AV Linux Kernel Repository

Custom full RT Preempt Linux Kernels:

For users of Debian (perhaps Ubuntu too, feedback needed) the AV Linux Kernel Repository is now providing 64bit RT-patched Kernels in a public repo, there is also a Github page with the sources. See links below.

Brief history:

  In the early days of AV Linux I also built the Kernels which was a big burden on top of all the custom packaging. An AVL User/Saint by the name of Trulan Martin came along and offered to start building Kernels and we set up a repository on my hosting for Kernels only. Trulan has done an amazing job of building custom kernels for AVL Users for years but in recent years has had less time for building Kernels and has a very busy and active life with his young family and other offline interests so when I decided to continue with AV Linux in 2016 I asked Trulan if he would continue with the Kernels as a paid position and thankfully he agreed, the reason I bring this up is that when you support AV Linux with donations you are not just putting money in my pocket you are enabling me to maintain important upstream relationships like Kernels and the KXStudio repositories, these are very important attributes that take AV Linux above and beyond just another Linux Desktop system. Properly configured RT Kernels are not readily available for Ubuntu users and although they are provided within Debian they don’t always have the optimal configurations applied, Trulan’s Kernels are a very important resource for Audio work especially with many USB Audio Interfaces which seem to function at noticeably lower latencies with the full RT preemption patch.

*Please Note!*

  • The priority is stability first, new hardware support second..
  • 3rd Party Video drivers by nVidia and AMD are not supported to build with RT Kernels..
  • These Kernels are targeted to Debian Stable, Ubuntu and variants are at your own risk.


Repository Information:
Latest kernel version: 5.10.52
AV Linux 2020 release kernel: 5.10.52

Source code:

  • We try to stick as closely as is reasonably possible to vanilla Linux kernel sources from kernel.org.
  • The only code we add/change is:

1. aufs (Another Union File System) support – used for live booting and remastering:
http://aufs.sourceforge.net/
2. The Real Time Linux patch set:
http://www.spinics.net/lists/linux-rt-users/
Source code for AV Linux kernels can be found here:
https://github.com/musical-chairs/linux/tags
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To access the kernel repository (if you’re not already set up for it):
1. Import the public key. Copy and Paste as Root:

wget -O - http://www.bandshed.net/kernels/apt/trulanm@gmail.com.gpg.key | apt-key add -

2. Add the repository to your sources list. In Synaptic, go in the menu to Settings –> repositories.
Click on the ‘Third Party Software’ tab, and click ‘add’. Copy this line into the box:

deb http://www.bandshed.net/kernels/apt buster main

Then close the settings window and click ‘reload’ to update Synaptic.

Now, you can click on ‘Origin’ in the lower left-hand side of Synaptic and select ‘testing/main (www.bandshed.net/kernels…).  This will show the latest kernel and headers packages available for installation.

Thanks and Enjoy!