Timed Linux Kernel Compilation

This test times how long it takes to build the Linux kernel in a default configuration.

To run this test with the Phoronix Test Suite, the basic command is: phoronix-test-suite benchmark build-linux-kernel.

Project Site

kernel.org

Test Created

6 December 2010

Last Updated

13 March 2024

Test Maintainer

Michael Larabel 

Test Type

Processor

Average Install Time

1 Second

Average Run Time

6 Minutes, 41 Seconds

Test Dependencies

C/C++ Compiler Toolchain + BC + Bison + Flex + OpenSSL

Accolades

500k+ Downloads + 30k+ Public Benchmark Results

Supported Platforms


Public Result Uploads *Reported Test Completions **Reported Installs **Test Profile Page Views ***OpenBenchmarking.orgEventsTimed Linux Kernel Compilation Popularity Statisticspts/build-linux-kernel2010.122011.052011.102012.032012.082013.012013.062013.112014.042014.092015.022015.072015.122016.052016.102017.032017.082018.012018.062018.112019.042019.092020.022020.072020.122021.052021.102022.032022.082023.012023.062023.112024.042024.09200K400K600K800K1000K
* Uploading of benchmark result data to OpenBenchmarking.org is always optional (opt-in) via the Phoronix Test Suite for users wishing to share their results publicly.
** Data based on those opting to upload their test results to OpenBenchmarking.org and users enabling the opt-in anonymous statistics reporting while running benchmarks from an Internet-connected platform.
*** Test profile page view reporting began March 2021.
Data updated weekly as of 22 December 2024.
allmodconfig34.7%defconfig65.3%Build Option PopularityOpenBenchmarking.org

Revision History

pts/build-linux-kernel-1.16.0   [View Source]   Wed, 13 Mar 2024 11:01:20 GMT
Update against Linux 6.8 upstream.

pts/build-linux-kernel-1.15.0   [View Source]   Mon, 12 Dec 2022 11:27:44 GMT
Update against v6.1 upstream. Also add cpio as possible system dependency - Fixes: https://github.com/phoronix-test-suite/test-profiles/issues/263

pts/build-linux-kernel-1.14.0   [View Source]   Tue, 21 Jun 2022 15:21:48 GMT
Update against Linux 5.18 upstream, pull in via https://github.com/phoronix-test-suite/test-profiles/pull/227 Closes: https://github.com/phoronix-test-suite/test-profiles/pull/227

pts/build-linux-kernel-1.13.0   [View Source]   Mon, 10 Jan 2022 04:59:41 GMT
Update against Linux 5.16 upstream to address build problems on newer distros. Also add allmodconfig run-time option.

pts/build-linux-kernel-1.12.0   [View Source]   Mon, 30 Aug 2021 05:46:09 GMT
Update against Linux 5.14 upstream since prior version used is having build issues on newer distros.

pts/build-linux-kernel-1.11.0   [View Source]   Thu, 04 Mar 2021 07:56:16 GMT
Move to Linux 5.10 LTS series (5.10.20) kernel build.

pts/build-linux-kernel-1.10.2   [View Source]   Tue, 23 Jun 2020 10:33:24 GMT
Add libelf.h as a SystemDependencies, addressing possible build issue outlined in https://github.com/phoronix-test-suite/phoronix-test-suite/pull/430

pts/build-linux-kernel-1.10.1   [View Source]   Sat, 25 Apr 2020 09:12:27 GMT
Update against latest Linux 5.4 LTS point release to fix GCC 10 build problems.

pts/build-linux-kernel-1.10.0   [View Source]   Sun, 13 Oct 2019 20:17:06 GMT
Update against latest Linux 5.4 snapshot

pts/build-linux-kernel-1.9.1   [View Source]   Wed, 22 Aug 2018 18:01:51 GMT
Somehow TimesToRun got overrode to 1 on upload...

pts/build-linux-kernel-1.9.0   [View Source]   Wed, 22 Aug 2018 17:59:26 GMT
Update against upstream Linux 4.18, add bison/flex/openssl external dependencies, tweak the def config to avoid libelf dependency.

pts/build-linux-kernel-1.8.0   [View Source]   Tue, 03 Oct 2017 11:48:02 GMT
Update against Linux 4.13 upstream

pts/build-linux-kernel-1.7.0   [View Source]   Wed, 04 Jan 2017 11:36:44 GMT
Update against upstream Linux 4.9.0 kernel

pts/build-linux-kernel-1.6.0   [View Source]   Tue, 03 Nov 2015 11:36:40 GMT
Update against Linux 4.3.0 kernel.

pts/build-linux-kernel-1.5.3   [View Source]   Fri, 05 Dec 2014 22:03:03 GMT
Add bc as external dependency -- not installed by default on Arch.

pts/build-linux-kernel-1.5.2   [View Source]   Thu, 27 Nov 2014 22:12:29 GMT
Simplify make defconfig to better support other architectures.

pts/build-linux-kernel-1.5.1   [View Source]   Thu, 27 Nov 2014 22:07:50 GMT
Fix rc3/rc6 typo in previous commit pre.sh

pts/build-linux-kernel-1.5.0   [View Source]   Thu, 27 Nov 2014 21:41:45 GMT
Update against Linux 3.18-rc6 kernel due to the explicit GNU89 kernel change recently to allow this to work better on GCC5.

pts/build-linux-kernel-1.4.0   [View Source]   Sun, 09 Nov 2014 17:00:04 GMT
Update against latest upstream Linux kernel.

pts/build-linux-kernel-1.3.0   [View Source]   Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:10:47 GMT
Update against Linux 3.1 vanilla kernel.

pts/build-linux-kernel-1.2.0   [View Source]   Mon, 06 Dec 2010 14:28:13 GMT
Initial import into OpenBenchmarking.org

Suites Using This Test

Timed Code Compilation

Multi-Core

CPU Massive

Server CPU Tests

Programmer / Developer System Benchmarks


Performance Metrics

Analyze Test Configuration:

Timed Linux Kernel Compilation 4.18

Time To Compile

OpenBenchmarking.org metrics for this test profile configuration based on 3,552 public results since 22 August 2018 with the latest data as of 15 September 2023.

Below is an overview of the generalized performance for components where there is sufficient statistically significant data based upon user-uploaded results. It is important to keep in mind particularly in the Linux/open-source space there can be vastly different OS configurations, with this overview intended to offer just general guidance as to the performance expectations.

Component
Percentile Rank
# Compatible Public Results
Seconds (Average)
87th
25
41 +/- 2
84th
28
45 +/- 2
81st
8
48 +/- 5
79th
3
51 +/- 7
78th
9
54 +/- 3
77th
6
56 +/- 5
Mid-Tier
75th
> 59
75th
7
61 +/- 4
71st
6
71 +/- 4
71st
50
71 +/- 6
70th
3
73 +/- 4
67th
3
80 +/- 4
65th
3
84 +/- 5
63rd
17
88 +/- 8
62nd
59
90 +/- 11
57th
8
99 +/- 13
57th
6
100 +/- 7
54th
4
109 +/- 8
53rd
5
112 +/- 11
51st
5
118 +/- 12
Median
50th
119
50th
4
120 +/- 8
49th
18
121 +/- 3
48th
21
125 +/- 3
48th
13
127 +/- 6
48th
3
128 +/- 8
47th
3
130 +/- 17
47th
3
130 +/- 1
47th
8
132 +/- 17
46th
5
135 +/- 8
46th
3
136 +/- 19
45th
4
141 +/- 4
45th
11
143 +/- 10
44th
19
145 +/- 19
43rd
11
151 +/- 22
43rd
21
152 +/- 3
42nd
7
155 +/- 13
42nd
3
158 +/- 12
41st
18
163 +/- 2
41st
3
164 +/- 22
41st
3
164 +/- 24
40th
18
166 +/- 22
40th
3
169 +/- 17
40th
12
169 +/- 13
38th
5
182 +/- 6
37th
22
186 +/- 20
37th
3
187 +/- 12
36th
5
188 +/- 7
36th
5
190 +/- 11
36th
11
192 +/- 24
34th
19
203 +/- 2
33rd
5
206 +/- 19
32nd
20
209 +/- 5
32nd
9
209 +/- 19
31st
4
217 +/- 23
30th
22
225 +/- 33
30th
6
228 +/- 28
29th
8
230 +/- 34
29th
6
236 +/- 16
28th
9
237 +/- 19
28th
53
241 +/- 34
27th
5
247 +/- 36
26th
21
249 +/- 4
26th
20
250 +/- 25
26th
3
251 +/- 23
Low-Tier
25th
> 256
25th
4
257 +/- 23
25th
5
258 +/- 19
23rd
3
276 +/- 14
22nd
11
285 +/- 18
22nd
3
290 +/- 34
21st
4
299 +/- 20
20th
3
306 +/- 10
20th
4
321 +/- 31
20th
4
322 +/- 16
19th
4
326 +/- 48
17th
12
346 +/- 24
17th
10
355 +/- 51
16th
3
364 +/- 30
15th
3
376 +/- 26
15th
7
378 +/- 32
14th
4
389 +/- 44
13th
15
419 +/- 1
12th
6
432 +/- 50
12th
4
435 +/- 23
12th
4
437 +/- 37
12th
3
446 +/- 17
12th
13
451 +/- 44
11th
4
461 +/- 57
11th
6
472 +/- 54
9th
4
523 +/- 36
8th
5
589 +/- 47
8th
4
598 +/- 8
7th
4
631 +/- 1
6th
7
652 +/- 55
4th
3
956 +/- 5
4th
3
957 +/- 3
3rd
3
1411 +/- 170
2nd
3
2307 +/- 125
1st
8
3920 +/- 275
1st
3
5070 +/- 584
Detailed Performance Overview
OpenBenchmarking.orgDistribution Of Public Results - Time To Compile3552 Results Range From 15 To 62143 Seconds15125825013744498762307473871699591120212445136881493116174174171866019903211462238923632248752611827361286042984731090323333357634819360623730538548397914103442277435204476346006472494849249735509785222153464547075595057193584365967960922621657001400210028003500

Based on OpenBenchmarking.org data, the selected test / test configuration (Timed Linux Kernel Compilation 4.18 - Time To Compile) has an average run-time of 15 minutes. By default this test profile is set to run at least 3 times but may increase if the standard deviation exceeds pre-defined defaults or other calculations deem additional runs necessary for greater statistical accuracy of the result.

OpenBenchmarking.orgMinutesTime Required To Complete BenchmarkTime To CompileRun-Time4080120160200Min: 1 / Avg: 14.25 / Max: 208

Based on public OpenBenchmarking.org results, the selected test / test configuration has an average standard deviation of 1.8%.

OpenBenchmarking.orgPercent, Fewer Is BetterAverage Deviation Between RunsTime To CompileDeviation3691215Min: 0 / Avg: 1.76 / Max: 11

Does It Scale Well With Increasing Cores?

Yes, based on the automated analysis of the collected public benchmark data, this test / test settings does generally scale well with increasing CPU core counts. Data based on publicly available results for this test / test settings, separated by vendor, result divided by the reference CPU clock speed, grouped by matching physical CPU core count, and normalized against the smallest core count tested from each vendor for each CPU having a sufficient number of test samples and statistically significant data.

IntelAMDOpenBenchmarking.orgRelative Core Scaling To BaseTimed Linux Kernel Compilation CPU Core ScalingTime To Compile24681216202432366412848121620

Tested CPU Architectures

This benchmark has been successfully tested on the below mentioned architectures. The CPU architectures listed is where successful OpenBenchmarking.org result uploads occurred, namely for helping to determine if a given test is compatible with various alternative CPU architectures.

CPU Architecture
Kernel Identifier
Verified On
Intel / AMD x86 64-bit
x86_64
(Many Processors)
SPARC64
sparc64
TI UltraSparc IIIi
IBM POWER (PowerPC) 64-bit
ppc64le
POWER8, POWER9 4-Core, POWER9 44-Core, POWER9 8-Core, POWER9 80-Core, POWER9 altivec supported 176-Core, POWER9 altivec supported 44-Core
IBM POWER (PowerPC) 64-bit
ppc64
PPC970MP, e6500
MIPS 64-bit
mips64
Loongson-3A R4
Intel / AMD x86 32-bit
i686
(Many Processors)
ARMv7 32-bit
armv7l
ARMv7 Cortex-A72 4-Core, ARMv7 rev 1 4-Core, ARMv7 rev 2 4-Core, ARMv7 rev 3 4-Core, ARMv7 rev 3 8-Core, ARMv7 rev 4 4-Core, ARMv7 rev 5 4-Core
ARMv6 32-bit
armv6l
ARMv6-compatible rev 7
ARMv8 64-bit
aarch64
ARMVv8 Cortex-A53 4-Core, ARMVv8 Cortex-A72 6-Core, ARMVv8 Cortex-A73 6-Core, ARMv8 2-Core, ARMv8 32-Core, ARMv8 Cortex-A72 16-Core, ARMv8 Cortex-A72 2-Core, ARMv8 Cortex-A72 4-Core, ARMv8 Cortex-A72 6-Core, ARMv8 Cortex-A72 8-Core, ARMv8 Cortex-A73 6-Core, ARMv8 Neoverse-N1, ARMv8 Neoverse-N1 16-Core, ARMv8 Neoverse-N1 4-Core, ARMv8 Neoverse-N1 8-Core, ARMv8 rev 0 4-Core, ARMv8 rev 0 8-Core, ARMv8 rev 1 2-Core, ARMv8 rev 1 4-Core, ARMv8 rev 3 4-Core, ARMv8 rev 3 6-Core, Amlogic ARMv8 Cortex-A53 4-Core, Ampere Altra ARMv8 Neoverse-N1 160-Core, Ampere eMAG ARMv8 32-Core, Cavium ThunderX, Rockchip, SiFive RISC-V

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