Real-Time capabilities on Debian: Concept and practical use

Speaker: Erwann Roussy

Track: Kernel, early boot, and low level

Type: Long talk (45 minutes)

Room: Petit amphi

Time: Jul 17 (Thu): 10:30

Duration: 0:45

As Linux increasingly powers embedded systems, industrial automation, and time-sensitive applications, real-time capabilities have become essential. This talk demystifies Real-Time (RT) on Debian: what it means, how it works, and how you can take advantage of it.

We will start by defining real time and how Linux can fit into its definition. A dive into the PREEMPT_RT patch set will follow, exploring how it transforms the kernel into a deterministic and low-latency platform. The session will cover the current state of RT support in Debian. It will highlight the role of system configuration to achieve low latency and the tools to simplify this process (eg: tuned). We’ll discuss CPU isolation, IRQ affinity, scheduler tuning, and latency measurement tools such as cyclictest. At last, we’ll take a brief look at how real-time performance can be achieved inside virtualized environments.

Participants will gain practical insights into: - When and why to use an RT kernel - How to install and configure Debian for real-time performance - Tuning and benchmarking techniques - Real-world use cases of RT on Debian (robotics, audio, energy systems, etc.)

This talk is aimed at developers and system integrators interested in deterministic performance and low-latency systems running on Debian.