5 stars what else ?
Reviewed in Italy on September 30, 2015
Verified Purchase
Assolutamente indispensabile, non potrei aggiungere altro se non compratelo. Il libro è molto chiaro, potete leggerlo tutto in fila oppure saltare ai capitoli che più vi interessano, è tutto ben compartimentato.
2 people found this helpful
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