Home / ubuntu / Questions / 1403904
Accepted
SannUlya
Asked: 2022-04-23 16:06:47 +0800 CST

What is difference linux-image-generic and linux-image-intel-iotg

  • 772

Earlier I was bored and wanted to find something new in linux, so I looked for packages that maybe could optimize my computer. Then I found this linux-image-intel-iotg package, so I installed it and ran it. That kernel ran like a normal kernel. But I want to know what is the difference of linux-image-intel-iotg and linux-image-generic. Because on google it's always related to the Internet of Things, I want to know what the G means and both.

This is the package

ii  linux-image-generic       5.15.0.27.30    amd64        Generic Linux kernel image
ii  linux-image-intel-iotg    5.15.0.1004.6   amd64        Intel-Iotg Linux kernel image
kernel

1 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    Q. I want to know what the G means ...

    ⇢ The G in IoTG means Group, as this is a business unit within Intel, who publishes the kernel. Based on the promotional line from this job posting:

    The Internet of Things Group (IOTG) consists of ~4700 dedicated employees across 25 locations across the world. IOTG drives significant growth in the Internet of Things (IoT) market, capitalizing on the inflection and creation of edge computing, leveraging smart, connected devices and artificial intelligence (AI) to enable partners to transform their businesses. IOTG's vision is to lead the industry and enterprises to enhance the way we live and work by making it easier to create exciting, new IoT/edge solutions. IOTG's strategy includes creating unique differentiated silicon to consolidate workloads at the Edge, investing in video and AI inference as the killer app for the Edge, creating new developer tools and ecosystems, and establishing a dedicated vertical consultative sales team to add value to our partners across many verticals.

    Q. What is the difference of linux-image-intel-iotg and linux-image-generic?

    ⇢ In addition to being maintained by Intel rather than Canonical, the intel-iotg kernel includes the bulk of the generic Ubuntu kernel with an overlay that includes optimisations for Intel-designed IoTG platform hardware, such as NUCs and specialised, Atom-based (and some i3-based), low-power devices. The objective of this kernel is to offer better performance-per-watt with compatible hardware and – ideally – drivers that are stable and secure enough to be used for decades at a time. This is more important for IoT devices such as weather stations and earthquake monitors, where they can be in locations that make regular servicing and updates untenable.

    There should not be any show-stopping problems when using the intel-iotg kernel on non-IoT devices, though there may be noticeable performance differences if one is using a compatible Intel-based network device or CPU. This is because IoT devices are expected to sip power, not guzzle.

    • 2