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, 36 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-kernel2010.122011.052011.102012.032012.082013.012013.062013.112014.042014.092015.022015.072015.122016.052016.102017.032017.082018.012018.062018.112019.042019.092020.022020.072020.122021.052021.102022.032022.082023.012023.062023.112024.042024.09400K800K1200K1600K2000K
* 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 29 January 2025.
allmodconfig33.9%defconfig66.1%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 6.1

Build: defconfig

OpenBenchmarking.org metrics for this test profile configuration based on 3,582 public results since 12 December 2022 with the latest data as of 28 January 2025.

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)
80th
23
45 +/- 2
78th
17
47 +/- 4
77th
46
47 +/- 5
Mid-Tier
75th
> 49
66th
10
58 +/- 4
62nd
13
66 +/- 2
60th
40
69 +/- 8
58th
10
72 +/- 5
57th
8
75 +/- 8
Median
50th
89
50th
15
91 +/- 11
47th
7
98 +/- 1
47th
8
99 +/- 13
46th
3
102 +/- 3
46th
6
102 +/- 8
43rd
36
111 +/- 16
43rd
3
112 +/- 4
43rd
7
112 +/- 7
41st
11
115 +/- 11
41st
41
116 +/- 14
41st
15
116 +/- 15
41st
5
117 +/- 5
40th
10
120 +/- 2
40th
10
121 +/- 15
39th
10
122 +/- 18
38th
5
127 +/- 12
37th
5
131 +/- 5
37th
18
131 +/- 10
36th
26
132 +/- 10
35th
3
137 +/- 16
34th
3
144 +/- 1
33rd
31
146 +/- 18
31st
5
154 +/- 9
31st
7
157 +/- 8
31st
5
158 +/- 1
30th
6
161 +/- 1
29th
14
166 +/- 18
28th
3
171 +/- 15
28th
4
172 +/- 1
26th
6
183 +/- 7
26th
5
187 +/- 19
26th
8
191 +/- 19
Low-Tier
25th
> 192
25th
3
203 +/- 2
21st
4
242 +/- 32
21st
7
245 +/- 17
20th
52
249 +/- 19
19th
8
260 +/- 36
19th
3
263 +/- 27
18th
4
272 +/- 12
18th
5
278 +/- 40
17th
10
299 +/- 23
16th
7
303 +/- 29
16th
4
309 +/- 21
16th
3
312 +/- 20
16th
3
314 +/- 44
16th
3
317 +/- 14
15th
3
341 +/- 25
15th
12
348 +/- 41
14th
5
380 +/- 43
13th
13
393 +/- 27
13th
5
398 +/- 40
13th
4
401 +/- 49
12th
3
419 +/- 56
12th
5
423 +/- 15
12th
3
447 +/- 60
11th
4
458 +/- 1
11th
7
459 +/- 24
10th
3
493 +/- 15
10th
3
505 +/- 68
10th
7
524 +/- 27
10th
5
548 +/- 12
9th
3
612 +/- 16
8th
4
702 +/- 1
8th
3
747 +/- 105
8th
3
799 +/- 115
7th
3
871 +/- 95
7th
4
923 +/- 109
7th
3
974 +/- 92
4th
18
1725 +/- 246
2nd
3
5990 +/- 213
Detailed Performance Overview
OpenBenchmarking.orgDistribution Of Public Results - Build: defconfig3581 Results Range From 16 To 136180 Seconds162740546481881091213636163601908421808245322725629980327043542838152408764360046324490485177254496572205994462668653926811670840735647628879012817368446087184899089263295356980801008041035281062521089761117001144241171481198721225961253201280441307681334921362168001600240032004000

Based on OpenBenchmarking.org data, the selected test / test configuration (Timed Linux Kernel Compilation 6.1 - Build: defconfig) has an average run-time of 17 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 BenchmarkBuild: defconfigRun-Time80160240320400Min: 1 / Avg: 16.03 / Max: 422

Based on public OpenBenchmarking.org results, the selected test / test configuration has an average standard deviation of 0.9%.

OpenBenchmarking.orgPercent, Fewer Is BetterAverage Deviation Between RunsBuild: defconfigDeviation3691215Min: 0 / Avg: 0.86 / 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 ScalingBuild: defconfig24681012141624324856641283691215

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)
IBM Z
s390x
(Many Processors)
RISC-V 64-bit
riscv64
SiFive RISC-V, rv64imafdcv, rv64imafdcvsu
IBM POWER (PowerPC) 64-bit
ppc64le
POWER9 22-Core, POWER9 4-Core, POWER9 44-Core, POWER9 8-Core
Intel / AMD x86 32-bit
i686
(Many Processors)
ARMv7 32-bit
armv7l
ARMv7 Cortex-A7 4-Core
ARMv6 32-bit
armv6l
ARMv7
ARMv8 64-bit
aarch64
ARMv8, ARMv8 Cortex-A53 4-Core, ARMv8 Cortex-A72 4-Core, ARMv8 Cortex-A76 4-Core, ARMv8 Cortex-A78 4-Core, ARMv8 Cortex-A78E 12-Core, ARMv8 Cortex-X1, ARMv8 Neoverse-N1, ARMv8 Neoverse-N1 128-Core, ARMv8 Neoverse-N1 256-Core, ARMv8 Neoverse-N1 80-Core, ARMv8 Neoverse-N1 96-Core, ARMv8 Neoverse-V1, ARMv8 Neoverse-V1 64-Core, ARMv8 Neoverse-V2 72-Core, Ampere ARMv8 Neoverse-N1 256-Core, Apple, Apple M1, Apple M1 Pro, Apple M2, HUAWEI Kunpeng 920, Phytium D2000, Phytium S5000C, Qualcomm, Rockchip ARMv8 Cortex-A72 6-Core, Rockchip ARMv8 Cortex-A76 4-Core, Rockchip ARMv8 Cortex-A76 6-Core, rk1-mainline-emmc, rk1-mainline-nvme, rk1-rok-emmc, rk1-rok-emmc6

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