Welcome to the Linux Kernel Programming website for the summer semester 2026!
News
- 12.06.26: Lab 6 is available! There are 3 mandatory tasks and 2 graded tasks in this lab! Deadline: 29.06.2026 included.
- 08.06.26: Some of the slides from the labs were uploaded!
- 22.05.26: Lab 5 was released! Deadline: 15.06.2026 at 14:30
- 18.05.26: Lab 4 is available!
- 15.05.26: The setup page was uploaded!
- 11.05.26: The submission instructions were updated!
- 09.05.26: Lab 3 is available! This is the first lab to be submitted! Deadline: 01.06.2026 at 14:30
- 08.05.26: The kernel config is updated! It will be useful later for lab about kernel development setup/environement.
- 04.05.26: Lab 2 is available!
- 22.04.26: Lab 1 is available!
- 08.04.26: Matrix server info and a Tentative Schedule are available!
Contact
Course email address: lkp@os.rwth-aachen.de
Matrix server: If you already have a Matrix account on any Matrix server, use this form to send it to us so we can invite you.
If you don’t have an account, you can create one by following these steps:
- Create an account on https://app.element.io
- Specify the server:
matrix.os.rwth-aachen.de - Enter your username in the form
firstname.surname - Use this registration token (valid until May 3):
os-lkp-sose26 - Use the form above to register to the LKP chat room
Matrix chat room rules:
- You can ask questions about the lecture and labs.
- You are encouraged to answer each others’ questions. We will give bonus points to students who frequently help others with proper answers.
- When answering a question, please create a thread to avoid cluttering the chat room!
- Do not provide solution code for the labs.
Schedule
Note: This is a tentative schedule. It might be updated if you need more time for some labs, because of unforeseen reasons, or if we decide to add a new lecture topic :)
Color scheme: Lecture (V), Lab (L), Cancelled
| Week nr. | Monday (UMIC 025) | Wednesday (C.A.R.L. H11) | Thursday (UMIC 025) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | (V) Kick-off + History and Architecture of the Linux Kernel | (V) C Bootcamp and Kernel Programming | |
| 17 | (V) C Bootcamp and Kernel Programming | (L) Dusting Off Your C Skills | (L) Dusting Off Your C Skills |
| 18 | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| 19 | (L) First Steps with the Kernel | (V) Implementing Kernel Modules & Contributing to the Kernel | (L) First Steps with the Kernel |
| 20 | (L) My First Modules | (L) My First Modules | Christi Himmelfahrt |
| 21 | (L) Debugging in the Linux Kernel | (V) User/Kernel Communication | (L) Debugging in the Linux Kernel |
| 22 | Pflingstwoche | Pflingstwoche | Pflingstwoche |
| 23 | (L) User/Kernel Communication Mechanisms (Deadline Lab First Modules) | (V) Memory Management (1) | Fronleichnam |
| 24 | (L) User/Kernel Communication Mechanisms | (V) Memory Management (2) | (L) User/Kernel Communication Mechanisms |
| 25 | (L) Memory Management (Deadline Lab Communication) | (V) Virtual File System | (L) Memory Management |
| 26 | (L) Memory Management | (V) Tracing Facilities in the Kernel | (L) Memory Managment |
| 27 | (L) Virtual File System (Deadline Lab Memory) | Project Release | (L) Virtual File System |
| 28 | (L) System Calls (Deadline VFS) | (L) System Calls | |
| 29 | (L) Project Q&A (Deadline Syscall) | ||
| 30 |
Team
This course is offered by the Operating Systems group at RWTH.
Lectures: Redha Gouicem
Labs: Jérôme Coquisart
This course is jointly developped between the OS group at RWTH (us) and Julien Sopena at Sorbonne University (France).