Re: Backports (bookworm), upgrade to all x for kernel 6.12.x, but not upgrade to 6.13

[didier gaumet <didier.gaumet@gmail.com>]

Le 22/01/2025 à 21:48, Marco Möller a écrit :
> On 1/22/25 01:12, Greg Wooledge wrote:
> > It's not yet clear to me whether you're trying to use a backported 
> > kernel because
> > you *need* it, or because it has a higher number and you think higher
> > numbers are better.
>
> I would like to optimize my laptop for creative audio usage (tracking, 
> running digital instruments, mixing, all what is commonly provided by 
> current Digital Audio Workstations (DAW)). For this I read and 
> understand that one important parameter of Linux optimization could be 
> to use a real time kernel, and to use some other more specialized audio 
> related components like JACK and nowadays also pipewire, and of course 
> configure them all correctly. Guides about the proper configuration are 
> published and I expect to be able to follow those guides successfully.
> Concerning the required real time kernel functionality, it is commonly 
> commented, that current main stream kernels would actually be sufficient 
> for accomplishing sufficient prioritization of the audio related 
> communications and streams in the system, and I read that especially 
> kernel 6.12 would have received all wished functionality for this and 
> thus would be a very good choice to use.
[...]

Hello,

I do not record/produce music so take what follows with a grain of salt :-)

Linux DAWs being having been around for an already long time, even if 
Linux 6.12 brings improvements to the workflow, I doubt it is mandatory 
for sufficiently good results.

What seems to be efficient if you work with more than a few 
instruments/tracks, is, yes, a realtime kernel

Debian standard (by default) kernel is not realtime, but Debian provides 
realtime kernels in its repositories. For an AMD64 PC and Debian 12 
Bookworm (without backports), the last LTS realtime kernel package is:
linux-image-6.1.0-29-rt-amd64

from backports there is:
linux-image-6.11.5+bpo-rt-amd64

It probably would be good enough, I think (If I remember correctly, 
there was a thread in the debian.user.french mailing list where a 
contributor said that for him Debian RT kernels are very suitable for 
DAW usage and I don not think he was not using backports)

So If I would try first a realtime kernel from Bookworm without 
backports :-)