Re: Kernel 6.18 fist tests...

[ummeegge <ummeegge@ipfire.org>]

Hi Arne, hi all,

Am Donnerstag, dem 11.12.2025 um 13:00 +0100 schrieb Arne Fitzenreiter:
> Hi,
> 
> i have compiled a first test kernel 6.18 for x86_64.
> 
> https://people.ipfire.org/~arne_f/highly-experimental/kernel/
> 
> please help testing and report your findings...
> 
> Arne


I have been running kernel-6.18.1-ipfire.x86_64 for over a day now on
real (quite old) hardware and everything is working perfectly so far.

Hardware:
- SECO 0949 motherboard
- Intel Atom N2600 @ 1.6 GHz (4 threads), 2 GB RAM
- 2× Realtek RTL8111/8168 (r8169 driver) – green0 and red0 at 100 Mbps
- USB Wi-Fi: Ralink RT5572 (rt2800usb) – blue0
- Crucial BX500 240 GB SSD

Installation as described in the README (with fixed typo) went
smoothly. dracut correctly included the initqueue module, and grub-
mkconfig placed the new kernel at the top.

Tested (all working flawlessly):
- Normal boot (multiple reboots)
- Web interface
- Internet access via RED
- Clients browsing normally behind GREEN and BLUE (Wi-Fi stable)
- OpenVPN tunnel (tun0) starts, routes are set
- WireGuard interface (wg0) present
- No kernel errors/warnings in dmesg
- System stable for 18+ hours, normal RAM usage, no swap

Additional stress tests:
- CPU stress (stress --cpu 4 for ~15 minutes):
  - Load average ~4.0–4.3 (100% on all threads)
  - CPU frequency stable at 1596 MHz (no throttling)
  - Temperatures max. 56°C (Core 1) / 55°C (zone) – safe and cooled
down quickly
  - No kernel errors

- Network tests:
  - LAN TCP (client to IPFire green0): stable 94 Mbits/sec (full link
speed)
  - LAN UDP overload: ~60 Mbits/sec with only 4.4% loss (expected on
100 Mbps link)
  - Local loopback TCP (4 parallel streams): ~2.71 Gbits/sec aggregate
  - Local loopback UDP: 25.3 Mbits/sec with 0% loss
  - No packet errors on r8169 interfaces (ethtool -S shows all error
counters at 0)
  - No drops in /proc/net/softnet_stat

Conclusion: On this older low-power hardware, kernel 6.18.1 runs
absolutely stable with no noticeable regressions – network performance
is excellent and the system handles both CPU and network load very
well.

I will keep it running as my daily driver and report if anything
changes.

Many thanks for the test builds, Arne – great work!

Best,

Erik