Linuxkernen

Linuxkernen, or the Linux kernel, is the core component of the Linux operating system. It provides the essential interfaces between hardware and software, allocates system resources, and manages processes, memory, devices, and networking.

Originating with Linus Torvalds in 1991, the kernel is released as free software under the GNU General Public License. It is developed by a global community and coordinated through the Linux Foundation, with thousands of contributors.

The kernel follows a modular, largely monolithic design. It supports loadable modules for drivers and features, and handles device management, filesystems, networking, process scheduling, and interprocess communication. It runs on many architectures, including x86, ARM, AArch64, MIPS, and PowerPC, with features such as namespaces, cgroups, and the PREEMPT_RT real-time patch set.

Development and releases: the kernel uses Git for source control, with a hierarchy of maintainers and a mainline development stream that produces stable and long-term support (LTS) branches. New versions arrive regularly, while critical fixes are backported to supported releases.

Ecosystem and use: the kernel forms the foundation of most Linux distributions (for example, Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora) as well as countless embedded systems, servers, and supercomputers. It underpins container technologies through namespaces and cgroups and provides virtualization support via KVM.

Licensing and governance: the Linux kernel is released under GPL-2.0-or-later. Governance is provided by subsystem maintainers and the Linus Torvalds leadership, under the auspices of the Linux Foundation.